Aussie TV plays it safe
So you wanna know why we could never make a series like True Blood or science fiction?
- Published by David Knox
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At 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
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- Tagged with Home & Away, Packed to the Rafters, Taurus Rising, True Blood
54 Responses
The comparison with the US is a moot point. They have a TV market over 10 times the size of ours. Plus, acclaimed shows such as True Blood, Sopranos, etc, are all made on pay TV networks over there like HBO – a subscription service. In a way, there is a mini-version of that here, with shows like Love My Way appearing on pay TV and not on FTA, but the bottom line here for commercials is advertising revenue and that is why they are risk-averse. Having said that. I agree that it sucks and wonder if there is some way the system can change in the FTA landscape, so that advertising dollars don’t dictate the sort of shows made all the time.
We can’t make decent comedies either for that matter, useless writers and el cheapo production. They can’t move on from crap like Hey Dad
Science fiction in Australia has never seemed to work unfortunately. Even when the major networks have bothered to screen an American sci fi show in prime-time, the audience has been minimal.
Even if the local industry did produce a sci-fi show – which they did several years ago with Farscape – it would have a lot of comedic elements in it rather than being a totally serious drama.
Bevan Lee is quite right in his comments – I remember him getting a lot of stick back in the 80’s for the more outlandish plotlines he wrote for Sons and Daughters, which – although I still love the show – I doubt would work in the rather staid TV landscape of today.
Interesting that Russell speaks of “Always Greener” in a way that suggests the creators should hang their head in some way for creating it. Given that it was cancelled when rating around 1.3 million and the fact it is one of the very few Aussie dramas to crack an International Emmy nomination for best drama, I doubt they’d agree with him “Headland” is probably a different kettle of fish, but that was no worse nor better to be honest than shows with similar ambitions like “Home and Away” or “Neighbours”. Also, I would comment to Russell that if he’d watched much of “Always Greener” he’d realise it was one of the quirkiest, most original series there’s ever been on commercial television. It had a simple premise, but it was very original and groundbreaking in a lot of its execution. “Rafters”, “Greener” and “Headland” do share common themes of family and relationship, but to lump the three together as the same sort of family soap suggests Russell has perhaps viewed a lot less of them than I. They’re very different shows and both “Rafters” and “Greener”, despite their domestic themes, are very original creations.
It is just another sign, that Australian content requirements should be completely scrapped. I’m so tried of the generic Australian TV series (ie cops, family drama, medical, soapie), with very few imaginative series around. And I have never seen an Australian movie, that I actually enjoyed either.
One of my favorite science fiction series is Farscape, which was produced in Australia. Although the series got terrible treatment by Nine, and even poor DVD releases in Australia.
there are talent in australia but the scripts and characters they played let them down. thats why when aussie actors go overseas, their so successful becasue they play characters that are so well develpoed it let them show off their talent. and its so stupid to say that aussie tv is playing safe, i wouldnt mind a werewolf tv series or some other sorts. also about people getting offended and stuff, when did aussies become so precious?
There’s a lot of truth in a lot of comments here, but I also think Bevan Lee has made some good points.
Would we buy The 4400 landing in Dubbo? Doubtful. But we would if it kept its tongue in its cheek. SBS aired Undead two weeks ago with zombies in Qld. Film diverts from the argument somewhat, but even that one had an intrinsically Aussie flavour to it because it was a low budget indie flick. I suspect a series like Dead Set could be made well here too. A single alien as a fish out of water with an Aussie family (a la Mork) might have some sitcom value. And Claudia Karvan is already at work on her ghostly Spirited.
That said, I agree any V / X Files / Twilight clones bring risks that probably outweight logic.
I’m not sure I like his huge presumptuousness of knowing what everybody wants and how everybody thinks.
It’s true we don’t have the budgets for a huge series overflowing with visual effects. But high concepts can still work. We do have writing talent here that can make it work, if they’re ever given a chance.
And while they’re at it, can we have less relationship drama in our police shows, please? And maybe some humour thrown in to replace it? Because I really don’t care about who is sleeping with whom, especially in the midst of a high adrenaline rescue.
Producers like Bevan Lee and Jo Porter are exactly the ones we have to blame for the lack of creativity in Australian drama. They are the people holding the whole industry back. Sure they have “packed to the Rafters” as a hit now. But they were also responsible for “Headland” and “Always Greener”. They basically keep creating the same show over and over, while getting up at conferences and proclaiming Australians would not embrace any other kind of genre.
They are the ones who have created this very attitude, and keep it alive by making such statements as these, and then going about creating the same family soap operas over and over.
There are plenty of ideas that are not vampires or wealthy families that would be suited to Australian sensibilities.
What about two quirky cops who solve crimes based on visions in the Top end?
What about a family that lives in the mountains of Tasmania, in a haunted house.
What about a Mum from the suburbs who looks after her loving family and raises her kids, but hides her dark secret that she is a killer. Or a prostitute. Or a government spy. What about a half hour comedy about a yuppy Melbourne family from Toorak who is forced to move to outback Queensland to take a job with a mining company.
I mean, I am not a producer. I am throwing silly ideas out here. But what I am saying is, the reason we don’t have these types of shows is not because Australians will not embrace them, it’s because networks and producers like Bevan and Jo are afraid of trying new things, that they would have to work hard at to get right, for fear of failure. They would rather do the same formula, that is easy, and they know they are good at.
