• Seven boasts after another winning year: “Our worst is still better than their best”
• MKR’s 10th anniversary season to launch, the year “Top Gear meets food” in new Gordon Ramsay series
• International dramas with Martin Clunes, Sheridan Smith, Kelsey Grammer and more
Seven Network has unveiled its content plans at its 2019 Allfront event in Sydney.
Highlights include four new local dramas, including the latest from writer Bevan Lee, two new reality formats, a female spinoff to an existing hit plus the landmark 10th season of one of Australia’s biggest shows that Seven plans will lead into its 13th consecutive year of ratings leadership.
Seven’s director of network programming Angus Ross said: “After a close win last year, we promised to up our game in 2018, and the team has delivered in spades. We’ve broken records and dominated the ratings throughout the year. In fact, in every month we have never dropped below a 39% share, while our competitors have never been above 39%. Our worst is still better than their best.”
New on Seven in 2019
Between Two Worlds
From Australia’s most successful creator/writer Bevan Lee (Packed to the Rafters, A Place To Call Home, All Saints, Winners & Losers, Always Greener) comes an intense, high-concept contemporary drama series about two disparate and disconnected worlds, thrown together by death and a sacrifice in one and the chance for new life in the other.
Between Two Worlds is a Seven Studios production.
Secret Bridesmaids’ Business
The lives of three friends are inextricably changed when one of them unwittingly invites a malevolent stranger into their world. A tangle of lies and laughter collides with a stalker’s chilling obsession in this contemporary adaptation of Elizabeth Coleman’s smash hit play. A celebration of female friendship reimagined as a high stakes thriller, Secret Bridesmaids’ Business will keep viewers on the edge of their seats. Secret Bridesmaids’ Business is a Seven Studios production.
Ms Fisher’s Modern Murder Mysteries
Geraldine Hakewill (Wanted), Joel Jackson (Peter Allen: Not The Boy Next Door, Deadline Gallipoli) and Catherine McClements (Wentworth) headline this spinoff of one of Australia’s most loved and successful series. Set in swinging 60s Melbourne, Hakewill portrays the gorgeously reckless Peregrine Fisher who inherits a windfall when the famous aunt she never knew, Phryne Fisher, goes missing over the highlands of New Guinea. Detective James Steed (Jackson) is a smart, ambitious cop constantly hamstrung by the rigid leadership of his immoral boss but respectful of the hierarchy. Instantly attracted to Peregrine, he’s dazzled by her audacity and often drawn into her mad plans.
Ms Fisher’s Modern Murder Mysteries is produced by Every Cloud Productions with the assistance of Screen Australia and Film Victoria for Channel Seven.
The Super Switch
Based on Seven’s controversial series Seven Year Switch, six couples will put their relationships to the ultimate test in The Super Switch. At a crossroads in their relationships, the couples will say goodbye to their loved ones to live in an experimental relationship with a total stranger. They will be paired with a like-minded person who will hold up a mirror to their own behaviour and help them answer the question – is the grass greener on the other side? This year, the social experiment has been supersized with all the couples split into two mansions, transforming the experiment into a shared experience. With three experimental couples living in each mansion, new dynamics, relationships, questions and answers will help all our couples decide if their real partner is in fact the one.
The Super Switch is a Seven Studios production.
Wife Swap
The mother of all social experiments is getting a facelift! Two women from two very different families swap their homes and lives for two weeks. But in this brand new reboot, the drama is intensified – with visits from the mothers in-law and bombshells being dropped, these families are going to get a lot more than they bargained for.
Wife Swap is a Screentime production for Channel Seven.
The Proposal
From the creator of The Bachelor comes the new sensation in dating shows. Each episode, 10 eligible daters compete in four pageant style rounds to win the heart of a mystery suitor or suitress whose identity is concealed from them. When the winner finally gets to meet their concealed suitor, it comes with a romantic proposal.
The Proposal is a Warner Bros production for Channel Seven.
Extreme Weddings
A wedding is the most important day of a couple’s life. But for some, an ordinary celebration just won’t do. They want the extraordinary. Extreme locations, extreme themes, extreme expenses – our cameras will be there from the initial planning stages through to the big day.
Extreme Weddings is a Seven Studios production.
Inside ‘The G’
This documentary takes viewers behind the scenes of one of the world’s biggest and busiest stadiums – the MCG. 100,000 capacity, 2,500 staff, 165 years of history! With unprecedented access to the cathedral of Australian sport, Inside ‘The G’ will tell the stories of the projects, personalities and passions that bring this iconic stadium to life. From feeding the crowds to keeping them safe, every event offers a new set of challenges.
Inside ‘The G’ is a CJZ production for Channel Seven.
Australian Gangster
The two-part drama is a punchy, funny and violent adrenaline ride through Sydney’s decadently gorgeous but completely inane world of crime. It’s just the kind of story that writer and director Gregor Jordan (Two Hands, Ned Kelly) is the perfect person to tell.
