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Aussie TV plays it safe

So you wanna know why we could never make a series like True Blood or science fiction?

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FamtvAt the SPAA Conference last week, Packed to the Rafters‘ creator Bevan Lee addressed a long-running question about Australian drama genres.

He acknowleged the success of US dramas such as True Blood, but says such high-concept shows most likely couldn’t succeed here.

“Vampires in a country town in Australia is equally valid but … [the audience] would say, ‘What a lot of nonsense – vampires in Australia?’ he said.

“It would be laughed off screen.”

Likewise fantasy or science-fiction doesn’t work locally, he says.

“They go ‘if you’re going to come all the way across the universe to invade, are you really going to bother with Australia?'” Lee said.

“That’s America not us.”

Lee says Rafters is a drama about a family, rather than being a family drama. This year there was a bit of lesson-learning about audience reactions. He doesn’t regret including recent masturbation scenes, so much as the moral outrage from some viewers.

“I thought the reaction was absolutely stupid. I thought ‘what are these people doing? Do they live in the world that I live?'” he asked.

“It scared me slightly because I just felt if they really want this thing to be just a set of blinkers, I just don’t think I wanted to do it.”

Seven got a double lesson in viewer outrage this year with Home & Away‘s ‘gay kiss’ attracting headlines too. As a network drama exec, Lee had to deal first hand with both issues.

Meanwhile, Producer Jo Porter believes Australians only want to see “middle Australia.”

“I think it’s a case of tall poppy syndrome as well,” she said.

“Can you imagine a successful show where it’s a wealthy family in Australia? Australians like to see middle Australia.”

No wonder Taurus Rising never lasted….

Source: ABC, news.com.au

54 Responses

  1. As sad as it is, we as a whole are even more dumbed down than our American counterparts. Australians as viewers prefer simple, predictible and single minded shows. This is country where a show as highy awared and critically acclaimed as “Lost” is, can garner under 300 thousand viewers for its Emmy nominated season finale. Yet over 3 and a half million people chose to watch two women cook dinner, its simply a sad state of affairs.

    “Two and a Half Men”, “Rules of Engagement” and “The Big Bang Theory” are what is popular in comedy here in Oz, even though they are run of the mill, lowest common denomintaor shows. Yet programs like “The Office”,” Arrested Development” and “30 Rock” are not watched by the public, or even given a chance by the networks. And why? Well one reason is because there is no ‘Laugh Track’, aussie viewers rely on this to tell them when the jokes happen.

    Australians would much rather watch talentless people present clip shows, than try to actually broaden their horizons and use some intellect and watch an intricate and wonderfully written, acted and produced show like “Lost”. It is indeed, a sad state of affairs…

  2. Want new, funny, smart, edgy, well-written Australian television dramatic comedy you’ve never seen before? I ROCK premieres on ABC2 in early 2010 (8 x 1/2 hour episodes). Watch out for it – it’s going to be good.

  3. As a population are we really so vacuous? Australians prefer middle-Australia? How sad.
    Still, I shouldn’t be surprised. Quality science-fiction programming has time and again been relegated to the late night slots to be replaced with more CSI and Law and Order than you can poke a stick at, along with ahem…”middle-Australia” programs.
    I think it’s time to go and leave middle-Australia to the rest of the population…

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