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Gone: Kath & Kim (US)

With only 729,000 viewers, Seven replaces the American version of Kath & Kim with the original series.

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The curiosity factor is over and Aussies have voted with their eyeballs.

Channel Seven has moved quickly on lousy numbers for Kath and Kim: The American Series which fell to 729,000 viewers last night. It was down from 1.23m in its first outing.

It was beaten by 20 to 1 and an early edition of Australian Idol.

Seven will replace it with the original duo, Jane Turner and Gina Riley with the episode “Obsession” from this Sunday night. It guest stars Vince Colosimo. That means we may never get to see episodes that were entirely scripted from scratch…

In the US Kath and Kim took a 20% fall in its second week and fell to third in 18 – 49’s.

Turner & Riley are believed to be writing episodes for a new, local series.

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57 Responses

  2. Paul: it was claimed to be written by the Americans and the basis of the story seems to have been theirs but it did have some elements/dialogue taken from ours.

    I do have to say in USK&K’s defense, at least it’s nice to see Kath working for a living 🙂 It was never really plausible that she had that cosy house at Fountain Lakes with all mod cons and her only real source of income was a divorce settlement from 20-30 years prior and having had to bring up Kimmie as a single mum 😛

  5. Television really is a brutal business these days.

    Two episodes is barely long enough for people to even register the show exists – particularly when no footage of it appeared in promotions for the first episode.

    Also the very heavy promotion for the second episode seemed poorly edited and mis-directed, pushing the message of it being “The one the Americans wrote themselves!” That to me seems puerile and hardly creates anticipation in the viewer.

    I understand why the low figure results in cancellation, but networks should have better back up plans that simply airing more repeats. Channel Ten is suffering badly because of the heavy repeats in the 6.00pm to 7.30pm weekday slots and Kath and Kim repeats will not help the Seven Network on Sundays.

    Surely there must be something more enervating in their cupboards that they can unveil in such a crucial timeslot?

    Having made the commitment to a locally produced sitcom in that slot by poaching Kath and Kim from the ABC, perhaps they can try and create their own sitcom. Another good local concept if well written and presented could capture the imagination of viewers and be relatively economic.

    Please think about it Seven, even if only for next year.

  7. What is with all these recent rash decisions by networks? It seems Australian stations will pull anything and everything if it isn’t rating after a mere two weeks. The past year has been the worse so far. And though it’s seems like a mantra from the masses, it still rings true- it’s no wonder that people are downloading shows nowadays….

  8. I did watch the second ep. I can’t say I ‘hated’ but it was so bland, it gave me no reason whatsoever to want to see more.

    It was a bad idea all along.

  9. why can’t any australian programming directors make some decisions based on the quality of a show rather than the hype surrounding it and what the people earning money off the show promote it as. they have all these little birdies whispering in their ear about what is going to be the next big hit but of course those advertising it in america are going to make out like it is huge, just like the networks here always brand everything a hit, sometimes before it even airs, unless they are so good at lying that even they don’t know when they themselves are blowing smoke. they use this tactic themselves so you would think they would be able to recognise it in others. they should have been able to watch the show, recognise it is garbage and just save their money coz they knew the viewers would react exactly like this. are they so far out of touch with regular people that they have no opinions on shows and are incapable of demonstrating taste? evidence would suggest yes.

  13. HAHAHA…….. does not surprise me….. the US version is CRAP!!! No wonder it was yanked(Pardon the Pun 😉 ) after 1 week.
    I suspect 7 will play the rest(if it lasts that long in the US) on it’s HD channel over summer.

  15. I agree RichoTB and Knoxoverstreet Seven should put “something besides K & K repeats” on in replace of Kath and Kim (US)! – Also, I was just going to say that same thing David, Outback Wildlife Rescue seems to have subtly disappeared from our screens! – There was even also speculation in yesterday’s Sunday Daily Telegraph Jamie’s Outdoor Room wouldn’t return with production costs of up to $480 000 per episode and the ratings not being in Seven’s favour!

    – Spunkymonkeycaesar

  16. good on you seven promote the heck out of you american aussie gold show then drop it like a bad habbit as quick as you can say network ratings! No more K&K repeats commision a new comedy show please seven!

    David i think outback wildlife rescue didn’t return because it was a show that actually taught you something, which is not the trend these days the dumber the better is most networks mottos.

  19. AND people were criticising Nine for their knee jerk movements! – Atleast Nine gave Fringe, Battlefronts, Hole In The Wall and Wipeout a decent run before they were ‘rested’!

    – Spunkymonkeycaesar

  21. In the hotly contested Sunday night time slot, Ch7 cannot afford to have a slow lead into 8.30 and when yuo lose over 500,000 viewers in a week, I am not surprised they moved so quickly. It is becoming a trend, what works in the U.S doesnt always work here, eg Kath & Kim and more recently Fringe. Ultimatley it is all about $. I am not bothered, but I know what it is like to lose a show I love and others don’t!

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