Australian Gangster is a Roadshow Rough Diamond production for Channel Seven, with production funding from Screen Australia in association with Create NSW.
Undercurrent
A true crime story that takes viewers to Sandy Bay, Hobart, Tasmania, January 27, 2009. Mother of two, Sue Neill-Fraser, 55, is woken by a call from the police – her yacht is sinking out in the bay. Sue’s partner, Bob Chappell, who was sleeping on board, has disappeared. The boat has been sabotaged, blood spatters the cabin stairs, a knife lies on the floor. Bob is never seen again, dead or alive.
Undercurrent is a CJZ production for Channel Seven.
Returning series on Seven in 2019
Better Homes and Gardens
• Seven News – Australia’s number one news service
• Sunrise – Australia’s number one breakfast program
• The Morning Show – Australia’s number one morning program
• The Chase Australia – Australia’s number one 5pm-6pm weekdays• Home And Away – Australia’s number one weeknight drama
• Better Homes And Gardens – Australia’s number one lifestyle program
• The Good Doctor – Australia’s number one drama
• My Kitchen Rules – 10th anniversary season
• House Rules – Jamie Durie joins judges Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen and Wendy Moore and host Johanna Griggs
The Chase Australia
Interview With Andrew Denton
Andrew Denton returned to Seven in 2018, bringing his unique interviewing style to a series of surprising and inspiring conversations. In 2019, Interview With Andrew Denton will be back with a whole new crop of amazing humans.
The series is produced by Legacy Media for Channel Seven.
Sunday Night
Celebrating its 11th season in 2019, Sunday Night’s host and senior correspondent Melissa Doyle leads a team of Australia’s finest reporters, including Matt Doran, Steve Pennells, Denham Hitchcock, Angela Cox and Alex Cullen.
The Front Bar
After a hugely successful 2018, Mick Molloy, Sam Pang and Andy Maher will be back with their funny and irreverent take on all things AFL. And, after the footy season is over, the Front Bar team just might take a humorous look at some new territory further afield… all from the comfort of their bar stools.
The Front Bar is produced by Front Bar Entertainment for Channel Seven.
Instant Hotel
We’re back for another fun-filled adventure across the country to find Australia’s best Instant Hotel. From a unique desert retreat to a lush tropical hideaway, this season’s teams will take the ride of their life as they travel the country with some quirky companions, visit some truly stunning locations and compete for a grand prize that will change our winning home hotelier’s lives.
Instant Hotel is a Seven Studios production.
First Dates
The fly-on-the-wall dating show returns with more single guys and girls hoping to meet their dream partner on a blind date.
First Dates is a Warner Bros. International Television Australia production for Channel Seven.
Australian Spartan
A surprise recommission after a disappointing debut, season 2 welcomes Australian and New Zealand athletes back into the Spartan arena. In front of a live audience, hosts Edwina Bartholomew and Hamish McLachlan, along with sideline reporter Wendell Sailor, take viewers through each episode’s triumphs and tragedies as teams of three battle the course in a race for one of 10 places in the Grand Final, where one team will be crowned champions and win $150,000.
Australian Spartan is a Eureka/Matchbox Pictures production for Channel Seven.
Zumbo’s Just Desserts
Seven has teamed up with US streaming giant Netflix to bring back Zumbo’s Just Desserts, an original Seven Studios concept from the makers of My Kitchen Rules. Australia’s celebrated pâtissier Adriano Zumbo and acclaimed British chef, writer and broadcaster Rachel Khoo reprise their roles as judges of this ultimate dessert makers competition.
International programs returning with new and continuing seasons include 9-1-1, Criminal Minds, Modern Family, The Resident and Grey’s Anatomy, plus 7mate favourites The Simpsons, American Dad and Family Guy.
Seven will also continue to deliver Australian factual programming with new episodes of Border Security, Highway Patrol, Motorcycle Cops and Surveillance Oz to air in 2019.
Event Television on Seven in 2019
Ladies’ Night
Eight female celebrities will pull together to create a show-stopping performance, as they battle to overcome their nerves and inhibitions, learn to love their bodies and raise awareness for women’s health.
Who will dare to bare this time for a worthy cause?
Ladies’ Night is a Seven Studios production.
Carols In The Domain
On Saturday December 22, Australia’s biggest stars will come together at this iconic event to celebrate the spirit of Christmas. Now in its 36th year, Woolworths Carols In The Domain is the largest Christmas celebration in the country with close to 50,000 people on-ground and hundreds of thousands more watching from home across Australia.
Carols In The Domain is an Active TV production for Channel Seven.
