Who has won big and who has lost large in the first half of the TV year?
AS we hit the midway point of the ratings year, our TV team pick the biggest hits and misses of 2015 to date.
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AS we hit the midway point of the ratings year, our TV team pick the biggest hits and misses of 2015 to date.
THE WINNERS ARE ...
Joel Creasey
Hands up who’d heard of Joel Creasey prior to I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here? His bond with Chrissie Swan (a close contender for the winning spot) entertained audiences of the reality show and has seen him land a number of TV roles in the follow up. Watch this space — I have a feeling there’s plenty more to come from the caustic comedian.
Runner up: Guy Sebastian not only did us proud, he powered up ratings of Eurovision for SBS.
Tiffany Dunk, National TV Editor
Struggle Street, SBS
Some called it poverty porn, others said it was an accurate reflection of life on benefits. All agreed it was unmissable viewing. From the heavily pregnant woman on drugs to a loving family struggling with mental illness and disability, Struggle Street shocked middle class viewers out of comfortable complacency, opened up discussion and won huge ratings for SBS. Mission accomplished.
Runner up: While Seven and Nine went head-to-head in a battle of reality reno shows, MasterChef Australia emerged as the quiet victor, comfortably winning back audience share.
Anna Brain, National TV Critic
The Killing Season, ABC
It takes a pretty extraordinary program to prompt Tony Abbott to applaud the ABC, but there was more to The Killing Season than mere Labor Party bashing. A master class of journalism by Walkley-winner Sarah Ferguson, this was clinical, compelling and world-class television.
Runner-up: Foxtel’s decision to save A Place to Call Home relied on a grassroots fan campaign and the smarts of TV executive Brian Walsh. The last time he made such a bold call, he turned Neighbours — now celebrating 30 years on air — into a global phenomenon.
Holly Byrnes, National TV Writer
Channel 10
Ten was TV’s laughing stock for a while, with a string of failures and bizarre programming decisions. Now it’s clawing its way back, with a clear strategy delivering good results for I’m A Celebrity ..., Gogglebox and Shark Tank. Plus they’ve undone the damage inflicted to MasterChef Australia by trying to turn it into a poor man’s MKR.
Runner up: It’s a good idea to watch something before passing judgment. Case in point, Struggle Street, which the majority of people loved after actually seeing it.
Shannon Molloy, National TV Writer
Carrie Bickmore
Bickmore has been through the ringer. The low point was definitely the death of husband Greg Lange, from brain cancer, in 2010. Bickmore’s TV show, The Project, was also written off early by critics. That made it all the more satisfying when she won this year’s Gold Logie. There wasn’t a dry eye in the audience when Bickmore donned a blue beanie during her speech to raise awareness of the ravages of brain cancer.
Runner-Up: Craig McLachlan
For years he’s battled the blonde Aussie hunk stereotype. ABC’s The Doctor Blake Mysteries changed all that, averaging more than 1.5 million viewers per episode across the country.
Colin Vickery, National TV Writer
TV viewers
With the introduction of the great new streaming services such as Presto and Netflix offering incredible amounts of content for just a few bucks a month, we all win. And with Freeview Plus now offering a TV guide with baked in catch up services, watching your favourite shows when and how you want has never been easier. You can add it to your existing TV with a $150 set top box.
Runner up: Gogglebox. A great show filled with heart and humour that turns the cameras back on viewers, proving they’re a lot savvier than networks and TV producers seem to think.
Andrew Fenton, National Entertainment Writer
Gogglebox
Why anyone would want to watch a TV show about people watching TV was hard to grasp, but when Gogglebox hit Channel 10 and Foxtel it became a cult hit and lit up the Twittersphere. We met unlikely new Aussie talent, laughed, cried, learnt the word ‘malaka’ and got a taste of shows we’d never heard of. It also proved a valuable social barometer to news events which politicians and programmers would do well to heed.
