kath & kim
Is NBC Plotting a Fall Schedule With No Time Slot for Ben Silverman?
3:15AM Defamer Hollywood | While it’s hardly a secret that embattled NBC chief Ben Silverman likes to party, never have his carousing ways received the sort of harsh buzz dealt out this weekend by Nikki Finke, who spent the better part of a blockbuster post detailing how Silverman’s antics are about to cost him his job. No, seriously this time! According to a variety of anonymous NBC sources, Silverman is the network’s very own Man Who Wasn’t There, missing meetings on a regular basis and spending the entire, crucial month of August in Beijing while his colleagues expected him to decamp for a week at most (in all fairness, those Ryan Seacrest remotes weren’t going to tape themselves!). However, it seems that the NBC chief’s biggest problem is EVP Teri Weinberg, a Silverman protege whose romantic involvement with an NBC showrunner caused upward-failing NBC Universal head Jeff Zucker to step in and terminate that writer’s deal: More »
7:00AM Defamer Hollywood | Going for the Bronze: Though NBC’s Olympic coverage provided the network with television’s most watched event anywhere, ever, in the history of the universe, that massive audience hasn’t translated into major spikes of interest for NBC’s fall shows like Kath & Kim and My Own Worst Enemy. The network spent 65% of its promo time on returning shows (like Lipstick Jungle Lipstick Jungle Lipstick Jungle) but failed to perk awareness for anything but the 80’s retread Knight Rider. Still, before NBC shoehorns Michael Phelps into Selma Blair’s thong, they’ve got this bit of recent history to add perspective: the Athens Olympics were used to tout quickly flushed shows like Joey and LAX. Perhaps Kath & Kim will stand on its own merits — that is, as long as they didn’t advertise it during the rebellion-inducing beach volleyball marathon. [Variety] More »
Are You Ready To Look Upon The American ‘Kath’ And ‘Kim’?
9:35AM Clem Bastow | The American adaptation of Kath & Kim has been a source of great consternation both amongst the Defamer Australia crew and, well, pretty much every Australian with a brain and a sense of humour.
But, as Selma “Kim” Blair was quick to suggest, a whole bunch of pissed off Colonials isn’t going to stop NBC from going ahead and ruining making it – and neither has it. The network have started airing commercials promoting the show, and, well, here they are:
Your thoughts, members of the jury?
Perhaps it says something about my personal tastes, but Molly Shannon as Kath looks a bit too… good? And if they’ve re-pitched Kim as some sort of demented “kidult” with a penchant for sorbet-toned childrenswear, then I guess Patricia Field has done a bang-up job of Kim, too. More » Not Happy About The ‘Kath & Kim’ Remake? Don’t Tell Selma!
10:05AM Clem Bastow | A long time ago in an entertainment galaxy far, far away, we told you that Selma Blair had been cast as Kimmoyyy in the American, mall-set remake of Kath & Kim (Molly Shannon is taking on Kath Day Knight duties).
Well, it seems Selma is not too keen on Australia’s concerns that like, say, The Office and Wife Swap, Kath & Kim may be another thing that our American cousins just can’t do quite as well as the original.
“Some people are really protective and horrified that we’re doing it in the United States,” Blair said.
“It’s a case of, ‘How could you? Oh my god, you might ruin it’. But what’s to ruin? You’re still going to have your great show in Australia – we’re just paying homage to it. Nothing takes away from the original.”
Blair, 36, revealed the US version, which was originally set in Phoenix, Arizona, was now set in the sprawling suburbs of Florida.
“We’re middle-class, celebrity-obsessed, tabloid-crazy and kind of superficial,” she said. “We think we are so fabulous and we’re not really, at all.
“My mum Kath (played by Shannon) is wonderful and perky and positive and I’m a complete downer.”
Oh dear, already having to spell it out to viewers? This doesn’t bode well.