New overseas drama on Seven in 2019
Manhunt
A three-part miniseries based on the true story of a murder investigation that kept the people of Britain on the edge their seats – and defined a detective’s career. Starring Martin Clunes (Doc Martin) as DCI Colin Sutton, the story begins in August 2004 when a young woman’s body is found. Sutton is appointed senior investigating officer but initially struggles: there are no forensics, motive or witnesses. Painstaking detective work finally delivers a suspect – Levi Bellfield – but now the hunt is on for enough evidence to arrest him and make sure he’s found guilty at trial.
Manhunt is produced by Buffalo Pictures.
Cheat
Two women, one truth. From the makers of Fleabag and Liar comes this four-part psychological thriller about university professor Leah (Katherine Kelly, The Night Manager, Strike Back) who starts a dangerous relationship with her student Rose (Molly Windsor, Three Girls). What begins as a seemingly open and shut case of academic deception quickly spirals out of control, ending in fatal consequences, and triggering a devastating sequence of events that threaten to engulf them both.
Produced by award-winning indie Two Brothers Pictures for ITV, UK in association with all3media international.
Cleaning Up
BAFTA winner Sheridan Smith stars in this moving, funny and surprising story. Office cleaner Sam is one of an invisible army who work every night in the gleaming buildings of London’s financial centre. She dreams of a better life but, struggling with an online gambling addiction and spiralling debts, Sam is going under until one night, hidden in plain sight, she overhears an illegal trade being made. This lucrative stock market information, if used correctly, could be the break she desperately needs.
The six-part drama is a Sister Pictures production for ITV.
Hatton Garden
Based on the audacious jewellery and cash burglary at the heart of London’s diamond district, executed by an elderly gang of career criminals in April 2015, the four-part drama tells the inside story of how the men pulled off the heist which was considered in a class of its own in terms of scale and ambition, and the extraordinary level of planning, preparation and organisation required to penetrate the vault of the Hatton Garden Safety Deposit Company.
From ITV Studios.
Miss Scarlet And The Duke
Set in the same 1880s London society that gave rise to Jack the Ripper, this British detective drama features a fearless, independent heroine played by Kate Phillips (Peaky Blinders, The Crown). With her inquisitive mind, Miss Scarlet has always been more interested in running her late father’s detective agency than behaving like a proper lady. But nothing has prepared her for the dangers she is about to face as a woman in the murder investigation trade.
The six-part drama is produced by Element 8 Entertainment.
The Bay
Written by award-winning writer and playwright Daragh Carville (Being Human, The Smoke, Cherrybomb), The Bay is set in the unique coastal town of Morecambe Bay. When Detective Sergeant Lisa Armstrong is assigned to a missing persons investigation in Morecambe Bay, at first it seems like any other – tragic, but all too familiar. As a police Family Liaison Officer, she’s trained never to get emotionally involved. Her job is to support families during the worst time of their lives while also being the eyes and ears of the police investigation, a cuckoo in the nest. But there’s something very different about this particular case.
The six-part contemporary drama is executive produced by Catherine Oldfield, Tall Story Pictures (Trauma, Bancroft, Tutankhamun).
Proven Innocent
Emmy and Golden Globe Award winner Danny Strong (Empire) partners with David Elliot (Four Brothers) to tell the emotional story of one woman’s fight for the innocence of others, as well as her own. Proven Innocent follows an underdog criminal defence firm led by Madeline Scott (Rachelle Lefevre, Under the Dome, A Gifted Man), a fierce and uncompromising lawyer with a hunger for justice. There is no one who understands the power of setting an innocent person free more than Madeline. At age 18, she was wrongfully convicted along with her brother in a sensational murder case that made her an infamous media obsession, a household name and a national cause célèbre. While a hero and a victim to some, Madeline’s bold and bullish tactics earn her a number of enemies – especially Gore Bellows (Emmy Award and Golden Globe-winner Kelsey Grammer (Frasier, Cheers, Boss), the prosecutor who initially put her away and still believes in her guilt.
Russell Hornsby (Seven Seconds, Grimm), Vincent Kartheiser (Mad Men) and Nikki M James (BrainDead, The Good Wife, The Book of Mormon) also star.
Proven Innocent is produced by 20th Century Fox Television, in association with Danny Strong Productions.
The Passage
Based on author Justin Cronin’s best-selling trilogy of the same name, The Passage is an epic, character-driven thriller written by Liz Heldens (Friday Night Lights). Executive-produced by Emmy Award-winner and Academy Award and Golden Globe nominee Ridley Scott (The Martian, Gladiator) and writer/director Matt Reeves (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, Cloverfield), The Passage focuses on Project Noah, a secret medical facility where scientists are experimenting with a dangerous virus that could lead to the cure for all disease but also carries the potential to wipe out the human race. When a young girl, Amy (Saniyya Sidney (Fences, Hidden Figures), is chosen to be a test subject, Federal Agent Brad Wolgast (Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Pitch) is the man who is tasked with bringing her to Project Noah.
The Passage is produced by 20th Century Fox Television.
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Top Photo: Ms Fisher’s Modern Murder Mysteries