Running first this year (big change to 2011!) Channel 7 draw a pretty serious line in the sand given the content they’re lining up in both new shows and returning series. Stepping past the huff & puff chest-beating of the first half of the release, the show profiles sound great though there’s not as much nitty-gritty as you’d like… but that’ll likely be for early next year at the annual launch party. From the press release:
Seven today unveiled its programming plans for 2013, driving and delivering a primetime schedule that builds on its leadership. The Network is now in its sixth consecutive year of leadership in primetime and its seventh consecutive year of leadership across the 6am-midnight broadcast day.
Seven moves into 2013 as the leader in breakfast television, morning television, nightly news and public affairs, primetime and overall across the 6am-midnight broadcast day. Seven is the first Network to unveil its 2013 programming. It is a foundation which builds on Seven’s success and leverages the Network’s coverage of the Australian Open to catapult its assault on primetime in the New Year.
Seven’s year is driven by major successful franchises and the commissioning of new Australian productions, including a new Australian drama series and new seasons of the Network’s major platform programs that drive its leadership in primetime and consolidates Seven’s leadership in breakfast and morning television, nightly news and public affairs.
Underpinning Seven in 2013: a commitment to Australian programming. Announcing Seven’s plans for the new season, the CEO of Television, Tim Worner, said the Network had “Australia’s best schedule not just for the launch of 2013 but across the year.”
“No one else has that year round consistency. No one else has that depth. We know our audience. Our organisation and planning brings consistency now delivered over many seasons – in fact this is the seventh consecutive season that Seven will be Australia’s favourite network. We don’t front load, we don’t back fill, we don’t program in bursts, we don’t rely on one or two shows to give us eight or 10 weeks of outperformance. We aim to be consistent throughout the year.”
Driving Seven in 2013 will be the Network’s acknowledged leadership in Australian drama and event television. MY KITCHEN RULES is the success story of the year and it returns in 2013 with more twists and a controversial new judge. The state-against-state formula has been a runaway hit and next year Seven takes that interstate rivalry a step further with a brand new renovation series, HOUSE RULES.
Seven continues its commitment to Australian made programs with a new diving with the stars show, CELEBRITY SPLASH, set to make waves in 2013 as will an innovative return of THE MOLE – CULTURE CLASH.
A PLACE TO CALL HOME will join Seven’s award-winning drama stable and MRS BIGGS will be a major television appointment not to be missed.
Seven not only has the top Australian shows but the very best international programs. Joining the ratings juggernauts REVENGE and DOWNTON ABBEY will be the hottest overseas offerings including RED WIDOW, starring Australia’s own Radha Mitchell and All Saints star Wil Traval, the much-anticipated ZERO HOUR and LAST RESORT.
The 2013 schedule reflects Seven’s depth of programming and market leadership. With an unflinching focus on development, Seven produces more shows that work, with more Australians watching Seven than any other television Network*.
NEW ON SEVEN IN 2013
A PLACE TO CALL HOME
From the creator of Packed to the Rafters comes A PLACE TO CALL HOME. Set in rural Australia in the 1950s, it’s a compelling and romantic story of one woman’s journey to heal her soul and of a privileged family rocked by scandal. Acclaimed actress Marta Dusseldorp leads the cast as Sarah Adams, a woman with a mysterious past who returns to Australia after 20 years abroad. She discovers the Bligh family secret… but they don’t know what she’s hiding. Also starring Brett Climo, Noni Hazlehurst, Frankie J Holden and an exciting ensemble of new talent.MRS BIGGS
The remarkable story of notorious fugitive Ronald “Ronnie” Biggs’ ex-wife Charmian is told in this riveting five-part drama series written by award-winning writer and executive producer Jeff Pope. MRS BIGGS chronicles Charmian’s life from the moment she first met and fell in love with Biggs, to their four years in Australia on the run after the Great Train Robbery, and then the heartbreak of his rejection after he fled to Rio de Janeiro. MRS BIGGS is a co-production by ITV Studios, the Seven Network and December Films.HOUSE RULES
Would you hand over the keys to your house to a bunch of strangers to completely transform your home? It’s state versus state, room versus room in an exciting new renovation series from the makers of My Kitchen Rules. In HOUSE RULES, contestants will put their homes on the line and their skills to the test in a fight for renovation supremacy and a life-changing prize.CELEBRITY SPLASH
The series will see celebrities perform complicated dives from varying heights with the assistance of professional diving instructors who help each participant with weeks of training. Dives can be from as high as 10-metre boards with increasing levels of complexity, including backflips, somersaults and other gymnastic feats.THE MOLE – CULTURE CLASH
It’s the show where you can’t trust anyone and in 2013 it returns to Seven bigger and better than ever before. In THE MOLE – CULTURE CLASH, the contestants will come from different worlds. With varying socio-economic backgrounds, religions, cultures and beliefs, it’s a sure-fire recipe for conflict and tension as they try to uncover the mole’s identity.
