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Claudia, a spirited creative force

Claudia Karvan's project with Nine is a win for all, empowering actors to develop their own. TV Tonight hears it's not her only concept in the wings.

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The emergence of Claudia Karvan as a creator of a new drama series for Nine in 2009 is a postive step. Her critical success as a co-producer of Love My Way is a rare production step in Australia. While US actors become far more powerful in producing projects, Australia tends to see light entertainment names become producers: Andrew Denton, Rove and Working Dog, to name a few.

Certainly it didn’t harm Gina RIley and June Turner any to become executive producers of Kath & Kim, either.

Karvan’s proposed adaptation of 1960’s US The Ghost & Mrs Muir is surely a concept from left field. Wouldn’t you have loved to have been a fly on the executive’s wall when that sentence was thrown into the mix? The old series starring Hope Lange, was based on a novel in which a widow rents a cottage and forms a bond with the ghost that haunts it…. But in these early days of whispers and speculation, somehow I doubt Karvan’s plans for Spirit are quit so twee-sounding. Execution is everything. Nine will be hoping to emulate the feelgood success of Packed to the Rafters, and to those who’ve tired of cop / legal / medical dramas here’s something that sounds like an alternative.

Karvan certainly is awash with ideas. Love My Way’s co-producer recently told TV Tonight that they were working on yet another concept, tentatively titled ‘Two Fathers.’ It’s so early in its infancy they haven’t even settled on whether its a feature film or a short-run series.

“It’s about two families of different types,” said Edwards. “A guy who runs a market garden, but sells drugs on the side, a slightly sleazy character, and a very normal, progressive, left-liberal family who live close by -they’ve got a f***ed up kid and the other guy’s got a ‘Mr. Clean Kid.’

“They almost swap kids. Each becomes enmeshed in each other’s lives.”

Edwards said it was no certainty Karvan would appear in ‘Two Fathers’ should it ever see the light of day.

“Probably, but she wouldn’t be the lead in the same way that she was in Love My Way.”

14 Responses

  2. @heh

    better than shakespeare =)

    (btw, always greener 1st season averaged 1.738mil = still good, but not as good as rafters, the improvements from AG show through PTTR)

  3. i don’t think there will ever be a new PTTR, me and lots of my friend would definately say it is the best aussie show ever, and i watched seachange, sullivans, blue heelers, and always greener. havn’t seen love my way but i’ve heard good things

    i’m still upset that they are not doing young doctors. carvan=yes, tone=yes, ghost& mrs muir= risky, 9=hopeless. interseting equation, could go any way.

  4. Ali i agree although 9 viewers are a bit too simple for LMW.. I am quite sure it will eb nothing like PTTR and if the network pushed for that i doubt the series would go ahead. Not everyone keen to sell their soul.

    All you PTTR fans that think its the best thing since Shakespeare, just remember Always Greener averaged 2mil in it’s first season. 🙂

  6. *Slowly raises axe in anticipation*. 9 wouldn’t even give viewers a chance with Pushing Daises (an odd quirky show), I don’t see this being given a chance on that network.

  7. people will obviously make the connection straight away between spirit and PTTR just as many people on this site did.

    well IMO PTTR has set the bar very high in quality drama, script, comedy, and acting, so this show will have its work cut out for it and be hard to act up to. When people start comparing bad things happen. just look at US kath and kim; that could have turned out to be an ok show on its own, but because australians have seen the original they saw it as a inferior version and it failed.

    i will defs give it a chance with an open mind.

  8. whether or not claudia wants it to be like PTTR i’m sure ch9 will interfere and make it that way. PTTR rates, and that is all 9 wants. similar to the way 9 interfered with the strip and wrecked it. but in their defense they are not in a position to take big risks they are going to have to safely recover from the dreadful year 9’s drama had in 2008.

    personally if this show was exactly like PTTR (and done properly) i would definately watch. its a great show, i can’t understand how any australian would not enjoy it. and i know a lot of people (around 2 mil australians) agree.

  14. i predicted the demise of canal road and the strip, along with alot of other 9 shows, months in advance, but i think 9 are on the money with this one. with the success of rafters surely there is room for two.

    so has this been officially green lighted, or is it in the same position that young doctors was in before it was discontiniued?

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