Runner-up: I’m a Celebrity ... Get Me Out of Here. This writer was determined to hate it, but this version of Big Brother in the Jungle had me at Joel Creasey.
Debbie Schipp, National TV Writer
AND THE LOSERS ARE ...
Gallipoli in any form.
Despite it being a massive anniversary for our Anzacs the slew of well-produced, brilliantly cast, emotionally powerful TV series centred around World War I failed to take over the ratings when they hit screens. Critics blamed Gallipoli fatigue for the lack of interest in shows that should have attracted massive audiences.
Runner-up: US TV. With very few exceptions, previous big American hits have struggled to hold on to viewers in 2015.
Tiffany Dunk, National TV Editor
Patricia Arquette in CSI: Cyber
Why is a recent Oscar winner fronting a show of this calibre? The latest variation on a tired franchise sees Arquette — a fine actor — spewing ridiculous dialogue in improbable situations. With jumbled jargon and too many screens the bar is set low, and the entire cast (which includes James Van Der Beek, Dawson’s Creek) limbos under it. Time to switch off.
Runner up: Game of Thrones fans were taken aback as the show favourite Jon Snow met his untimely — and apparently permanent — demise. RIP Jon Snow, you daft hottie.
Anna Brain, National TV Critic
Samantha Armytage
Headlines follow Sam as closely as the paparazzi these days. There was a swimsuit shoot in January which boasted about body confidence, only to play coy and shoot the Sunrise star from the chest up. Then followed claims she’d clashed with network styling staff, with swift denials she was playing the diva. Last month, a split with her manager punctuated a rough first half-year, but she has remained steadfast and resilient.
Runner-up: From cutting winners dead mid-speech, to a shiny stage floor which almost caused serious injury; and a random camel cameo, the AACTA awards were a total train wreck.
Holly Byrnes, National TV Writer
Reno Rumble
You can only flog a dead horse so much before the stench becomes unbearable. Nine has tortured the renovation format, most recently with Reno Rumble. This show was a dud. The network needs to learn a few lessons and apply them to The Block, which is also hurtling towards its dying days.
Runner up: Aussie drama. The growth of reality has seen homegrown original dramas almost entirely wiped from commercial networks’ slates.
Lachlan McAleer
Give Lachlan a medal, or a straitjacket. That was my reaction to seeing the lovesick Aussie farmer hitched to tantrum queen Clare on Married at First Sight. The Nine reality show’s relationship experts thought the pair would make a perfect couple. Wrong. Now Lachlan is set to try his luck on Farmer Wants a Wife. Sucker for punishment I say.
Runner up: An arm wrestle between NRL champions Ben Ross and Wendell Sailor on The Footy Show went horribly wrong. Ross broke his arm and was rushed to hospital. Ouch!
Colin Vickery, National TV Writer
The BBC
They were pretty much forced to fire Jeremy Clarkson for his appalling behaviour, but losing the heart and soul of Top Gear in the form of Clarkson, Hammond and May has got to hurt. Lucky that state broadcasters don’t care about money (Top Gear earns almost half a billion dollars a year), or ratings of around 350 million viewers an episode (the most watched factual TV program according to the Guinness Book Of Records).
Runner up: Pete Evans. His obsession with spruiking his new reportedly baby-killing diet is making him look like a total goose.
Andrew Fenton, National Entertainment Writer
How to Get Away With Murder
Sadly America’s number one, award-winning new drama didn’t get the accolades or viewership it richly deserved. It’s an indication of how poorly overseas drama is faring thanks to a steady diet of reality shows, not fast-tracking everything, and a move from the quality drama-hungry among us to binge-watch the good stuff.
Runner-up: Viewers of commercial free-to-air TV. Thanks to reality shows which fill schedules, run overtime and are slipped in as repeats to boost ratings, viewers lost touch with regular shows they love and the faith that they will air on time, week-in, week out.
Debbie Schipp, National TV Writer
Originally published as Who has won big and who has lost large in the first half of the TV year?
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