Each week, physical and mental tests will divide the competitors as one person among them will knowingly sabotage their quest. That person is the mole.LAST RESORT
This action-packed thriller is about the crew of a U.S. nuclear submarine who, after questioning a suspicious order, are branded fugitives by their own country. Stars include Emmy-winner Andre Braugher (Homicide: Life on the Street) and Scott Speedman (Felicity, Underworld), plus Australia’s own Daniel Lissing (Home and Away, Packed to the Rafters), Dichen Lachman (Neighbours, Dollhouse) and Daisy Betts (Sea Patrol).RED WIDOW
How far would you go to keep your children safe? From Executive Producer Melissa Rosenberg (Dexter, screenwriter of the Twilight franchise) comes a riveting new series about one woman’s dangerous journey into the world of organised crime. Australia’s Radha Mitchell and Wil Traval star in this taut drama about a suburban housewife who’s living the good life with a loving husband, a beautiful home and three amazing kids. But behind this perfect facade is a family of organised criminals.ZERO HOUR
Anthony Edwards (ER) makes a welcome return to series television as Hank Galliston, the publisher of paranormal enthusiast magazine, Modern Skeptic. He’s spent his career following clues, debunking myths and solving conspiracies. But when his wife Laila (Australia’s Jacinda Barrett) is abducted, Hank gets pulled into one of the most compelling mysteries of human history, stretching around the world and back centuries. From executive producers Lorenzo DiBonaventura (the Transformers and GI: Joe franchises, Salt, Red), Paul Scheuring (Prison Break) and Dan McDermott (Human Target).MR SELFRIDGE
Created by Emmy® and BAFTA award-winning writer Andrew Davies (Pride and Prejudice, Bleak House) and starring Jeremy Piven (Entourage), MR SELFRIDGE brings to life the spectacular rise and fall of the American retail genius in a lavish and seductive period drama set in glamorous, bustling London. Set in 1909, MR SELFRIDGE follows a colourful cast of characters whose lives and fortunes are entangled with the founder of the magnificent department store. Australia’s Frances O’Connor plays Harry’s wife, Rose.RETURNING HIT SHOWS
REVENGE was the number one drama launch of 2012 with more than three million viewers. With no prospect of a happy ending with her beloved Jack, Emily Thorne makes her next move in series two of the addictive drama.The third series of Julian Fellowes’ hit drama DOWNTON ABBEY sees the return of all the much loved characters. The legendary Shirley MacLaine will join the cast as Cora’s mother, Martha Levinson.
Also returning are popular overseas dramas BONES, CRIMINAL MINDS, CASTLE and ONCE UPON A TIME.
Seven is the home for laughs with all-new HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER and MRS BROWN’S BOYS, the number one new comedy this year.
In local productions, Australia’s favourite family is back for another series of PACKED TO THE RAFTERS. Averaging 1.2 million with a winning 42 per cent share this year, WINNERS AND LOSERS will also return with a third series.
In 2013, HOME AND AWAY will celebrate 25 years of love and drama in Summer Bay. Reaching 2.3 million viewers every week, Australia’s longest-running series continues its domination of the 7pm timeslot.
Expect plenty of heat in the kitchen and more than a few surprises when renowned chefs Pete Evans and Manu Feildel unveil a new crop of cooking teams in series four of MY KITCHEN RULES. In 2012, the audience for Australia’s favourite home cooking show grew 26 per cent to 1.9 million viewers. In 2013, cheeky and outspoken chef Colin Fassnidge will join the MKR judges table.
THE X FACTOR is currently wowing audiences with the amazing talent it has unearthed across Australia. This year its audience has grown by six per cent. A favourite with fans, the hit show will return in 2013 for a fourth series. AUSTRALIA’S GOT TALENT will also be back uncovering the weirdest and most wonderful acts around the country.
DANCING WITH THE STARS returns for a record-breaking 13th series with an exciting new cast of celebrities taking to the dancefloor.
BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS will be back in 2013 for its 19th season, providing viewers with great inspiration and clever ideas. Leading factual programs BORDER SECURITY, THE FORCE, SURVEILLANCE OZ and HIGHWAY PATROL will also be back.
NEWS
Seven is the undisputed leader in news; number one across the board. This is the Network’s eighth consecutive year of leadership in news and current affairs, its ninth consecutive year as leaders in breakfast television and sixth consecutive year on top in morning television.
• NEWS – Number 1 Nationally.
• TODAY TONIGHT – Number 1 National Public Affairs.
• SUNDAY NIGHT- Number 1 Sunday Night Public Affairs.
• SUNRISE – Number 1 in Breakfast.
• THE MORNING SHOW – Number 1 in Morning TV.SPORT
Every point, every drive, every start, every finish, every race, every goal… everything that matters when it comes to sport is on Seven. With AFL, Australian Open tennis, the Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, the Melbourne Cup Carnival, V8s, Australian Open Golf and Wimbledon, Seven is the place to be for all your sports action.
AFL continues to kick goals for Seven with this year’s grand final reaching up to 10 million people across Australia. The Melbourne Cup never fails to stop the nation and this year it reached more than four million people. Seven’s summer of tennis continues its surge in popularity with more than 10 million people tuning in to the Australian Open across just two weeks.
*SOURCE: OzTAM based on Primary and Total Combined Channels for Primetime 1800-2230, weeks 1-40 2012 – excluding Olympics weeks 31-32.