Ten’s Pilot Week 2019 will kick off September 8
Ten’s Pilot Week for 2019 will begin September 8, despite the disappointing loss of Catfish Australia which was cancelled yesterday due to a lack of suitable candidates.
The lineup still includes Roxy Jacenko’s I Am Roxy, Sydney’s Crazy Rich Asians, My 80 Year Old Flatmate, and Part Time Private Eyes.
This is the second year Ten has run its Pilot Week initiative which aims to test the water for new programming by gauging audience reaction and commercial interest. It airs pilot episodes of new content for a week and green-lights the most successful shows.
Last year, Trial By Kyle, Saturday Night Rove, Taboo and Kinne Tonight all received nods for a season, leaving Dave, Skit Happens, the Sam Dastyari-fronted Disgrace and Drunk History unsuccessful. This year, with less shows on the slate, it remains to be seen if all will receive the go ahead after the week ends.
Ten dropped in a dig at the reboots favoured by other networks in the Pilot Week announcement, with a nod to Seachange which premiered strong but dropped off for its second episode, and The Block.
“A reno show? Been there, done that. A drama about a town by the beach? Yep, seen it. If you’re looking for something new, bold, and different, then make your way to the gate because Pilot Week 2019 is landing Sunday, 8 September on Ten and WIN Network,” read the announcement.
Catfish Australia, which was originally part of the lineup for Pilot Week 2019, was revealed to have been dropped yesterday, with a lack of suitable talent blamed for the rejection.
“We swear, we didn’t Catfish you! Unfortunately, Catfish Australia is no longer part of our 2019 Pilot Week schedule. We cast out a line, but didn’t have the right bait to catch you a catfish in time,” said a Ten spokesperson.
