ABC2 launches 3 new local productions

Faces from ABC2 joined with Channel Controller Stuart Menzies in Melbourne last night to showcase up and coming local content.

They included twenty something‘s Jess Harris and Josh Schmidt, The Bazura Project‘s Shannon Marinko and Lee Zachariah, Good Game‘s Bajo and Hex plus Kristy Best who will present a new Sunday night documentary night, Sunday Best. Amongst its upcoming line-up twenty something, The Bazura Project and triple j Presents are all local productions.

Joining them were ABC1 Controller Brendan Dahill, Head of Arts & Entertainment Amanda Duthie, local producers and invited media.

At the eclectic party co-host Shannon Marinko drew a laugh when he told guests Stuart Menzies was “raised in the wild by a pack of publicists.”

Menzies in reply joked, “There I was thinking publicists only ate their young.”

More seriously he noted, “It’s fantastic to be launching these shows tonight. They’re shows that not only speak to what we are as a channel and where we want to go, but they shout about it.”

TWENTYSOMETHING
TUESDAYS AT 9PM STARTS 6TH SEPTEMBER
Jess (Jess Harris) and Josh (Josh Schmidt) are best friends, housemates and twentysomething. While their friends finish uni degrees, climb the corporate ladder and settle down, Jess and Josh live for the weekend. Then comes unemployment, eviction and dodging the dreaded question, “So what are you going to do with your lives?” Becoming their own bosses, they set out in search of the big break. Is it an erotic house cleaning service? Guided tours showing backpackers Melbourne in a new light? An elite babysitters’ agency? Bounty hunting for lost dogs? This hilarious and at times moving six‐part comedy series will leave you smiling and wondering where these two have been hiding until now. The series also stars Hamish Blake (Hamish and Andy’s Gap Year) as Billy, Jess’ on again/off again ex‐boyfriend; Simon Russell (Thank God You’re Here) as Nick, Josh’s older and more successful brother; and Leah de Niese (Offspring) as Abby, the back‐up friend. 6 X 30’

SUNDAY BEST
SUNDAYS AT 8.30PM ‐ STARTS 25TH SEPTEMBER
Sunday nights on ABC2 is the home of Sunday Best, an outstanding collection of gamechanging and thought‐provoking feature length documentaries. We’ve done the work to bring you the best must‐see intelligent docos that are just 2 good to miss. Doco enthusiast and emerging filmmaker, Kristy Best is on hand to introduce the films and get the conversation rolling. The line‐up of critical viewing docos includes the chilling Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room; the current festival favourite, Lesson Plan; new film by HBO Entourage star Adrian Grenier, Teenage Paparazzo; Hoop Dreams; the Academy Awardwinning films Born Into Brothels and The Most Dangerous Man in America; the controversial Jesus Camp; and the fabulous ‘fish out of water’ story of the Afghan Cricket team, Out of the Ashes. Put on your Sunday Best.

THE BAZURA PROJECT
THURSDAYS 9.00PM ‐ STARTS 29TH SEPTEMBER
THE BAZURA PROJECT is a six‐part comedy series about Australia’s number one, non‐sportsrelated
pastime ‐ the movies. To ensure complete public outrage and therefore maximum publicity, hosts Shannon Marinko and Lee Zachariah present their “Guide to Sinema”, exploring the six incorrigible ingredients that make movies the enjoyable scourge on society they are today: Sex, Violence, Money, Profanity, Drugs and Fame. SEE! ‐ a selectively salacious history of film cinema – the best kind of cinema. HEAR! ‐ this also. WONDER! ‐ as they instruct you on how to create your very own sinful scene, with more graphic pointers than anyone could possibly hope for. CHEER! ‐ when they unearth the obscure films perhaps better left earthed, and award the unawardable to films perhaps better left warded. TREMBLE! ‐ as you delve into their subconscious and travel to the future all in the name of cinematic “enlightenment”. PLUS! ‐ some other things probably. Time permitting! It’s the best and filthiest film school you never went to. THE BAZURA PROJECT ‐the name says it all! 6 X 30’

