Networking: Comic-Con revs up for a Marvel and Star Wars-free convention - 16th July 2018

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Celebrity Big Brother winner Courtney Act. Photo: Supplied

By Michael Idato

Comic-Con kicks off

With some of film's major properties, including Star Wars and the top-tier Marvel features bowing out of this year's Comic-Con in San Diego, television is expected to cement its ground as the convention's largest asset. The absence of Marvel (though the Sony-owned Marvel properties will be there) and Star Wars is significant, as is the absence of two key TV titles, Game of Thrones and Westworld. But the reboot of Charmed will be there, along with Doctor Who (and new Doctor, Jodie Whittaker), a 10th anniversary reunion of Breaking Bad, The Walking Dead and Fear the Walking Dead, Star Trek: Discovery, The Man in the High Castle and a huge suite of Warner Bros-owned shows, including Castle Rock, Supergirl, Supernatural, Riverdale and The Flash. Comic-Con kicks off Thursday, Australian time and runs until next Monday.

Aussie to star in Reckoning

Australian actor Aden Young will head the cast of the US drama Reckoning, which is being filmed in Australia. Young is best known for roles in The Disappearance, Metal Skin and Rectify. True Blood actor Sam Trammell will also star in the series. Sony-owned production company Playmaker is producing 10 one-hour episodes of the series; it will air internationally on the company's AXN channels in Latin American and Europe. The series also stars Simone Kessell, Ed Oxenbould, Anthony Phelan and Diana Glenn. Sony's Marie Jacobson, who was a key player in Australia's pay TV infancy and launched TV1 before relocating to the US, said the cast were "crushing it in rehearsals." An Australian broadcaster has not yet been confirmed.

Netflix deal for comedians

Comedians from Australia and New Zealand will be among the 47 comedians being lined up by the streaming platform Netflix for a planned series of comedy specials. Joel Creasey, who pulls double duty as one of Australia's Eurovision hosts, will be joined by Nazeem Hussain, and two Kiwi comedians, Urzila Carlson and Cal Wilson in the series. The platform's investment in live comedy is significant; the live comedy genre was heavily mined by premium pay TV channels such as HBO during their infancy. The half-hour comedy specials will be filmed at various comedy festivals, notably Montreal's Just for Laughs.

New Australian dramas on horizon

Essential Media, the Australian production company behind Rake and Jack Irish, is reinvesting in the drama sphere, opening up drama operations in Australia and Los Angeles. The company had previously withdrawn from the genre with the departure of producer Ian Collie, who was behind the critically acclaimed film Saving Mr Banks, and the sale of the company's drama slate to Fremantle. Essential has recruited award-winning producer Michelle Hardy; the company's US operation is headed by Simonne Overend in Los Angeles. The brand, Essential Scripted, will focus on "high end" television. "We're relishing the prospect of our return to drama production ... at a time when the opportunities have never been greater," chief executive Chris Hilton said.

Courtney Act to host talk show

Australian performer Courtney Act, alias Shane Jenek, has secured a deal to front a late night talk show for the UK broadcaster Channel 4. A former Australian Idol contestant, Act has subsequently appeared on RuPaul's Drag Race, where she was a finalist, and the UK edition of Celebrity Big Brother, which she won. Act's Channel 4 show was piloted earlier this year and is being described by the network as a "dragazine" show; it will feature celebrity guests, studio skits and musical performers. "I say come on in, all you heroic misfits, those of you who are a bit chipped around the edges … I want to welcome you all," Act said. "You bring the open minds and I'll bring the open bar and we'll meet in the middle for a gay old time."

Former CEO dies

Sam Chisholm, the former chief executive of the Nine Network in Australia and Sky Television in the UK, has died. He was 78. Chisholm passed away in Sydney with his family by his side. The legendary TV executive led the Nine Network during its ratings and revenue dominance during the 1970s and 1980s; he later moved to the United Kingdom to lead Sky Television during the merger which created BSkyB. In 2004 Chisholm was inducted into Australian television's Hall of Fame and awarded a Gold Logie. "He was as much at home in the world of media as he was at his beloved farm," Sue Chisholm said. "He was the love of my life." Chisholm is survived by his second wife Sue, daughter Caroline and grandson Lewis.

(The Sydney Morning Herald)