The Slap to premiere 6 October
ABC’s much hyped eight-part drama The Slap, after debate of its air date has been scheduled for Thursday 6 October, 8.30pm.
Adapted from the novel of the same name by Christos Tsiolkas, The Slap, starring Alex Dimitriades, Sophie Lowe and Melissa George received accolades when the first two episodes were screened at the Melbourne International Film Festival last month.
The Slap will air at 8.30 before Crownies at 9.30. The scheduling is an attempt for Crownies, about ‘the extraordinary world of the Department of Public Prosecutions and its eager young lawyers’, to grab The Slap’s flow-on audience, which has so far failed to capture a strong audience of its own in the 8.30 slot.
Brendan Dahill, ABC1 Controller, said in a statement “I had always earmarked Thursday night as our drama night launching late last year with the critically-acclaimed series Rake. So from next month, we will have back to back Australian drama on Thursday nights from 8.30pm to 10.30pm with The Slap and Crownies.”
In an interview in this month’s Encore, Producer/Show runner Tony Ayres said of The Slap, “I feel that it’s a very satisfying experience for audiences who want complicated adult relationship drama, because it’s not very easy viewing. But I think it’s very satisfying viewing. It’s very emotional material, complex, funny and gruelling at times.”
Prior to The Slap on Thursdays will be QI, replacing Catalyst which has finished its 2011 season.
