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The Slap wins timeslot for ABC1

ABC1's decision to programme The Slap on a Thursday night pays off, as the acclaimed drama wins against commercial competition.

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Much-publicised ABC drama series The Slap last night won its 8:30 timeslot with 946,000 viewers -a good start for the public broadcaster especially given numbers across the night were rather average.

The drama series based on the novel by Christos Tsolkias defeated Beauty And The Geek Australia (863,000), Unforgettable (732,000), Rush (660,000) and Supersizers Go (207,000). We’ll never know if the show could have netted a higher audience had it premiered in timeslot it was originally intended, 8:30pm Sunday. But on those numbers ABC1 has a positive result. It replays tonight on ABC2.

At 7:30pm Four Weddings (903,000) won against The Renovators (800,000), RBT (780,000), 7.30 / Qi (741,000 / 765,000) and Gourmet Farmer / My Family Feast (298,000 / 192,000).

At 9:30pm a surprise second episode of Unforgettable (693,000) won ahead of a double episode of The Amazing Race (597,000), Crownies (539,000) and Law And Order: SVU (511,000). Big Love tanked at 10pm on just 75,000 for SBS ONE.

Neighbours topped multichannels on 251,000.

Seven won the night.

Week 41.

24 Responses

  2. …so nice to see a slice of Aussie suburbia that doesn’t revolve around the lowest common denominator. There should be more productions ala The Slap and less about slappers.

  4. Jonathan Lapaglia – smokin hot – totally missed this La Paglia before 😉 The show was amazing, gripping from beginning to end. Acting was terrific and the setup to get to the slap was incredibly believable and relatable. Well done and cannot wait for ep 2

  5. “Jezza says:
    Was anyone else reminded of “bitty” from Little Britain during the breast feeding scene, I expected half the cast to dive in…. ”

    She deserved the slap.

    The Slap out rated Beauty And The Geek Australia, maybe quality TV is making a come back.

  6. @TV. Tomorrow – two programs. You forgot Big Love. And that’s just Thursday. Your internet must have been down when I said that I liked The Graham Norton Show, Craig Ferguson, Breaking Bad, Burn Notice, United States of Tara, The Big C, etc, etc.

  8. I watched Unforgettable….and really liked it……although I almost turned off before the 2nd episode….it was not advertised anywhere that I could see…
    The Slap….did not like the book…so did not watch the show…may try it on Iview.

  11. JB, should have explained meself better … would be great if Crownies picked up extra viewers who tune if for the Slap but haven’t watched Crownies so far.

  12. I haven’t had a chance to watch this yet, just checked the PVR and it sound like the audio is out of sync for The Slap and Crownies. Might have to re-record/watch them on ABC2 tonight.

  13. The Slap was excellent – script, characters, acting – there is so much more going on than just the slap.

    What I saw of Unforgettable (about 15 mins) was exactly the opposite. If you missed watching/recording the second ep, I wouldn’t worry about chasing it up.

    Surprised that there was so little love for Big Love. I haven’t been watching as much SBS as I used too so I don’t know how well it was promoted but maybe that’s the issue – if people aren’t watching SBS (just look at the ratings) then they aren’t going to see promos. I only knew that it was coming up because the wonderful Mr Knox told me. Anway, I thought it was a strong start to the last series so I hope SBS stick with it.

  14. I was reading in yesterday’s Age Green Guide that ABC were hoping to at least crack a million with episode one of The Slap. They may be a little disappointed with the numbers today, but I’m thinking it might build over the series, like what happened when people started to wig on to SBS One’s Go Back To Where You Came From.

  15. Without doubt the best Aussie drama on TV this year. Makes stuff like Rafters and Underbelly look very ordinary. Absolutely brilliant! Thank you ABC.

  16. Just Loved it.

    The book didn’t do it for me at all. I found the characters flat with nothing much to like about them and the actual slap was almost lost as the B story.

    Not the case here, every character came to life beautifully making a cast of flawed human beings I cared about. The fierceness of the actual slap and immediate events afterwards was great, again so sharp compared to the book.

    Congrats to all involved for lifting the bar in translating books to film (TV)!

  17. @Trix, Crownies actually increased over the past few weeks, despite a later timeslot.

    Thought The Slap was excellent. Great cast, well acted. Haven’t seen anything of Jonathon Lapaglia before but phwoar…. Shame he won’t be the focus in other episodes. Well done ABC though on a great series.

  18. @ Dave -it is frustrating when you give a show a go & then realise the network are going to mess you about from the start… (not a good sign)!
    Glad to see Crownies maintain viewers in a later slot
    & how good was Rush 🙂

  20. The Slap – brilliant, brilliant, brilliant. Obviously Crownies numbers were down having been bumped to 9.30 but I’m hoping it might garner some extra viewers – it’s really finding its feet now and settling in to some great drama.

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