User blog:Telco/TV3 announces new autumn schedule: The Euro Independent, 19th July 2005

Some call it the silly season. Not so the broadcasters, for whom summer does not mean long, lazy hols in Tuscany but frantic activity at home - finalising autumn schedules, setting promotional campaigns and, increasingly, announcing new launches.

The unveiling last week, at a swank Euro City hotel, of TV3 and ZTV's autumn schedule, was the third in a series of programme announcements by leading broadcasters. Both ETV and Prime have announced their autumn schedules.

TV3 has been struggling lately in the ratings this past year, as ETV and Prime both launched their own new series to much success as they also brought over a slew of major American series, notably Cold Case and Arrested Development. TV3's controller Thomas Brenner is looking to fight back for his audience and in doing so have signed deals with multiple American studios to screen much sought after new drama and comedy series as well as bringing in new programmes from Britain and of course new Euroish productions.

Three News will be overhauled with new music, a new studio and graphics, which have been designed by leading British designers Lambie-Nairn. The relaunch has came after years of audience research, careful timing and lengthy preparation. 60 Minutes also moves to a new weekly slot, Monday nights at 8pm. Children's television also sees a revamp as C3 is junked in favour of a new brand, The Fix, which will lead the new afternoon lineup for TV3 as well as it's breakfast slot on ZTV (to be joined by a new after school slot there which will aim to a younger demographic than TV3's The Fix offering at that time) and it's own dedicated digital TV channel, radio station and website. Barcroft welcomes in a new family this Autumn, but scandal is just around the corner.

The supposed jewel in TV3's Euroish production line would appear to be The Force, which will aim to take a "brutal and hard-hitting" look into the police force in Faulkshire, and Inspector Silverthorne, an offbeat and darkly satirical new detective drama, which Brenner dubs "Jonathan Creek meets A Touch of Frost." Comedy is covered with the return of Skithouse, a Euroish version of the massively successful Australian format Thank God You're Here and a local version of British series TV Burp fronted by Matt Hughes.

TV3 has heavily taken aim at the popularity of American series on ETV & Prime and has decided to launch a ratings war against them, dramatically increase the amount of US drama for the new Autumn season, acquiring the rights to a selection of recently acclaimed and popular US dramas, as well as bringing some over from subscription siblings Spark and Premiere. In Lost - screening on Wednesdays and for the first time on free to air television after becoming a hit over the spring on Premiere, the survivors of a plane crash are forced to work together in order to survive on a seemingly deserted tropical island, Hugh Laurie stars as an antisocial maverick doctor does whatever it takes to solve puzzling cases with his wits in House which will be showing on Thursday nights, Grey's Anatomy is a new drama on Monday centered on the personal and professional lives of surgical interns and their supervisors, and secrets and truths unfold through the lives of female friends in one suburban neighborhood after the mysterious suicide of a neighbour, in the Tuesday comic drama Desperate Housewives. Meanwhile on the British scene, the long awaited return to Euroish television of Doctor Who also takes place this Autumn as TV3 will broadcast the new series starring Christopher Eccleston as the Time Lord.

Autumn entertainment is headlined by Deal or No Deal - a "unique" and "compelling" new quiz show, where the crux is that it isn't a quiz, as it's about luck, not knowledge. It will be stripped every weeknight in the 6pm slot (Neighbours and Coronation Street will be put on a two week hiatus) for two weeks in the hopes that it will catch on with the viewing public, with a primetime launch on Friday 2nd September. Friday evenings from the next week onwards will play host to The X Factor, an Idol-esque singing competition series, whilst Sunday nights' flagship is Dancing with The Stars, a gentile dancing contest with celebrity faces, which in it's homeland in the UK (where it is broadcast under the title Strictly Come Dancing) is shortly making a comeback for it's third series, and has been highly successful on Saturday evenings for the BBC as a more sensible and upmarket alternative to The X Factor on the competing ITV network.

Doubling with Desperate Housewives on Tuesday nights is The Apprentice, an adaption from the US format helmed by Donald Trump, where the successful person will work for Scott Technologies chairman Sir Jonathan Hogan. Following Grey's Anatomy on Monday nights is the new American adaptation of British sitcom The Office, which itself is followed by the return of offbeat US animation Family Guy.

The Fix, which replaces C3, is placing all it's hopes on a new hybrid live action/animated drama series based on the Warriors series by Erin Hunter, a fantasy series about a clan of feral cats. Live and Dangerous takes over from the massively successful SM:TV as TV3's new Saturday morning entertainment show, and there's a new sitcom for kids, Lunch Club. TV3 has also acquired new US sitcoms Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide and Zoey 101, adventure action series Avatar: The Last Airbender and animated comedies Catscratch and Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends to fit into the new children's schedule, and there is a new version of Gerry Anderson's cult classic Captain Scarlet.