Presenting ….the TV Tonight Upfronts!
Here are 16 hypothetical shows we'd like to see on our screens in 2017.
- Published by David Knox
- on
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
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…..?
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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
Happily Ever After 6 x 30 min series
Judith McGrath, Deborah Kennedy and Anne Charleston are divorced, retired and loving it.
Documentary
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
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.
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
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
Love the Number 96 idea. When Coronation Street, turned 50 they did a moviie on the beginings of it, which was just wonderful. It transported me to late 50s north country England. Enjoyed, even though I never regularly followed the show. If they did a 96 I would hope it would be as good.
Some genuinely good ideas in that list and a lot of shows I would actually watch. I’d be curious to find out if you get any feedback from any of the stars or actors that you’ve suggested in some of these shows.
David Knox, the next Reg Grundy! I hope you like Bermuda!
Every time I’ve made up my own TV schedule for either a hypothetical new network or someone like Ten to help with ratings, I’ve always included a late night show at 10.30pm say Mon – Wed or Thurs (no point Fri) – always loved that idea, not sure about Roy & HG though – but such a show would only work if it was on at a fixed time every night, not subject to the fluctuations of reality finishing times earlier in the night – the only way to get viewers watching late night is fixed starting times so people can tune it at the same time every night without having to check the EPG or fear of it being 15 minutes late etc…
Love the idea of a show about TV and what’s on – there was one on Foxtel a few years ago. An Aussie version of Entertainment Tonight as well…
Thanks for positive reaction to these synopses. Will be interesting to see if they gauge any feedback at next Upfronts events and Producers Conference haha. I’ll let you know in the next newsletters.
Great ideas, now we will wait to see if any TV Execs pick up any of these and turn them into ratings gold.
“Murder Capital”
When fate and circumstance collide, top Gold Coast detective is lured back to Adelaide to head up their major crime division and attend to her dying mother. Finding a team of law enforcers stricken with both red tape and hints of corruption, she faces the unenviable task of solving some of the worst murder cases in the nation and uncovering the truth behind those unsolved. Can she bring the team together, and is she about to discover the truth behind one of the country’s most devastating crimes? Mandy McIlhenny is overused and underrated in my opinion. She should have had a bigger presence in “Hyde and Seek” Philip Quast is just talent, so he’s in. Pamela Rabe needs a role (like I’ve written) where she can be a talented prosecutor but a bit ditzy – Rabe has range. Charles Cottier is a good young actor with more than Home and Away to back him up. Kate Atkinson also has range. Fiona Spence is awesome, always has been. Enough said. And Les Hill rounds out the cast as the grizzled cop caught between the corruption and the new school thinking of McIlheeny’s character.
(Procedural, 13 x 60min) What do you think? Sounds like “The Closer in Australia”?
David- Cronulla sounds like a show i could watch. that cast you mentioned would b brilliant
And no doubt it would be a great work of fiction worthy of a comedy Logie!
Be careful David. We know TV is running out of ideas here and they will steal anything they can!
Wow I was really sceptical of this version of TAYG but it really sounds amazing! I would love to see that return with Thank God You’re Here on TEN. Also love the sound of The Ambassador’s Daughter (Sounds like ABC) and Fight for Life (To replace Offspring once cancelled?). But if I had one criticism it would be the lack of Australian comedy up there considering the tsunami of new Australian drama in the last couple months. Any word on a new Chris Lilley project?
Great job, David. Beyond the talented exterior of our favourite TV blogger lies a fertile, thoughtful and creative mind. Gave me a good chuckle, but seriously there are some terrific ideas in there, especially the Roy and HG late night news suggestion. A TV network should snap you up post haste, David, to inject some creative genius into their schedule!
Thanks PAB.
This is gold – stacks of great ideas. Have a rare spare hour to whip this up David or has it been slow burning for a while? If all these were on one station, I’d watch a lot of them because they share the same strand of creative / unique innovative thinking that I like in a station (currently most exemplified by Ten and SBS).
A combination of both.
I like most of these, but alas they are not female-skewing, so they wouldn’t get funding.
Someone has a crush on Amanda Keller…
First time I have heard that.
LOL!
Wow, I’d watch pretty much all of these shows! Such great ideas.
It was hard to choose just one. I would watch pretty much all of these!
If only it were up to us to pick what’s on TV…TV would look very different.
Late night TV is screaming out for a show like the Roy and HG one you mentioned here. Unfortunately, its a massive risk no one seems up for.
I suggested it to an exec earlier this year.
I’m assuming unless it had some sort of sponsored content to cover costs of live TV/talent etc that it just isn’t happening? It’s a great shame, I’d love this (and most of the others) to be on TV. But, instead we get watered down multichannels (same months worth of movies on end) and endless repeats of The Big Bang Theory. Oh well, I guess the almighty dollar generally wins out.
You missed a button for “all of them”. All of these would have to be on Ten, not safe and predictable enough for Seven and Nine
Same here…..*G*
I’m fairly sure that Offspring and The Wrong Girl full under both safe and predictable.
So does the news, all fluff and bubble. That’s why I never watch it. What would 7/9 do without it though.
And TEN, what would TEN without Offspring. You can’t keep glossing over the fact that TEN does safe and predictable.
Great to have TAYG back on TV for 2017.
How about a fictional drama based around the trials and tribulations of an offshore elderly regional TV network former billionaire and their struggles with network partners and the daily running of a bare bones network? Starring Barry Humphries?
Out of that list .. it’s easier to say what I wouldn’t watch.. and that would probably be Cronulla and the Ambassadors daughter… a lot of good ideas there
Unfortunately, in your drama line up, you have failed to cast Asher Keddie, Jessica Marais, Marta Düsseldorp, Mandy McIlhenney, Craig McLachlan, Aaron Pedersen (as token Aboriginal character), or Matt LeNevez.
Under the current rules of Australian drama, this is not allowed.
Even allowing that these actors may be involved in other projects, you simply cannot create a new drama project without them.
And I can’t pinpoint exactly which title will involve a rambling, incoherent storyline whose final episode bares little resemblance to the story set up in the first.
Oh, and you forgot to indicate which titles will be trumpeted as groundbreaking drama on SBS.
We have some of the best modern sci-fi writers on the planet in Australia, yet no ideas for homegrown sci-fi or fantasy shows on the list? Why is that?
You forgot one, what about , David Legend the Tv Blogger , with the second sight to the future , who created an empire equal to Google !!!
Love that one…
Thanks guys.