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Presenting ….the TV Tonight Upfronts!

Here are 16 hypothetical shows we'd like to see on our screens in 2017.

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As TV networks roll out the red carpet for their annual programming slates, TV Tonight presents its very first fictional Upfronts.

From Drama to Reality and News -here are 16 hypothetical shows that could easily sit on our screens.

Get ready for a diverse slate pitched at contemporary Australia, that reflects on our past and challenges our present.

Drama

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Number 96: The Real Story 2 x 2 hr miniseries
In 1972 when a TV network was struggling in the ratings and about to become bankrupt it pinned its hopes on a brazen new soap set in a block of flats in inner Sydney.  Viewers were shocked and titillated by outlandish characters, sex, taboos and liberation, some of which created world TV firsts. And they couldn’t get enough of it. But while there were headlines and protests it turned a network’s fortunes around and broke social barriers. This is the story of how Australia lost its virginity. But just who will play Abigail…..?

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Number One Son 3 x 1 hr miniseries
Retired showbiz parents are hurled back into the spotlight when their son is charged with manslaughter after a drink driving accident. But as headlines break and a media hound them for answers it soon becomes obvious that living in their shadow was not easy. Behind closed doors are three lives torn asunder and it’s about to get a whole lot worse with a damage-control interview masquerading as a family united. Starring John Wood, Robyn Malcolm and Khan Chittenden.

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The Ambassador’s Daughter 6 x 1 hr miniseries
When the son of the Immigration Minister falls in love with the daughter of the Ambassador from Iran, Canberra is thrown into turmoil. But in the corridors of power there are forces at work to derail young love -and then a boat arrives offshore with family members seeking asylum. Stars Don Hany, Victoria Haralabidou, Dena Kaplan, Rahart Adams, William McInnes and Gina Riley.

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The Ross Warren Story 90 min telemovie
David Campbell stars as a regional newsreader with a bright future ahead of him, yet struggling with a personal secret in an era where public perception could make or break a career. But in 1989 when he failed to show for work, family and friends feared the worst. What happened that fateful night in Bondi when his car was found but never his body, and why has the case remained unsolved?

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Cronulla 2 x 2 hr miniseries
Just what triggered a violent divide between young surf lifesavers and Middle Eastern Australians on a beach in Cronulla in 2005? It was a fight between the flags, amid a hotbed of tempers, riot police, text messages, abuse, talkback radio and national shame. Featuring Rahel Romahn, Firass Dirani, Tyler De Nawi, Elias Anton, Brenton Thwaites, Sean Keenan, Reef Ireland, Andrew Creer, Camilla Ah Kin, Hugo Weaving, Susan Prior, Sacha Horler and Toni Collette.

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Fight for Life 90 min telemovie
To his colleagues Prof. Carl Wood was a bit of a rebel, always thinking outside the box. But he had a dream, unthinkable in the 1970s, to create the world’s first IVF baby. It was controversial, expensive and bitterly divided ethicists, clergy, academics and feminists. But it was also pioneering. This is a uniquely Australian story. Starring Joel Jackson and Sarah Snook.

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The Tasty Raid 90 min telemovie
In 1994 in a Melbourne nightclub 463 patrons were detained for seven hours, strip searched and even brutalised, by Victoria Police. Described as “Melbourne’s Stonewall” it triggered a media storm and a political backlash -eventually resulting in a class action lawsuit won by Melbourne’s gay community.

Entertainment

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Talkin’ ‘Bout Your Next Gen 13 x 1 hr series
Buzzers at the ready, beware the bucket of slime, as Amanda Keller takes to the hosting podium in an all-new battle between the Generations. Which came first Pretty Woman or When Harry Met Sally? What year was Napster shut down? And what’s a DoDuo anyway? Leading the Baby Boomers is Denise Drysdale; Gen X is led by Sam Pang; Joel Creasey is captain for the Millennials.

