Community station TVS is attempting to turn the sector on its head with a new risqué reality series debuting next month.
Flesh Air, which the not-for-profit broadcaster is touting as “the series other networks are afraid to broadcast”, is a 13-episode series that follows a team of airbrush artists and photographers as they produce a calendar showcasing two of Australia's greatest loves – cars and women.
The Vision TV production, which brings together world-renowned airbrush artist Wayne Harrison and celebrity photographer David Anderson, takes you behind the scenes of airbrush art, with each MA15+ episode revealing a hot design, combining both a model and a car in a photoshoot.
Displaying cars, culture, women and unique personalities, TVS' chief executive Rachel Bentley is hopeful the reality series will attract a new audience for the network, on top of their 1.4 million viewers per month.
“The production team took it to mainstream networks and they said ‘too risqué’, ‘it was too out there’ – and that’s what we like about it,” Bentley told IF ahead of last night’s official launch.
“We would like to not be seen as a safe station…it’s about providing a diversity of content.”
She says the series is a light-hearted celebration of a local Western Sydney business.
“The dedication of the artistic team to produce a high-quality and sometimes risqué result, combines the earthy feel of an airbrush shop team into a fun, reality-style program."
Series two is already in production and is expected to air in the second half of 2012. Heading up the production crew from Vision TV is award-winning cameraman, producer and director Scott Richardson, who has worked on such shows as The Block and Australian Idol.
The new series will provide a much-needed boost to community TV, which is now also competing against the major networks' new digital multichannels.
Flesh Air can be seen on TVS – digital channel 44 – from October 13, at 9.30pm. It will also screen on Melbourne's C31.
Check out the promo below (Warning: contains partial nudity).