News Archive:
The joy of independence
East West 101 deservedly snaffled the AFI Award for Best Miniseries, Telemovie and Short Run from Bed of Roses, Rain Shadow and Valentine’s Day.
In a slim category, it was SBS’ only award for the night, and sadly one that wasn’t featured in the broadcast by Nine.
Producer Steve Knapman says the series, currently in production on series two, doesn’t rely on tricks for its storytelling.
“There’s no real secret,” he said. “It’s research. It’s getting real advice from people with the life experience who are doing the job. So we’ve got a lot …
Cover Story
Published for 51 years, TV Week is an absolute survivor in both the television and magazine industry. And like all survivors it has had to embrace change in order to remain the market leader. While other TV mags have fallen by the wayside, TV Week under the Australian Consolidated Press empire, is still a force to be reckoned with.
In Australian television stars always know they’d made it when they landed their first TV Week cover. It’s the Rolling Stone of Aussie telly. But what does it take to get a cover …
Grim diagnosis for Young Doctors revival
The Young Doctors, promised for 2008, will be lucky to see the light of day in 2009. At least on the Nine Network.
Under development by FremantleMedia, the show was originally produced by the Grundy Organisation for Nine from 1976-1983. FremantleMedia, which acquired Grundy in later years, put the idea to Nine in 2007 when the network was interested in having a local show in the style of Grey’s Anatomy.
The contemporary version was being developed by the writers of The King.
Nine’s interest in the show was confirmed when it appeared on a …
Are we there yet?
It was the week that everybody said they had new toys to unwrap, TEN declared the 2014 Commonwealth Games, Aussie producers gathered on the Gold Coast for their annual gab-fest just as Nine decided not to revisit the only drama set there, TiVo dumped one of its key partners, the last original member of Hi-5 chose to retire, the axe fell on several shows in the US, network programmers tried to defend late amendments, Seven apologised for comments made by one of its stars, Nine was revealed as wanting “no …
Axed: The Strip
Nine has ‘axed’ The Strip, at least not renewed it for a second season, depending on how you want to word it…
The $7.8m Gold Coast crime series will not be proceeding when it ends its first series run.
“The 13 part mini-series comes to a conclusion at the end of the month,” a Nine spokesperson said.
“We are disappointed the show didn’t sustain the audience it attracted in its premiere week.
“It’s an unfortunate outcome in this highly competitive environment.”
The drama, starring Aaron Jeffery, Vanessa Gray and Frank Holden premiered to 1.45m viewers but …
Bumped: The Strip, This is your Life, Amazing Medical Stories
Channel Nine has pushed back its local drama The Strip to 10:30pm from this Thursday night.
Last week the show had 834,000 viewers, beaten by Law and Order: CI’s 1.21m and The Amazing Race on 1.01m.
It will be replaced by This is your Life on Nov 13 and 20. The Mike Munro show had been set for a 6:30pm Sunday return. Instead a 20 to 1 repeat will air this weekend.
Amazing Medical Stories which was airing at 10:30pm Thursdays is currently out of schedule.
Kindly link to this site when sourcing or posting …
The race that tops the nation
It was the week a Pay TV spokesperson called broadcaster feuding “juvenile” while another exec wanted better inclusion at the digital switch table, a TEN programmer conceded it had massive timeslot problems, Nine axed production staff, Sonia Kruger was criticised for an on air joke, a former soap star said he didn’t really enjoy soaps, belated guide amendments left viewers confused, an ABC journo pleads guilty to charges in Singapore, drug charges against a Seven personality were dropped, Seven revisits its C7 case against Pay television, the ABC launches its new …
One actor, two timeslots.
He hasn’t quite had the year that Vince Colosimo has enjoyed, but 2008 sure comes close for Frankie J. Holden.
Not only did he appear in Underbelly as cop, but he went on to play one in The Strip too.
On Thursday night he pops up in the ABC’s history docudrama Infamous Victory: Ben Chifley’s Battle for Coal.. He plays Arthur Calwell, Minister for Immigration in the story of a prime minister who went to war against his own during the national miners’ strike of 1949.
Bizarrely, Holden will find himself playing against himself.
In …
Packered by the Rafters
It was the week the Packer family parted ways with Nine causing David Gyngell to vow to prove James Packer wrong, TEN announced a new channel, Pay TV launched another three, Minister Stephen Conroy signalled support for increased ABC & SBS funding, commercial networks (briefly) found a conscience but upset David Leckie, WIN sat down at the gambling table, Kath & Kim (US) got a greenlight for a full season, Andrew Denton announced the end of Enough Rope, David Tennant set his exit from his iconic role, Rove visited …
Current affairs surge at Seven
It was the week that current affairs and finance dominated. Ray Martin lamented the state of commercial news and current affairs at the same time as a former sports presenter won his first week behind a public affairs desk, a CEO lashed out at his rival networks but shot off about the starting date of his new current affairs project, while the network signed a former Sunday journo, TEN reported a 25% slump in earnings, a Telstra boss said Foxtel subscriptions were slowing, another Murdoch stitched up a production deal with …
Bob Morley: “meat puppet”
Surprising comments today from actor Bob Morley being candid about his time on Seven’s Home and Away.
In less-than-flattering comments to the Daily Telegraph, Morley has reportedly lambasted the show as a “machine that can chew you up and spit you out”.
The 23-year-old actor spent two years on Seven’s soap and now stars in Nine’s The Strip and recently had a role in Scorched.
“It’s nice to be in a show (The Strip) where it’s not based on taking your shirt off,” he said.
“That was one thing that got me down (in …
How AFL delayed local drama
Daylight saving may be coming this weekend to most Australian states but viewers in NSW and Qld are already ahead of the rest of the country when it comes to Australian drama.
City Homicide is still screening one week ahead of Vic, SA and WA due to a repeat episode airing against the Brownlow Medal. Seven obviously didn’t want to compete against the AFL’s biggest night so it slipped the repeat quietly under the radar, leaving those states behind.
Next Monday NSW and Qld will see an episode with a killer’s links to …