AND YES, YOU HEARD ME RIGHT, SELMA! Ahem, sorry, I’m not sure what came over me then. More » 
Trade Roundup: Jon Stewart Risks Wrath Of Boss Redstone By Abandoning Hosting Gig
9:15AM Mark | · Following through on its threats to abandon the traditional TV development system, NBC picks up Kath & Kim* straight to series with a six episode order, bypassing the wasteful, “let’s see if this actually works when we try and shoot it” pilot phase. (*In fairness, this is a Pre-Proven Foreign Hit, so domestic success is virtually guaranteed.) [Variety] · Brittany Murphy CareerWatch: the actress signs on for the indie Across the Hall, and is considering a chance to replace thrice-rehabbed insurance nightmare Lindsay Lohan in the troubled Poor Things. [THR] · Casey Affleck is cast in the yet-to-be-scripted adaptation of Tom Epperson’s period noir drama The Kind One, in which he’ll play the most adorable (pinch his cheeks! Jump on his face!) amnesiac who makes the mistake of falling in love with a sadistic killer’s girlfriend Hollywood has ever seen. [Variety] More »
We’re Not Entirely Sure About The Casting Of Selma Blair As Kim, But Whatever…
11:15AM Jess McGuire | US remakes of hit foreign television shows are, by and large, complete rubbish. For every American version of The Office, there are about ten thousand American Men Behaving Badlys. So it’s safe to say we’re not overly hopeful regarding the US version of Kath & Kim, and news they’re casting Selma Blair as Kim hasn’t helped things.
Hollywood actress Selma Blair will have to quickly acquire a taste for commemorative snags after being cast in the US version of Kath & Kim.
The Legally Blonde and Hellboy star will star as Kim alongside Saturday Night Live funnywoman Molly Shannon, who will play Kath in the adaption of the hit Aussie sitcom.
NBC, which also produced the US version of the British hit comedy The Office, bought the rights to Gina Riley and Jane Turner’s comic creation a year ago and there were plans to shoot the pilot last year
.
Of course, Selma Blair is a much better choice than Salma Hayek… which, when we misread the headline in our half-asleep morning state, is who we originally thought had been cast in the role of Kim. Although the idea of Salma Hayek as Kimmy is so farcical, it’d almost be worth watching, More » 
Prospect Of US ‘Kath & Kim’ Is Giving Us Horrible Nightmares In Advance
10:54AM Clem Bastow | Seriously, when will “they” stop making US versions of successful international comedies? First The Office had a funnyectomy in the hands of Steve Carell and co., now the long-whispered-about US version of Kath & Kim – shifted to feature a divorced mother and her grumpy adult daughter in an American suburban wasteland – is gearing up with the announcement that Molly Shannon will take a starring role.
“I can confirm that Molly Shannon has been cast in Kath & Kim,” an NBC spokesman told The Daily Telegraph.
Shannon, 43, will take on the role of suburban mother Kath, played on the local series by Jane Turner.
It seems we are now powerless to stop this horror from expanding – so, instead of fighting it, we’re embracing it.
In case any executive producers are browsing, we’re offering up a few ideas for other successful Australian comedies that could be translated to the US market, with a few suggestions for possible castmembers and the customary ‘hilarious-show-crosses-the-pond’ fiddling with of essential plot devices and genre.
Read on, cash-haemmoraging execs!
More » Brilliant Casting By The Folk From Kath & Kim!
10:59PM Jess McGuire | Guess which beloved hymen-owning boganette will be appearing in this Sunday night’s episode of Kath & Kim? Why, it’s ex Big Brother contestant Katie Hastings!
Playing the dumb blonde on last year’s Big Brother has turned into a big acting break for Katie Hastings – cast to play her “happy” self in Kath & Kim. The bubbly bogan told Confidential her start on the smash-hit comedy series made her so “nervous I said to someone, ‘I need Maccas, quick’ “.
It’s comments like this which clearly inspired producers of the Channel 7 show to approach her with the cameo role earlier this year. “My acting couldn’t have been any worse, but they just said to play myself and I’d be fine. I didn’t know whether to be insulted or what, but they were so nice.”
