Big name TV stars who are feeling the heat in 2019
The pressure is on for some of TV’s biggest names to get ratings runs on the board this year with Former Channel 9 golden boy Karl Stefanovic and Today co-host Georgie Gardner leading the list. So which other stars are under the microscope?
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The pressure is on for some of TV’s biggest names to get ratings runs on the board this year.
Former Channel 9 golden boy Karl Stefanovic and Today co-host Georgie Gardner lead the list of stars facing intense scrutiny to perform after weathering a challenging 2018.
Sam Newman, Asher Keddie, Hamish Blake and Grant Denyer will also be under the microscope.
Stefanovic’s challenge is to dig his career out of a hole after being dumped as co-host of Today in the wake of his breakup with Cassie Thorburn and his flashy Mexico wedding to Jasmine Yarbrough.
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The Gold Logie winner has a second season of This Time Next Year on his to-do list before Channel 9 decides whether or not to renew his contract.
Gardner survived the recent purge of Today presenters, but now has to wait on leading a ratings revival for the beleaguered breakfast show.
“Who knows what will happen with Karl,” media analyst Steve Allen says. “In some respects he was left wallowing in a mess he created, even if it was unwittingly.
“The path to reviving his career could be very difficult.
“It is the opposite for Georgie. She now has to lead Today.
“Breakfast television can make or destroy careers.”
Gold Logie winner Denyer must make Dancing with the Stars a winner after fronting ratings bomb Game of Games.
Keddie is banking on The Cry to boost her international profile. Blake won’t have partner in crime Andy Lee as a safety net when he hosts Lego Masters solo.
Newman’s future post The Footy Show is a mystery. No one at Nine can say with any certainty what he will be doing.
The year ahead for Eddie McGuire is also in flux, now that he has announced he won’t be part of Nine’s new AFL football offering, while Tony Jones, who has increased his workload and profile with a new role on Today, is under close scrutiny because he has been given a big opportunity to take his career to the next level.
Karl Stefanovic
Needs the second season of This Time Next Year to be a monster hit after losing his job on Today.
His future at Nine is still uncertain and right now it seems hard to justify a reported $2m per-year payday. Can Stefanovic turn things around?
Eddie McGuire
Relished being back on The Footy Show, but now that is gone. Millionaire Hot Seat, now making inroads against The Chase Australia, is a decent consolation prize. Can McGuire find another project to shoot him back into prime time?
Sam Newman
Will he go missing in action in 2019? Newman has signed a new contract with Channel 9, although the details of what he will actually do on-air are sketchy. Guest appearances on The Sunday Footy Show are not going to cut it.
Georgie Gardner
Karl Stefanovic is gone so there are no more excuses for the ratings free fall that hit Today in recent times. Up until now Gardner has escaped scrutiny, even though some believe she hasn’t won viewers’ hearts like Lisa Wilkinson. Now Gardner is teamed with Deb Knight, it is time to deliver the goods.
Hamish Blake
He and Andy Lee are comedy gold together, but how will Blake fare hosting solo? We’ll find out when Nine launches Lego Masters mid-year. Blake hosts the new reality show, which features competitors making monster projects out of the those little bricks. Exciting or like watching paint dry?
Rove McManus
After little recent TV work, he has two prime-time shows in 2019. The bad news is that Show Me the Movie and Bring Back Saturday Night will screen on the two least-viewed nights of the week — Friday and Saturday. Can McManus buck the trend and deliver hits?
Asher Keddie
Can she take on the world? After seven seasons of Offspring, Keddie is in the cast of The Cry with Jenna Coleman (Victoria) and Ewen Leslie (Top of the Lake). Keddie is hoping the British-Australian co-production will be her international calling card and lead to overseas acting opportunities.
Grant Denyer
Talk about highs and lows. He won last year’s Gold Logie, but that didn’t stop Game of Games being a flop. Denyer has an opportunity to climb back on top as co-host of Dancing with the Stars with Amanda Keller.
Originally published as Big name TV stars who are feeling the heat in 2019
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