It’s been a diverse year of Australian programming on the small screen. While reality continues to dominate the ratings, there have been plenty of shows that have punched above their weight and made a decent cultural impact. Here’s Daily Review’s top 10 of 2014 …
Mad As Hell (ABC)
Over the course of the year, Shaun Micallef’s political satire had two brilliant 10-episode seasons which became sharper and more incisive with each episode. Micallef was bold enough to make his audience laugh at what was decidedly unfunny (and we’re not just talking about Bill Shorten’s zingers). As it becomes more of a ratings winner for the ABC, perhaps it’s time to up the number of episodes ordered …?
Outback Coroner (Crime + Investigation)
True crime is what channels like Foxtel’s Crime and Investigation have long thrived on (and with the rise of podcast Serial, the popularity of crime stories will only continue to rise). But Outback Coroner is a step above the average, and has one major point of difference: the outback, which acts as not only a backdrop to the series, but often an essential character in it. Narrated by Richard Roxburgh, it’s one of the best made-for-Foxtel series of the year.
Rake (ABC)
As it entered its third season, Peter Duncan, Richard Roxburgh and Charles Waterstreet’s Rake took several unexpected turns. As the third series begins with our lovable anti-hero Cleaver Greene in prison, we weren’t too sure what to expect, but the overarching narrative of the series became more complex and brilliantly absurd. There was an unsuccessful United States spin-off this year that has now been cancelled, but it did trigger substantial international interest in the original Australian series.
Offspring (Ten)
It’s been a decent year for Ten’s much-loved family drama, with the addition of Patrick Brammall as Nina’s new love interest and the returning cast in great form. While it’s still unconfirmed as to whether it will return in 2015, it’s looking less and less likely (and thank goodness, we say). The series had many of the best writers in the business involved, which saw viewers stay rusted on for all five seasons.
A Place to Call Home (Seven)
Marta Dusseldorp shined in the second season of A Place to Call Home, with more twists, turns, titillation and terse exchanges than you could poke a stick at. Thankfully, Bevan Lee’s finely crafted melodrama was thrown a lifeline after it was cancelled by Seven, with two more seasons commissioned by Foxtel. The network ditched the show at the end of its second season, because despite the excellent ratings, it was most popular with older audiences who advertisers weren’t interested in.
Please Like Me (ABC2)
When the ABC originally shifted Josh Thomas’ quirky dramedy Please Like Me to ABC2, they surely couldn’t have known the critical response the series would go on to receive. Overseas, the series garnered rave reviews, landed on many critics’ top 10 of the year lists and was even nominated for an International Emmy Award for best comedy series. The second season dug even more deeply into Josh’s difficult relationship with his mother and took an honest and irreverent look at mental health. The third series is due to air next year on the ABC’s primary channel.
The Code (ABC)
Aunty’s six-part political thriller, about two brothers who uncover a government secret, had already attracted international attention before it aired in September this year, with the rights sold to a US broadcaster in April. Created by Playmaker Media (House Husbands, Love Child), it’s a taut, tense look at life in the age of surveillance that even manages to make Canberra look sexy.
Black Comedy (ABC)
Created by indigenous writers and actors, the sketch comedy show Black Comedy was one of the surprise hits of the year. Drawing inspiration from the revered 1972 indigenous sketch comedy play Basically Black and the largely forgotten TV show that resulted from it, Black Comedy put the indigenous voices and a style of humour often neglected on TV front and centre.
At The Movies (ABC)
After 28 years on screen together, we couldn’t possibly leave David Stratton and Margaret Pomeranz off this list. As Australian film royalty, the pair has only improved with age — their effortless banter and straight-forward, incisive criticism changed the way we watched the movies. Since the announcement of their retirement in September, we’ve been watching each episode, soaking up their bickering and infectious love of cinema. They’ll be sorely missed.
First Contact (SBS)
In a similar vein to SBS’ lauded asylum seeker documentary/reality series Go Back To Where You Came From, this co-production between Blackfella Films and SBS was one of the most talked about of the year. It was a controversial series, with some taking issue with the restricted pictures it drew of some communities and indigenous people. But what it did manage to do was highlight some of the most difficult issues in the relationship between black and white Australia, as well as some broader political and social failures.