Axed: Flashpoint
WA-based current affairs show, hosted by Tim McMillan, ends after just over 4 years on Seven.
- Published by David Knox
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EXCLUSIVE:
WA-based current affairs show Flashpoint has been axed after just over 4 years on air.
Seven sources confirmed to TV Tonight the show, hosted by Tim McMillan, would not be returning in 2024.
Flashpoint launched in September 2019 tackling local issues and drawing upon Seven West Media’s The West Australian and 7News.
It regularly featured a panel of politicians, business and community leaders from around WA, with a view of ‘demanding change, fixing injustice and cutting red tape.’ There were also field reports.
It originally screened in a Monday night slot but moved to Sunday mornings in 2022 featuring the West Australian’s Ben Harvey.
In 2020 it picked up a Television / Audio-Visual Journalism award in the WA Media Awards and once even welcomed Hollywood actress Kate Walsh (Grey’s Anatomy, Private Practice) spruiking the attributes of WA as a filming location.
Yesterday Seven confirmed production of The Latest would relocate from Sydney to Perth in March but without anchor Michael Usher. A new presenter is yet to be announced.
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3 Responses
Let’s be honest, if it were rating gangbusters or at least driving strong revenue (for Perth and regional Wa markets)… They wouldn’t have axed it. Surely.
Sadly it just confirms and anything local is dead in the water. It’s such a shame really that television has lost its local identity. Radio has just about lost its local presence as well.
Its a shame that this program is being cancelled. National current affairs shows like 7:30 are important for covering national issues, but so are state-based current affairs shows like this one for covering local issues that people in a particular state care about but that the rest of the country wouldn’t be interested in.
When Flashpoint first launched, I had hoped it would be sucessful enough that Seven would launch seperate editions of it in the other states as every state and territory in Australia should have at least one stare-based current affairs show to dive deeper into local issues than you can in a traditional news bulletin. Sadly, that never materalized. I hope one of the other networks will consider launching a similar program.