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.
- Published by David Knox
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- Filed under News
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]
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- Tagged with Houso's, Pizza, Swift & Shift Couriers
69 Responses
The ability to laugh at ourselves is so Australian(mate). if you don’t like this show, then simply watch one of the many fabulous shows that are free to air (ie CSI Miami, CSI NY, CSI Florida, Bones, A current affair, etc). They’re all fabulous shows. Seriously. But please, please, bring back Housos(mate).
hey come on bring housos on tv for a new season i p*ssed myself laughing about this and i live in a department of housing house and that is how we preety much live lol thats the funny part about it all so just put the show back on for a second season and me and my family and friends will be happy
Lighten up, Aussies. It’s obviously a parody. Up here in Canada, we laugh at it and go back to our daily lives not thinking of Australia in any bad light whatsoever. In fact, I admire you people for having the maturity to laugh at yourselves. Are all Brits like Benny Hill? Or Monty Python? Watch 3-4 episodes and you will be hooked as I was. Happy New Year!!
Housos is so funny, love it, great to have a laugh
i love the show,its the bomb.awsome and funny as i do come from that area and go the maltesers,you do well pauly.
I personally cannot wait and watching these youtube clips have had me in stitches!
It’s funny because it real! well an over exaggerated parody of the reality, but still very close.
Everyone here complaining and trying to be politically correct and making everyone wrong needs to get their heads out of their bungholes and lighten up.
Take a look in your own backyards, you may swap flannelettes for suits but you’ll still bogans at the end of the day!
SBS hang your heads in shame.I used to respect you for things like South Park,Those Chinese Subtitled Movies and Iron Chef and at one time Top Gear.Now you show rubbish like this.
I certainly won’t be watching this garbage.Why not something with a bit of class instead
@Dave – live in glebe huh? There’s a whole heap of houso in Glebe!
How is this different from “Trailer Park Boys” in Canada, same premise, same cast of characters. It is a humongous hit in North America and it’s a paradoy, Aussies like Canuks should be able to laugh at themselves and know it’s a paradoy.
People should stop complaining and just learn to laugh.
ACA has zero credibility and no sense of humour. SBS has made it clear that this is a parody, not a reality TV show. I can’t wait to see the show…I was on the train the other day (Illawarra line) when three charming young ladies starting abusing two Muslims girls and one male for doing nothing other than look in their direction – the f bomb and c bomb, was dropped over and over again. Houso girls – nothing surer and you could tell before the expletives started to flow. Didn’t matter that there was a lady with a baby and a toddler right next to them. Not everyone who lives in housing commission is like that but this parody is something that people can relate to…We need to switch off shows like ACA and Today Tonight, which are pathetic excuses for journalism and stop being so politically correct – it’s boring. This is Australia, we are a country of self depracating larrikins from culturally diverse backgrounds. Get over this post modernist PC nonsense and have a laugh. I wish Pauly Fenech and the rest of the crew every success with Housos. Hopefully season 2 of Swift and Shift Couriers will get aired – also a superb series parodying (accurately) workplace life.
You people are sad. i think it is hilarious, i grew up in near this area ACA & today tonight are the show that i laugh at because they show some much crap.
Houso looks like a great show well done guys
> spare me the pain says:
> More crap on the Tv, bring back some good viewing no wonder the kids of
> today are screwed
Looool. The kids of today are a hell of a lot more switched on than at any time in the past. You must be one of those religious nuts that thinks the end times are upon us and everything is going to hell huh? Well, crime has been going down for decades now, the moral zeitgeist is actually raising. Quite the opposite of “the kids today are screwed.”
Your analysis is as flawed as your worldview. Go watch some comedy.
How dare somebody make a comedy about people who choose not to work and bludge off the tax payer and go under the guise of being the poorest of society. Next thing we’ll be hearing is public housing tenants will want to sue SBS!
I missed that start but they were actually talking about this on Sunrise this morning. They had an aussie actor on and a hook-up to some sort of social issues lady and both were in agreeance (as were Mel & Kochie) that it is just a bit of fun.
The ticker title was ‘Houso’s Controversy’ or similar.
Not sure if it was in response to ACA’s story or if this is flavour of the week or what.
In the end ACA agreed it was a bit of fun (the promos suggested otherwise) with western Sydney resident laughing at the footage. Today Tonight went in hard with outraged locals.
Ultimately this is a “you decide” case which is best left until it actually airs -not before.
This show would be great teamed up with Swift and Shif Couriers as a double, can not wait for this to actually go to air
I was reading this article and wondering why SBS would be showing a new Paul Fenech comedy when they haven’t even aired the second season of Swift and Shift Couriers yet. Then when I read it was because they were censoring themselves I came close to throwing my lunch at the computer. What the hell is wrong with you SBS!? You used to be the one’s pushing the boundaries, but now you’re turning into one of the most wussy, PC networks in Australia!
Australia desperately needs a station like the UK’s Channel 4, who are actually willing to stand up to anyone who calls for censorship, from far-right Christians to hypersensitive politically correct types. Once upon a time SBS was that network, but over the past 5 years something has changed. Lift your game SBS, this sort of self censorship in pathetic.