The big TV shows coming as ratings war heats up

Variety is out, nostalgia is in and reality just keeps on coming as the television networks fight for your eyeballs and the ratings war heats up heading into summer.

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Variety is out, nostalgia is in and reality just keeps on coming as the television networks fight for your eyeballs and the ratings war heats up heading into summer.

Channel Nine is in front of arch rival Seven in the year-to-date ratings, holding a wafer-thin 0.1 percent lead – 29.7 to 29.6 - across the five capital cities of Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth. Channel 10 sits in third place with 16.8 with the ABC just behind on 16.4.

Tim Minchin and Milly Alcock in a scene from new Foxtel drama Upright.

Traditionally the final months of the year have been where networks rolled out their less-than-impressive slate of shows and much reliance was put on sport, but with more content available than ever before – and even more to come in the near future - the fight to keep people switched on has intensified.

Foxtel and the streaming services have created an environment where big budget television shows and movies are released throughout the year. In the lead-up to Christmas, Foxtel will launch a number of major series including Tim Minchin’s drama Upright, period drama Catherine The Great, starring Oscar winner Helen Mirren and the fantasy adventure His Dark Materials.

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This disruption also means programming decisions on the free-to-air networks are far more brutal and decisive than what they may have been in the past, as was seen recently with Channel 10 axing Saturday Night Rove after just two episodes.

Beverley McGarvey, Channel 10’s Chief Content Officer, said they’d given variety a number of chances to succeed this year but audiences were telling them it wasn’t what they wanted. She believes if they couldn’t find success with Rove spearheading the format, there wasn’t much hope.

Jessica Rowe as you’ve never seen her before in The Real Dirty Dancing on Channel 7.

“There’s a place for entertainment, there’s a place for comedy. Is there a place for what you’d traditionally call variety, I actually don’t know,” she said. “Rove is such good talent and is such a legacy talent in this country so if Rove can’t resonate the way that we want, we’re certainly not going to try with anyone else in the short term.”

Ten instead has a number of shows they hope will help them finish the year on a high including The Masked Singer Australia. Panellists Lindsay Lohan, Jackie O, Dannii Minogue and Dave Hughes try to unveil the identity of a masked celebrity by the sound of their voice and other clues.

It’s a concept that has raised some eyebrows, but the show has been a runaway success in the US with Fox ordering two more seasons.

Kyle Sandilands will be back behind the bench with the Judge Judy-esque Trial By Kyle, one of the shows picked up after Pilot Week last year, and the network has brought one of the UK’s most successful documentary series. One Born Every Minute captures the beauty around giving birth with the Australian version set at Westmead Hospital where more than 5500 babies are delivered every year.

A scene from new Foxtel superhero series Doom Patrol. Picture: Jace Downs

One of Seven’s weapons in the ratings war is edgy new romantic thriller Secret Bridesmaid’ Business starring Abbie Cornish and Katie McGrath. With Australian drama sometimes coming with a dose of déjà vu, this series is darker and quicker paced.

Angus Ross, Seven’s Director of Programming, said contemporary audiences were demanding something different.

“The challenge is not just to find new stories, but to find new ways of telling stories about these things,” he said. “Audiences, now more than ever, want stories that don’t shy away from the truth about people.”

“Secret Bridesmaids’ Business begins from story elements that would normally be called ‘romantic’, in a setting that might be called ‘idyllic’, but the sun doesn’t always shine, and the best of human nature is not always at play,” he said.

Katie McGrath, Abbie Cornish and Georgina Haig in Secret Bridesmaids' Business on Channel 7.

Seven is also hoping the current nostalgia buzz will translate into success for The Real Dirty Dancing, where a group of celebrities, including Jessica Rowe, Hugh Sheridan and Jamie Durie, to Virginia where they will undergo an “immersive Dirty Dancing experience” with the hopes of landing a role as Baby or Johnny in a one-off stage production of the show.

Comedians Hamish and Andy are at the top of Nine’s summer offering. Hamish and Andy’s Perfect Holiday sees the pair set challenges for each other in different parts of the world, with one such adventure almost getting them killed.

Nine also has Love Island returning and that ratings juggernaut also known as The Block will keep delivering for them through next month.

Jackie O, Dannii Minogue, Dave Hughes and Lindsay Lohan judge The Masked Singer Australia.

Originally published as The big TV shows coming as ratings war heats up