And as long as they then get up there and say that this is the way it has to be….things will never change.
Fair dinkum……………………….. how shallow, how insulting, are they saying those things because they have no new ideas.
I think it has more to do with our writing, production and quality in acting in order to pull it off. We have some good actors but the writing really lets them down on most occasions. Plus I don’t know what it is with Aussie film makers, they force the actors to put on this fake Aussie accent. Most Australians speak pretty normal and very few like Kath and Kim, with Julia Gillard the exemption.
Any subject matter, vampires, aliens, werewolves, ghosts, invisible men, witches, genies etc. if well written would be accepted by the viewing public. Australians want to be entertained and if you watch science fiction or any spooky stuff you don’t over analyze it because it ruins the fun. I’m sure that the people who loved Buffy didn’t lose sleep thinking about why in all the places in the world it could be the Hellsgate ended up in Sunnydale. Bevan Lee needs to be aware of the world everyone else lives in and not assume that we all want to live in his world where he thinks masturbation is entertainment.
Well duh. Packed to the Rafters is quite possibly the most disgustingly “safe” crowd pleasing non-reality show on Aussie TV. The volume of sentimentality in the first few episodes alone was especially appalling, particularly since the audience wouldn’t have known the characters long enough to really care.
Really, what is the basis for this really ignorant person’s claim that a vampire show wouldn’t work with an Australian cast/context? Maybe if somebody had the balls to try, rather than hashing out one derivative cop/medical show after with only menial differences to distinguish them from one another. Really, I’ve laughed off City Homicide after the first episode as it cast the likes of Daniel MacPherson, Shane Bourne and Noni Hazlehurst; none of whom I can take seriously in law enforcement/authoritarian roles, however I’d sooner believe any of them as pixies, centaurs or blood suckers.
My, my. We’re simply spoiled for choice in this country. Medical procedurals, cop shows galore, and a single primetime family drama which is an embarrassment to watch.
If you respect your audience enough to give them a well written show that isn’t grossly conventional, maybe, just *maybe* people will watch. -.-
But why is fantasy and SciFi not popular over here, when we all stream to it when it does come over here, like twilight for example. Vampire Diaries, True Blood australia is on the band wagon and the best we might get is some tacky script writer that introduces the summer bay vampire.
Everything we do on tv seems to revolve around that soap show, if it has not been to summer bay it wont work sort of attitude from the networks.
Step out on a limb, make a show we know we can, then get the world hooked.
Middle as in commecial networks. Thankfully SBS and ABC still take risks.
What a poor excuse for not making shows other than predictable cop shows or a show about a boring family, how do they know fantasy shows wont work when they wont make them and stick to the same dull ideas.
The comment about sci-fi is so much bollocks and really only highlights the primary problem in the industry… A complete lack of imagination and originality.
You could easily write fantasy and sci-fi that blended into the Australian landscape, look at movies like Mad Max. Have this guy ever travelled around our nation? There are plenty of little towns that give the impression they’re populated by aliens! 🙂
No ambition got it.
True. Any show about niche topics such as vampires will only ever attract a cult audience which, in Australia, is such a small number that it’s not really worth the commercial networks investment. Whereas a cult audience is the US is still a couple million or more. Shame as it’s not good for diversity. ABC is really the only one that can attempt these kinds of shows as they’re not as ratings driven.
Bevan Lee’s comments that people would not accept vampires in an Australian country town is one thing, but why dismiss the possibility of any science fiction?
If a live action series was created with no human (or even vaguely humanoid) characters ina nonEarth setting then the credulity gap should not be an issue.
Whilst Mr Lee makes the point that drama should be pitched to the middle ground that does mean that there are many groups out there who feel disconnected from drama production and utterly disinterested in their output.
Science fiction is popular and more importantly it sells. A well made and interesting science fiction drama from this country, told in a sober fashion without intentional or unintentional humour is the kind of thing that would sell well on DVD internationally and would generate sales into the American and other markets.
Is Packed to the Rafters being seen anywhere else ebyond the confines of our drought-ridden isle?
Since when are vampires from another Universe?
This is sad but true. But it’s up to the drama creators to use their imagniation. How about a show where aliens arrive in outback Australia, because they got Australia and America mixed up? They saw a Maccas in Dubbo and said “we’re here!”. Then play the Australian characters up against them? Comedy gold.
Unbelievable though he called his audience stupid…
I don’t think they’re trying hard enough.
Bevan, much, much respect for ignoring the tabloid trash non-controversy. The people that tried to make that storyline an issue are, ironically, wankers.
Let’s face it, Australia couldn’t make most of the shows America makes. Money and writing talent (or lack of either) has a lot to do with it. Less that 5% of what I watch is Australian made.
If they are talking alien invasion why can’t it be that the whole world is being invaded but this show just focuses on the viewpoint of australians and takes place in australia, it is happening in america too, just that we don’t see it. That excuse is a cheap cop-out. And there is more to sci-fi than just alien invasions or vampires, try using some creativity and originality, it doesn’t even have to be sci-fi, just something different, something we haven’t seen before. Beastmaster was australian and quite good, it is the only show I want to add to my dvd collection that I haven’t been able to so far due to a lack of availability.