Nine is banking on more true crime-inspired drama to take its scripted slate forward in 2023, with Roadshow Rough Diamond series Human Error leading the network’s titles for next year.
It will be joined by a two-part scripted tribute to cricketing hero Shane Warne, as well as well reality series Gordon Ramsay’s Food Stars, The Summit, and Australia’s Most Identical, and observational documentaries Big Miracles and a revived RPA.
After unveiling Underbelly: Vanishing Act and After the Verdict at last year’s upfronts, Human Error took centre stage at this year’s showcase, with the series following in the tradition of the former in being inspired by true events.
The story follows detective Holly O’Rourke and her homicide team as a seemingly open-and-shut murder investigation threatens to destroy her career, her family, and her faith in justice.
As she scrambles to redeem her personal and professional reputation, Holly and her team uncover a criminal conspiracy that will change their lives forever.
John Edwards, Dan Edwards, Greg Haddrick, and Samantha Winston are producing, while the series is being written by Samantha Winston, Haddrick, and Gregor Jordan. The Age’s crime reporter and podcaster John Sylvester is on board as story consultant.
Cast will be announced soon for the series, which is backed by major production investment from Screen Australia and financial support from VicScreen. ITV Studios is handling international distribution.
John and Dan Edwards said the series represented a long-held goal for Roadshow Rough Diamond.
“Cracking the nut on a smart detective drama show has long been an ambition for us, and Nine and ITV Studios are the perfect partners,” they said.
9Network’s head of drama Andy Ryan said Human Error would be the “must-watch crime drama for 2023”.
“9Network has always been the home of Australian crime drama, and we are thrilled to partner with the outstanding team at Roadshow Rough Diamond to bring Human Error to the screen,” he said.
Also on the drama line-up for 2023 is Warnie, a scripted showcase of highlights from the life of the legendary spinner who died earlier this year.
The project is being produced by Screentime, in association with VicScreen, with cast to be announced soon.
In the reality stakes, the network is set to go against Seven’s version of Kitchen Nightmares with Gordon Ramsay’s Food Stars.
Ramsay, a previous host of Kitchen Nightmares in the US and UK, will join business mogul Janine Allis in mentoring and guiding competing teams as battle for a cash prize to kickstart their new business.
Based on a format that is already broadcasting in the US and UK, Gordon Ramsay’s Food Stars is being produced by Endemol Shine Australia and Studio Ramsay Global.
Endemol Shine Australia is also behind The Summit, an endurance contest taking place against the backdrop of the New Zealand Alps that consists of a group of strangers who each have an equal share of $1 million in their backpacks that must reach the peak of a distant mountain in just 14 days to keep the cash they are holding.
Family is at the centre of the network’s two other new titles for 2023 — Ronde Media’s Big Miracles and Helium’s Australia’s Most Identical.
The former follows 10 determined individuals and couples that are trying to fall pregnant with the odds stacked against them, as well as giving insights into the work of doctors, nurses, and scientists that are along for the journey.
For Australia’s Most Identical, hosts Scott Cam and Jana Pittman, both parents of twins, lead a social investigation to find and ultimately determine the nation’s most identical siblings.
Australia’s leading “Twin Experts” professor Sarah Wilson and Professor Jeff Craig will supervise and assess the results, in consultation with Twin Research Australia, which is based at the University of Melbourne.
Headlining the returning slate for next year is McAvoy Media’s RPA, which has been revived following a ten-year hiatus.
Narrated by Roger Corser, the series follows patients at Sydney’s Royal Prince Alfred hospital, as well as the staff of surgeons and physicians, with the updated version to feature advancements and new technologies: from life-saving, minimally invasive brain, heart, and robotic surgery to the 24/7 statewide Clot Retrieval Procedure for stroke sufferers, along with all the immediacy of the hospital’s Emergency Department.
Nine program director Hamish Turner told IF titles like Paramedics and Emergency had shown how factual production had changed over the past 10-15 years, giving the network the foundation with which to revisit the concept.
“You bring this almost cinematic element to [factual] these days and we wanted to tap into the strength of the brand but also bring it to the modern day and I think those guys have done that,” he said.
Making a more immediate return for 9network are formats Married at First Sight, The Block, LEGO Masters, Paramedics, Emergency, Million Dollar Murders, Parental Guidance, The Hundred with Andy Lee, Australian Crime Stories, Frozen Planet II, Millionaire Hot Seat, Getaway, Country House Hunters Australia, and Space Invaders.
Turner said the network wanted to “evolve and excite” with its mix of returning and new projects.
“The last thing you want to do is stand still and I think there is an opportunity for us to bring some new ideas to the table and tell them in a way that nobody is,” he said.