‘Highly profitable’ with an ‘ensemble cast’: Why Ten won’t give up on The Project
The Project has been scrutinised for less-than-average ratings, but Ten stands by it. Ahead of its 10 year anniversary, Zoe Samios chats with the show’s executive producer, Sarah Thornton, about its future.
Almost ten years ago, a team of five presenters stepped onto Ten screens across the nation to deliver the first episode of ‘The 7pm Project’.
Described at the time as an ‘offbeat take’ on the day’s news, it was fronted by comedians Dave Hughes and Charlie Pickering, who were joined by James Mathison, Ruby Rose and Carrie Bickmore, sought to deliver news a different way: ‘unspun’.
The 7pm Project in 2009 (L-R): Dave Hughes, Ruby Rose, James Mathison, Charlie Pickering and Carrie Bickmore
The Project is a good mix of the news, debate and fun. Not the same old boring monalog the other commercial stations constantly present. Where are all these polls taken from I don’t know anyone who has ever been polled.
tired of know it all Waleed and now Wilkinson who thinks she can speak for all women.
had to turn back to A Current Affair that is how bad The Project has become.
As a conservative i am tired of liberals and lefties ramming their opinion down my throat and ridiculing my position as old and irrelevant.
I have been around a while and it’s funny how warm and fuzzy everyone gets and socially liberal when things are going well but how they come running back to the conservatives to lead them through the tough times.. says it all really..look at your history
Couldn’t agree more!
You made your point null and void when you said that you “had to turn back to ACA”
Are you really THAT offended by the left leaning media that you resort to watching regularly ‘reports’ on:
– evil african gangs
– dodgy tradies
– coles mini promotions
I bet your heart also swells when a Masterchef contestant receives positive feedback from George and Gary and then they play that uplifting, Coldplay rip-off backing track as well.
Ah to be one of the innocent nameless masses like old mate Peter Quirk 🙂
It’s cheap to make and it’s profitable. Ten is not a charity, it doesn’t exist to pander exclusively to the prejudices of a tiny but loudmouthed minority.
The EP is obviously very passionate about her show but to say the program is going gangbusters is quite naive. The 630-730 time slot is an integral part of setting up your viewing audience for the rest of the night, and those figures are woeful. Seven and Nine would have dumped the show, or made major changes, a long time ago.
The real reason the show is still on air, is it does return a profit and the programmer Beverley McGarvey has no idea what to replace it with. What would she replace it with, if the show ever went to Nine?
Those ratings figures for The Sunday Project are rather misleading. The Sunday Project premiered in late August 2017. This is the programs first full year on the air.
Love the project…my only complaint is I don’t think Lisa Wilkinson does anything for you program….at times she is way over the top with her comments…..let her go….
Love The Project!
I agree that Lisa Wilkinson is on the wrong show.
She should be on morning Tv in the old Kerryann Kennerley timeslot! She is a bore and really brings the dynamics of the real hosts down.
Other than that, the show will always be on in our home everyday at 6:30 ?
I seriously don’t know a single person that watches this show. I can’t believe it’s still going.
George negus?
I don’t watch The Project- should be given a complete overhaul
I’m amazed that The Project gets an encore! And ahead of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
The Project isnt worth watching once let alone twice. It’s no wonder Ten is going backwards in the ratings, putting such a poor show on twice and ahead of the much better Late Show.
The show is unique, entertaining, informative, funny and engaging. Name another news program similar? Good on you for continuing to do it differently. It’s the only daily TV news program any of our 4 sons will dip in and out of, which say’s something about it’s approach and demo appeal. The other two – the red & the blue – just keep doing the same old thing for the same old result – an older audience that once has nothing coming in behind it. The Project has huge upside.
It used to be good previuosly but then quality started dropping late 2010s and worse after 2016-17. Probably after CBS ownership and employment of Lisa Wilkinson.
Reports are bery bias, pro-left side of politics and very gynocentric themes lately, especially after Lisa Wilkinson joined the programme. Lisa routinely conducts pro female interviews aligning with feminist agenda and often demonstrates misandrist sentiment.
In addition, there’s excessive ridiculing of Trump almost on a daily basis reflecting very bias and in all honesty quite disrespectful behaviour especially Australia being America’s close ally.
Just for the record, I am a “non-white & not straight” male, not that it has any significance but just to show my views are not merely prejudiced.
Jokes are frequently not very funny, it’s more like ridiculing other fellow Australians, once even mocked a person’s voice.
Generally stories lack substance and critical analysis. Time allocation and interview on certain crucial topics is limited, somewhat equal to other non relevant insignificant stories.
Moreover, usually there’s a set of fixed politicians interviewed on popular political issues without much variation.
These are the reasons I stopped watching project especially whenever Lisa W is the host.
If the polls are to be believed, it just shows that so many people in this country are prepared to sit through and tolerate whatever garbage Freeview has to offer.
I haven’t bothered to tune into this drivel since its first season and based on the snippets that get advertised every so often, I don’t think I’ve missed much.
All the project does is verbally attack trump,