Network 10’s next installment of Pilot Week will be taking off this Sunday, with four new shows lined up to give viewers a taste of what they might be seeing on screens in 2020.
Last year the first-ever Pilot Week saw series including Kinne Tonight, Taboo and Trial By Kyle get picked up, following successful debuts.
Back for its second year, Pilot Week will deliver “fresh, funny and thought-provoking” home grown content. Scroll through to see what’s made the cut for this year’s line-up…
SYDNEY’S CRAZY RICH ASIANS (Sunday, 9pm)
The excess and glamour on display in the 2018 feature film Crazy Rich Asians gets filtered through a reality TV lens in this show.
Three friends – elite real estate agent Lulu, beauty queen Emily and charitable socialite Crystal – live (very) large in Sydney. Marrying their culture and ambitions with their wealth and work ethic, these women find they can “do it all” with the help of a debonair concierge, Karim Gharbi.
Among the things Karim and his staff at VIP Sydney are tasked with? Setting up swimming lessons for Lulu, but at the Intercontinental Hotel’s rooftop pool, and with a model-perfect instructor flaunting six-pack abs!
“What you call crazy, our clients see as a must,” Karim tells TV WEEK. “The amount of wealth they have, the more access and experience they’re after. And I’m passionate about experiences that are not Google-able. I love offering people who have everything something they don’t have.”
PART-TIME PRIVATE EYES (Tuesday, 8.30pm)
Thank God You’re Here co-stars and close friends Heidi Arena and Nicola Parry have teamed up to create and star in the funny and relatable comedy Part-Time Private Eyes.
The show centres on mums Val (Heidi) and Alex (Nicola), trying to balance work and parenting. Their biggest hurdle? Just finding fulfilling jobs that fit around the school pick-up.
“We both came up against the problem of juggling school and work,” Heidi tells TV WEEK. “We were trying to think about what kind of jobs women could do between nine and three.
“Then we wrote this show and are now doing 16-hour days! It’s not going to plan,” she adds with a laugh.
When we meet Alex, the new divorcée is struggling to get back into the job market, while Val, who works at her in-laws’ milk bar, is looking to do more with her potential.
So when Karen (Nadine Garner) expresses her concern over the fidelity of her husband at school drop-off, the idea strikes. Alex and Val decide they can become private investigators.
“Val’s got something more to give, but she doesn’t know what it is,” Heidi explains.
“So when she hears this idea, she thinks, ‘Why not?'”
What ensues is a hilarious game of cat-and-mouse that calls attention to the struggles of motherhood and friendship.
“We wanted to celebrate middle-aged women and the friendships that get you through,” Nicola says.
I AM … ROXY (Wednesday, 8.30pm)
Roxy Jacenko says she knows what people think about her and her life with husband Oliver Curtis and kids Hunter and Pixie. That’s why the Sweaty Betty public relations mogul decided to reveal her warts-and-all day-to-day existence via a TV series.
“People assume I’m this hard-edged person who is very focused on business who doesn’t have a sense of warmth or even, I suppose, friendliness,” Roxy, 39, tells TV WEEK with her trademark candour.
“And what I think you’ll see in the show is that yes, I’m ferocious when it comes to business, but at the same time, I’m a mum like everybody else, and I’ve got a heart.”
MY 80 YEAR OLD FLATMATE (Friday, 8.30pm)
One part platonic matchmaking and one part property gawking, this show introduces us to older, home-owning Australians seeking Millennials to help them around the house in exchange for rent-free living. Each landlord presents a set of house rules to two potential flatmates, who then go through a three-day trial before one moves in for good.
Retired teacher John, for example, would like someone to help with his garden and will keep to his “no bonking” rule, while gallery owner Christa says her ideal flatmate needs to be wild, not uptight and a dog lover. Will each find an ideal partner amongst an eager pool of candidates?
