Australia’s ABC Slates 20-Plus New Shows, Ramps Up Digital Focus

SYDNEY: The 2017 slate for ABC in Australia features more than 20 new homegrown shows, in addition to returning titles, and the network is set to double its commitment to digital-first content.

New dramas for 2017 include Newton’s Law, The Warriors and Seven Types of Ambiguity, and returning seasons of Cleverman and Glitch, as well as Janet King and The Doctor Blake Mysteries.

From ABC’s recent pilot programs, such as Fresh Blood and Comedy Showroom, come new shorts series, including comedian Anne Edmonds’ original noir comedy The Edge of the Bush and the autobiographical comedy Ronny Chieng: International Student. Other new six-part short-form projects for ABC iview include Lost in Pronunciation, Goober and the coming-of-age romantic comedy Almost Midnight. These complement returning shows, including Shaun Micallef’s Mad As Hell, Utopia, Julia Zemiro’s Home Delivery and The Weekly with Charlie Pickering.

There are also shows dedicated to addressing issues such as diversity, history and challenges. In Bullied, Ian Thorpe helps school-aged Australian kids handle real-life situations of bullying. Cyberhate with Tara Moss touches on the topic of social-media bullying. In Open House, Annabel Crabb takes viewers behind the scenes of Parliament House in Canberra. Blue Water Empire is a dramatized documentary series giving new insight into the history and culture of the Torres Strait Islands. Anh’s Brush with Fame returns with a new series of guests and captures their likeness in painted portraits revealed at the end of each conversation. ABC TV’s hit regional series Back Roads returns for a second season.

The iconic ABC music series rage turns 30 next year. The show will be celebrated during the week of April 17 with two specially produced documentaries, which will explore the Australian experience of watching the influential music show. Presenter Matt Okine makes the move to TV to present a new cooking show for millennials on ABC iview, Shortcuts to Glory. In the new series Dream Gardens, Michael McCoy takes a journey through some of Australia’s most lavish gardens.

There will also be a range of new shows for young children through to teens. Nippers looks at the culture of Surf Life Saving that sees around 65,000 kids across the country meeting every Sunday on their local surf beach for a training program run by Surf Life Saving Australia. My Year 12 Life follows as students documented the raw, intimate, unfiltered drama of their final school year.

ABC’s director of television, Richard Finlayson, said: “We exist to bring great Australian stories to life. Our track record of innovation and creativity over recent years means that the best creative talent in the country want to work with us. In fact, they keep raising the bar and it’s thanks to them that we can present another fabulous year of the very best of Australian TV to our audiences.

“But it’s not just at the premium end—in 2017 the network will double its commitment to digital-first content, with more than 200 hours of new content made especially for ABC iview, which continues to introduce audiences to exciting new content and create opportunities for a fresh and diverse generation of creative talent. We’re very proud of our great VOD service which provides free access all year, with no advertisements and across every imaginable device.

“Continual evolution is part of the DNA of the ABC. Earlier this year, we proudly launched the live streaming of all ABC channels on ABC iview, and in September we successfully launched the new ABC ME platform for school-aged children.”