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Nine greenlights new local drama

Channel Nine has a new Aussie drama series, Rescue Squad, to premiere in 2009. And there are more 'feelgood' shows set to reward and re-unite ordinary Aussies.

Channel Nine will launch a new drama series in 2009, Rescue Squad.

Described as a “high octane drama” it will centre on the lives and loves of a Special Operations Rescue Squad.

The series will join with Underbelly and Sea Patrol as a flagship drama for the network in 2009. It follows recent news that Nine would not proceed with The Young Doctors.

Amongst some of the other new formats set to launch are several factual and “blue sky” shows that reward ordinary Aussies or make their dreams come true.

Everyday Heroes is a salute to heroic Australians and the survivors they rescued. It features reunions, stories of survival and tales of bravery.

Hot on the heels of the success of Domestic Blitz comes Random Acts of Kindness, described as “heart-warming and feel-good, making dreams come true for deserving Australians.”

Nine’s own contribution to the rising reunion genre, Missing Pieces, tracks down lost friends and relatives desperately needed by their loved ones. In this version, family and friends work with a team of experts to track down those missing from their lives – from a girl who needs a kidney transplant trying to find her biological father to other remarkable stories and emotional reunions.

The network also picks up the US version of Who Do You Think You Are? The American version of the British genealogy series, is executive produced by Lisa Kudrow.  It depicts celebrities uncovering the truth of their ancestry.

The Unusuals is an ensemble dramedy starring Amber Tamblyn as a New York policewoman working with a crew of quirky weirdos. Produced by the makers of Rescue Me, ABC has ordered 10 episodes of this “comedy procedural.”

Dubbed as a new reality series, Trouble in Paradise will follow the real life drama as Aussies get in trouble abroad. Who are they going to call? Gun running, drug smuggling, kidnapped or mugged – this is an insider’s view of these stories as they unfold.

Seven Deadly Sins is a factual series based around sins including Greed, Gluttony, Lust and Wrath. It promises to look at “the devil in us all.”

Kids have not been forgotten, either, When I Grow Up is a “fun, family entertainment that empowers kids and captures the enthusiasm, wonder and hilarity of how they view the world.”

Finally, Nine also promises a series that was slated for 2008, Toasted & Roasted. This entertainment style show recruits an assortment of A-listers to toast and roast some of Australia’s biggest names.

More titles are expected to follow.

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32 Responses

  1. Just watched trouble in paradise – girls in Turkey and blokes in South America.

    I would love to be proved wrong, but both absolute works of fiction.

    My five year old son could write more believable stuff.

  2. when i grow up deserves a 730 slot. those twins bert1 and bert2 are hilarious with their ad lib interviewing style and bert newton is at his brilliant best!
    i saw the pilot being filmed and i laughed so hard, good on you channel 9

  3. hmmm. well they’ve definitely realised that feel goods and factuals rate. but can 9 do it?

    big meh to rescue squad, already screaming canal road and strip repeat performance

    i’d suspect 9 to release another drama before the end of ’09 especially as in 08, 9 had 5 aus dramas this only takes their ’09 line up to 3. i think its time for another neighborhood drama, like a desperate housewives only not as feminine based (same genre as PTTR could be an indication of success), or maybe a legal drama.

    unusuals might be good, but only if it is more of a sitcom-type comedy rather than a bones-type cop drama. i love bones but australians could never do it.

  4. I’ll definately check out The Unusuals when it airs just for Amber Tamblyn, but as for the rest of these…what are they thinking? Rescue Squad is obviously trying to fill the hole left by the cancellation of The Strip, and the rest just seem to be copies.

  5. Resue Squad Brilliant !!
    Lot’s of White Overalls,Absailing,Jaws Of Life,Harnesses and Helmets.
    Trouble In Paradise = Low Budget Rip Off Of Pay TV’s “Banged Up Abroad”.
    “Every Day Heroes” and “Random Acts Of Kindness” are no doubt themed around honourable causes and deserving people but 9 will deliver these series with the usual one dimensional imbecilic hosts and the same old soaking of contrived disengenious emotion.

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