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Seven explores Blue Murder sequel

A sequel to an acclaimed drama 20 years on? Risky but achievable.

2014-07-27_0111Well this is a fascinating turn of events.

The Sunday Telegraph reports Seven is currently in talks with Endemol to produce a sequel to the knockout ABC drama Blue Murder.

The 1995 series on police corruption in NSW won AFI and Logie Awards, and a cavalcade of critical praise it has retained until today.

A potential sequel would focus on recent events leading up to and including Rogerson’s arrest for murder alongside former NSW detective Glen McNamara, to air by spring 2015.

The newspaper suggests Director Mike Jenkins is being pursued to helm the project, but not yet on board. No mention of award-winning writer Ian David.

This will be an interesting move if it happens, on a number of levels.

Firstly, revisiting such an acclaimed work is always risky, in case it doesn’t live up to the original -especially in moving from a public broadcaster to a commercial network.

While Nine and, to a lesser extent TEN, have had success with true crime dramas, Seven has largely steered away from these in recent years, other than Mrs. Biggs. It explored the possibility of becoming a partner to Killing Time starring David Wenham but decided it wasn’t the right fit. In the end it ended up screening the episodes after they had played on Foxtel.

It also has Catching Milat in post-production.

With pending courtcases it will also be a tricky minefield, but not impossible.

Lastly, what other sequels could be pursued by networks other than their original broadcaster…?

I guess Foxtel’s Wentworth shows it can be done and The Devil’s Playground is also in the same vein.

3 Responses

  1. First Seven pinched MasterChef (My Kitchen Rules), then The Block (House Rules), now they’ve pinched Underbelly. Nothing new under the TV sun…

  2. Interesting news. I wonder if Richard Roxburgh will play the lead. Speaking of Roxburgh, an interview in today’s Sun Herald has all but confirmed a 4th series of Rake.

  3. Why should any viewer invest in a drama if it is just going to be axed when it is in peak form and pulling good numbers?

    7s hubris will be their undoing if they aren’t careful.

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