It’s time for the ABC to ditch the forgettable fluff

At a sold-out session at the Sorrento Writers Festival in late April, ABC chair Kim Williams concisely and convincingly outlined his priorities for the “network of networks” he heads.

“How can there be a future in timidity?” he said. “There’s no future in bland.” Questioned further at the festival by ABC icon Kerry O’Brien, Williams observed that “an agency under never-ending ferocious attack” can become defensive and inclined to “self-censorship”. He also noted, in relation to ABC TV, that there’s “massive work to be done in documentary and also in drama and comedy”.

Kim Williams, chair of the ABC.Credit: Marija Ercegovac

This conversation between Williams and O’Brien was part of a broader discussion about the future of the ABC between the pair that began at last year’s Byron Writers Festival. It was there that Williams, who is not one to mince words, noted that funding cuts had made the organisation “more timid”. The ABC is reliant on government funding for most of its money and political displeasure can have a significant impact.

But these remarks will come as some small comfort to viewers who, for years, have watched those key departments of drama and comedy shrink to depressing lows. Locally produced documentaries have virtually vanished; drama is sporadic and too often uninspiring; and, while the comedies can be a shining asset, there’s not nearly enough of the good stuff.

Referring to the ABC’s audio output, Williams declared at Sorrento, “We need to constantly be thinking, ‘How do we make this service distinctive?’” In that light, it’s instructive to consider a couple of recent TV premieres, both adapted from UK formats and sitting squarely in the light-entertainment realm.

The more successful of the pair, The Piano (Sundays, 7.30pm and iview), hosted by a well-cast, warm and slightly too effusive Amanda Keller, invites amateur musicians to perform on publicly placed pianos. Unbeknownst to them, their performances are assessed by judges Harry Connick Jr and Andrea Lam. Each episode, a winner is selected, and a recital is planned to conclude the six-part series. Amid the broad range of performers, touching backstories are revealed. One of those uplifting, hard-to-resist productions that tug knowingly and hard at the heartstrings, it celebrates the unifying and transformative power of music.

Host of The Piano Amanda Keller (right) with judges Harry Connick Jr and Andrea Lam.Credit: ABC

Less satisfying is Claire Hooper’s House of Games (weeknights, 6.30 and iview), an uncomfortably static, studio-based game show in which the host and the players try hard to look like they’re having fun. The strain shows and the series would fit comfortably into what O’Brien observed had been “the creep of mediocrity” at the ABC.

That these are Australian versions of foreign formats isn’t inherently problematic: it’s a common and understandable practice. Local variations tend to reflect the character of the country that adapts them in their choices of hosts and participants, and their tweaks of tone. But a clone of a format that’s proven popular elsewhere isn’t comparable to taking a risk on an original, homegrown concept. It’s a safer, more “timid” option.

Comedian Claire Hooper in her new game show Claire Hooper’s House of Games.Credit:

And both shows fall into the light-entertainment sphere that the ABC, for reasons of economics and/or preference, has made its wheelhouse, as other crucial areas have starved. House of Games now occupies a slot on weeknights as the news lead-in, a place that was once home to The Drum, controversially axed in 2023. And it only confirms the worst fears of critics that the network is sacrificing substance in favour of forgettable fluff.

Neither of these productions fits Williams’ criteria of offering a distinctive alternative: it’s easy to imagine both slotting in seamlessly at a commercial competitor. The Piano would probably prove popular and House of Games, at least in its current state, would likely sink fast.

Williams declared in Sorrento that, in part, he saw his role as being “to empower people to do good, strong, courageous work”. The Media Watch controversy aside – over Williams’ inappropriate intervention in radio programming – we can only hope that his reign manages to accomplish that because some innovation and courage would be welcome.

The ABC needs to stop taking its cues from commercial-network priorities and instead regard its fundamental difference as a public broadcaster as a critical asset.

Since he took over as chair from Ita Buttrose early last year, Williams, an impressively credentialled arts administrator, has indicated that he intends to be a front-foot leader. He might need to be a diplomat when working the corridors of power in Canberra, but he’s also prepared to be combative.

When former opposition leader Peter Dutton started making noises during the election campaign about (another) efficiency review of the ABC if he became PM, Williams’ response was basically “bring it on” as he cited chapter and verse about the handful of such reviews conducted this century and how they’d all essentially found in the organisation’s favour.

Our public broadcaster sorely needs an advocate prepared to fight for it when necessary and not simply to try to placate those holding the purse strings.

More adventurous choices about programming would be a good start.

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