Hastings plays Katie, a new apprentice in Kel Knight’s butcher shop in this Sunday’s episode. “Kel loves his chump chops but I’m supposed to be into fancy meats. Don’t ask me to name them because I can’t even pronounce half of ‘em,” she said yesterday.
This may tempt us back to Kath & Kim, you know. More » Kath And Kim – Still As Noice, Different, Unusual As Ever?
10:09AM Jess McGuire | Kath and Kim had its commercial television debut last night on Channel Seven. We caught the first ten minutes of it but then decided to switch over to Australian Idol because from what we could gather, Kath and Kim was actually a repeat… of jokes!
We are, of course, being a bit cheeky. But as we watched the beginning of the program, we began to wonder if we were alone in thinking the show may have outstayed its welcome. After all, how many gags about the stupidity and ignorance of bogans can one make before the punch line becomes boring and expected?
Kath and Kim’s strength has always been its heart – the love between Kath and Kel, Brett’s unwavering devotion to Kim, the adorable loyalty to the family displayed by Sharon. It’s what stopped the show from simply being a condescending look at those from a different socio-economic background. But is the heart still there? We’re just not sure anymore.
Ricky Gervais is the man to look toward for inspiration when it comes to dealing with the unexpected success of a television comedy, we feel. Each cult hit he’s been involved in (The Office, Extras) has never stuck around long enough to jump the shark. You were always left wanting more.
Now, we understand people have a need to earn money and one can’t be expected to walk away from a perfectly good comedy series, the earnings from which are helping put your kids through school and pay off the mortgage etc, simply because you’re unwilling to take the chance that you’ll run a good thing into the ground. But would Kath and Kim have left a better comedy legacy had the program ended at the end of series two?
We have no answers, and perhaps our disappointment regarding last night’s offering from comic geniuses Gina Riley and Jane Turner can be put down to us feeling a bit tired and cranky for other reasons. So we’re throwing it out to you, the readers of Defamer Australia – did you watch the show, and if so, what did you think? Do we need to give it another chance? More » This Article Highlights Some Of The “Iss-yews” Facing ABC Television, We Feel
3:06PM Jess McGuire | The Age published a rather interesting article about Kath & Kim in yesterday’s Green Guide.
Then there was the time in season two when Kath and Kel made it as far as the airport and had a foine toime before their off-screen mystery flight to Kyabram, shopping at the terminal and surreptitiously partaking in the hospitality of the club lounge.
The fact that trips happened off-screen was indicative of the limitations of life at Aunty. There was the cost of taking a cast and crew anywhere but there were other issues. As a result of its charter restrictions regarding advertising, the ABC was unable to offer the necessary “contra” to the parties involved, the sweetener that can reduce costs and entice companies to offer their services free or substantially discounted.
A program screened on the national broadcaster cannot include images of airline logos on aeroplane tails, or feature lingering shots of signs identifying particular holiday resorts as payback for the special treatment.
At the ABC, the issue of advertising had long been contentious for Kath & Kim as the charter restrictions collided directly with the basic inclinations of the comedy’s title characters. At the heart of the mother and daughter duo is their avid consumerism: they love to shop, they love to talk about shopping, brand names fall from their lips faster than sale prices on Boxing Day. Sharon’s idea of a big night involves Footy Franks and Tia Maria. It’s part of what defines and locates the characters.
But before Kath and Kim became a couple of the best-loved characters in Australian television history, there were debates at the ABC about the use of brand names in dialogue. Could they refer to low-fat Fruche? Or Tiny Teddies? Did this constitute advertising?
In the show’s first season, the art department busied itself producing a range of labels for the numerous products in Kath’s kitchen. They might have looked like familiar pantry items but they were subtly different: Jabbah French Alps coffee powder, Glad Rap, tins of CPS diced tomatoes and ESP baked beans. When the show was shooting in shopping malls, the cameramen laboured to avoid shop signs.
Read the whole thing yerself. More » 