Monday, December 03, 2007

BBC cues up new Aussie soap

Any hopes that the impending move of Neighbours from BBC One to Five would lead to the commissioning of a British replacement have been dashed by the announcement that the BBC has commissioned a new Australian daytime soap called Out of the Blue.
Though long-running show Neighbours comes to an end on BBC1, the channel will keep an Antipodean flavour with a new show set in Sydney.

Out of the Blue will begin shooting in the new year and is set in the Sydney beach resort of Manly.

The story opens when a group of thirtysomething friends return to their home town for a high school reunion.

However, the celebrations are brought to an abrupt end when one of the group is murdered.

Out of the Blue is being made by Southern Star Entertainment, the company behind hits such as The Secret Life of Us and Love My Way.

The BBC has ordered 130 half-hour episodes of Out of the Blue, which will run in an as yet unspecified slot in daytime.

2 comments:

  1. What does this mean for the UK writer? Missing an opportunity and paying the license fee so an Aussie show can prosper? What's the deal?

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  2. FROM THE CHAIR OF THE TV COMMITTEE.

    I'm not surprised you feel that way, lh, because I tend to agree with you. But being fair (if I must) the BBC is only filling a slot that Neighbours used to occupy... so it's not quite like they threw out a British produced series for the Aussie one. BUT...

    Why isn't the BBC producing a soap for the youth market itself? It's not rocket science and doesn't have to cost the Earth. Hollyoaks is a prime example of a great series that appeals to a younger market and doesn't break the bank. Perhaps if the BBC stopped haemorrhaging money on outrageously priced presenters (even see a star writer earn that much?), new buildings and taxi fares, they could fulfill their core function: producing homegrown series. And then we could sell them to the Australians and their blogs could be having this debate... and we could have the residuals!

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