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SBS tells ACA ‘Houso’s’ is a joke, mate.

Updated: A Current Affair brands Paul Fenech's new series an "outrageous" reality show -but SBS says it's a parody with paid actors.

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A story about an upcoming SBS series set to air in tonight’s A Current Affair has been defended by the public broadcaster.

ACA tonight has a promo for  Houso’s which it brands as “Housing Commission uncensored… the outrageous TV show targetting Australia’s poorest residents -and it’s funded by the government.”

It includes footage from Houso’s which appears to show brawling Housing Commission residents and police arrests.

The ACA website also calls it a Reality TV show.

But Houso’s is a comedy series from Paul Fenech (Pizza, Swift & Shift Couriers).

A statement from SBS says Paul Fenech is known for his provocative and irreverent style”

“Houso’s is not a reality series and everyone participating in the series is an actor,” it noted.

“Audiences have always understood Paul’s work to be highly exaggerated parody.

“The program, as with Pizza, is not receiving direct funding through any State or Federal Government funding agency and is being funded by SBS through revenue raised by commercial activities.”

Fenech’s knockabout comedy style regularly takes aim at most social stereotypes, usually with equal firepower. However he has landed in trouble before, most notably during the first season of Swift & Shift Couriers when SBS dropped an episode after the family of Jake Kovco expressed concerns over a parody storyline.

The second season has been withheld by SBS after concerns the storyline with an Indian courier company would not sit well following headlines involving Indian students in Melbourne. Significantly, the series was shot before they arose.

But ACA‘s questioning of the morality of the series is another concern of the media making judgements before the audience has had a chance to respond.

SBS Programmer Jane Roscoe recently told TV Tonight, the show would be unashamedly Fenech in its humour.

“It’s on a housing estate and has all the dodgy business that goes on. I can’t say too much but it’s Paul Fenech so it will be mad, crazy, and probably offend many people,” she said.

ACA Producer Grant Williams tells TV Tonight that the use of the word “Reality” on its website was a NineMSN error and is not reflected in the story.

An airdate for Houso’s is yet to be announced.

Housos: sneak peek (warning extreme Language, Adult Themes).

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ygygES6GWE[/youtube]

69 Responses

  3. Did ACA check out the smutty content on Ben Elton Live From Planet Earth or have a problem with who was targetted in that comedy? There’s a good chance that “Housos” will be funnier than Ben Elton’s comedy.

  6. ACA has a cheek calling it outrageous after the story they did last night on how to steel from shops buy looking for a receipt and going in to get the item on the receipt for a cash return, how many people are out doing it now after seeing that. this show looks great tho, my sense off humor.

  7. This is funny stuff. Growing up in this enviroment one can understand the comedy genius of Mr Fenech..This is very remanisant of when the Simpsons first aired, people were outraged because the storylines hit a raw nerve because they are a little too close to home as does this show, this show definitly will rub some the wrong way , but hey that is life..
    A Ausiie good show, made in Australia, with Aussie actors, should be more of it

  8. I don’t even like Fenech’s style of humour, but thanks to ACA, I’m now curious to see this. For ACA to think this was real just shows what a bunch of utter imbeciles they have running the show.

  9. hahahahahahahahahahaha this show is great!!!! obviously you need a sense of humour to watch this…and if you take a walk in some of the housing commision areas it is very much the same as this show. You all need to relax..

  11. This is sad it’s not funny to have a go at people who are poor like to see this show dumped not all people in housing commission areas are like this joke of a series.

  17. Ha ha ha!! Sounds like Nine is trying to find other shows to shoot down in the wake of the Ben Elton show massacre. Oh wait, I get it – ACA comes from the ‘Home of Laughter’. Now it makes sense. Funy stuff Nine!

  20. yknow… i wasnt a massive fan of swift shift… but i have to admit… that youtube clip… made me giggle a lot. if he can maintain the sense of reckless carnage than i think i might be in for this.

  23. I barely think this is an outrage god what has happened to this country it’s a but of fun and I barely think people can pass judgement until it has aired. The irony, the govt and tax pays for this show but who do you think pays for the people to live here in the first place

  24. lol. Just another example of ACA’s stupidity, (or else their promo is a typical beat-up and their story does indeed reveal it’s actors not real people). Either way, ACA does it again.

  25. this is an outrage!
    good on you ACA for having the guts to treat mockumentary as documentary,
    because we all know that scripted is just about the same as real life and nobody in the media should make fun of almost real people.
    fight the good fight ACA!

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