The biggest problem in Australian TV right now
AUSTRALIANS are about to be hit with one of the biggest problems facing mainstream television next week. For the first time, it appears the rivalry across our networks has hit a new level of brutal and the only ones caught in the mess are us viewers.
Confidential
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I love television. I mean, heck, it’s one of the reasons I wanted to become an entertainment journalist. I thought there could be nothing better than spending my work days writing about what I watched on TV last night.
But lately I’ve been thinking that my relationship with the small screen is similar to that of a bad boyfriend; it’s jealous, needy, and demanding too much of my time that I’m neglecting friends and family.
The problem is not so much with the scripted shows as with it’s reality counterparts. With all the new shows about to start, I’m starting to panic.
Next week Channel Seven’s My Kitchen Rules, Channel Nine’s Married at First Sight and Channel 10s I’m A Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here all kick off, all around the same time, on the same nights and across four times a week.
No longer are these shows limited to one or two days a week. The minute they become remotely successful, networks spread them out across the week, giving those bill paying advertisers plenty more opportunities to buy up commercial space.
Now I enjoy all these shows for different reasons and used to be able to watch all of them when they were dispersed during the week — watch people cook on Sunday, get in love fights on Monday and eat cockroaches on Tuesday. Then on Wednesday, well, you could have a life.
However this year I’m expected to make a choice and only commit to one possessive one. The only possible way I can watch all the episodes (which, P.S. now feel like they go for two hours) of all the shows is to not turn up to all my days of work (an idea which, yes, I’ve floated with my boss but is not looking promising).
Plus, don’t even get me started on what would happen if I felt the need to watch a quick re-run of Friends one night to get some “space.” So this is where I need your help.
What will you be watching in 2018?