TRIPLE J PRESENTS
TUESDAYS AT 10.20PM – STARTS 13TH SEPTEMBER
Triple J does live music better than anyone else in the country. They’ve been broadcasting live gigs across the airwaves on Live At The Wireless for as long as anyone can remember, providing front‐row seats to some of the hottest gigs in the country by bringing them direct to the telly. TRIPLE J PRESENTS returns to ABC2 with another huge concert series. Acts include Cut Copy, The Jezebels, Queens of the Stone Age, Seeker Lover Keeper, Mark Ronson & The Business Intl., Architecture in Helsinki, Foster The People, Art vs. Science plus loads more. 12 X 30’

LOUIS THEROUX SPECIALS
WEDNESDAYS AT 8.30PM ‐ STARTS 7TH SEPTEMBER
Intrepid documentary maker Louis Theroux comes to ABC2 with a series of his critically acclaimed gonzostyle documentaries. After starting his career with Michael Moore’s TV Nation, Theroux has developed an international cult following for his exploration of off‐beat cultural subjects including Avon ladies in the Amazon and the attempts by the Ku Klux Klan to rebrand itself as a civil rights group for white people. In this series, Theroux goes under the knife in a Beverly Hills plastic surgeon’s office, moves in to America’s largest brothel, gains access to California’s Coalinga mental hospital which houses more than 500 convicted paedophiles, and meets America’s most hated family – the Phelps’ from The Westbro Baptist Church.

BREAKING BAD – SERIES 3
THURSDAYS AT 9PM ‐ STARTS 29TH SEPTEMBER
This Emmy award‐winning drama returns with the darkest and most dangerous season yet. It continues the story of Walter White (Bryan Cranston), a high school chemistry teacher who discovered he was dying of lung cancer. Desperate to pay for his cancer treatments and to secure his family’s financial security, he teamed up with former student, now drug dealer Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul) and used his scientific knowledge for financial gain. Instead it trapped him in a sinister world of drugs and crime. This time round, even though his cancer’s in remission, he still can’t catch a break. His wife (Anna Gunn) has filed for divorce, his DEA agent brother‐in‐law (Dean Norris) is out to bust him and a Mexican cartel just wants him dead. But with his family’s future still at stake Walt cooks up a deal that will make him a fortune; a scheme with a terrible price.

GOOD GAME
TUESDAYS AT 8.30PM
GOOD GAME is the show for gamers by gamers. Gaming is already a bigger entertainment sector than movies or music and the back half of 2011 looks set to be the biggest for the industry yet with the launch of such titles as Modern Warfare 3, Battlefield 3, Skyrim, and Mass Effect 3. Not only will Bajo and Hex bring gamers comprehensive reviews of these games and many more, they’ll also take viewers behind the scenes for analysis of the gaming industry and the culture that surrounds it. GOOD GAME ‐ making sure that all your games are good ones.

MARNGROOK FOOTY SHOW
THURSDAYS AT 7.30PM
With the pointy end of the AFL finals series rapidly approaching there’s no better place to get all your Thursday night fix of teams, tips, interviews and analysis than the Marngrook Footy Show. Hosts Grant Hansen and Gilbert McAdam, and panellists Ronnie Burns, Alan Thorpe and Chris Johnson, are always upbeat and entertaining, providing plenty of insight and good humour without being crude or over blokey. Marngrook Footy Show also stars reporters Leila Gurruwiwi and Shelley Ware who hit the grounds each week to bring viewers exclusive interviews with past and present greats of the game; Tiddas Tips; as well as all the latest AFL news and injury updates. The family‐friendly footy show also features live music each Thursday from some of the biggest names in the Australian music industry. Don’t miss the best footy show in town – Marngrook!