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Inside the Actors Studio Australia 22 x 1 hr series
Graeme Blundell interviews some of Australia’s stage & screen performers before an audience of performing arts students, as they chart their career and dissect the art of acting. Featuring both stars and ensemble casts, this is filmed at the National Institute of Dramatic Art, Victorian College of the Arts and the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts.

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Shaun Micallef Down Under 13 x 1 hr series
So what does the rest of the world really think of Australia? It’s time to ask. Live from London Shaun Micallef hosts a round-table of international politicians, academics, artists, forward-thinkers and critics to debate the week’s events in Australia and how they impact at a global level. Is a plebiscite the answer? Is the latest Baz film a hit or miss? And were Pistol and Boo really such a threat to the ecosystem? Think Q&A from the other side of the planet talking about the arse end of the world and challenging us to look at our place in the region.

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TVTV 40 x 30 min series
What to binge? What to miss? Confused? Overloaded? After 24 years TVTV returns with Amanda Keller, Andrew Mercado and Marc Fennell cutting through a plethora of new titles and TV news bombarding our small screens to make sense of it all.

Comedy

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Happily Ever After  6 x 30 min series
Judith McGrath, Deborah Kennedy and Anne Charleston are divorced, retired and loving it.

Documentary

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Antarctica 3 x 1 hr series
Australia has the largest territorial claim in Antarctica covering 42% of the land mass. But few of us understand this vast land of ice and water. In this 3 part series, 4K cameras capture a frozen continent in all its striking beauty: the wildlife, the workers, the threat to its environment and our planet. Narrated by David Wenham.

Reality & Observational

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Dog Show 10 x 1 hr series
In the little-known world of kennel-clubs and dog-shows there is only one thing that matters: winning at all costs. Now cameras follow 8 proud pet-owners as they battle it out, using every pampering, preening and sneaky trick in the book to claim the Best in Show ribbon. But be warned: not every bitch is on 4 legs.

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Sylvania Waters: 2224 6 x 30 min series
25 years after the BBC brought Noeline Baker, Laurie Donaher and their family to national prominence, cameras return to the southern Sydney suburb of Sylvania Waters and find a postcode where Greek, Cantonese, Mandarin, Arabic and Italian sit at home alongside Australians of Anglo-Saxon heritage and an ageing-population enjoys its waterfront homes.

News

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Late Night with Roy & HG Nightly x 30 mins
At 10:30 every night it’s time to bunker down with Rampaging Roy Slaven and HG Nelson (aka John Doyle and Greig Pickhaver) as they cut through the mire, putting their own unique spin on the events of the day. Half an hour every night of news, bullshit and a very straight face. With weather presented by Fatso the Fat-Arsed Wombat.

© Copyright 2016.

51 Responses

  1. Fantastic list David, as most have said, I would watch pretty much all of these. Hope it gets the attention of some execs.

    Also surely we’re overdue for a new version of Beauty and the Beast?

  2. Here’s my pitch: “Mmm Bewdiful”.
    A brand new makeover show hosted by Con the Fruiterer (Mark Mitchell) where he change the subject’s whole wardrobe and beauty regime in a ” coupla days”

  3. Voted for the Shaun Micallef show, but it was a close finish with TAYG. Loved that show, but it would have to be hosted by Shaun, not Amanda.

    Most of the others look great as well.

  4. Most of my potential ideas are unlikely to be published. So hopefully this one might…..Survivor Benny Hill. We have had Survivor Samoa, now its time for a tropical island comp with a neo Benny Hill backdrop involving many scantily clad folk guaranteed to keep everyone happy and glued to their tv…

  5. I really wanted to say ‘all of them’ on the survey….I know they are not real…but I wish they were….Not only do the storylines appeal….but the casting also…

  6. David Campbell as Ross Warren sounds brilliant and Victoria Haralabidou and Joel Jackson totally should be in more shows so big tick there. Love how you put Joel as a replacement for Josh on TAYG after the “Discount Josh Thomas” line in Gogglebox

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