Media Diary Blog | September 05, 2011
The Slap, the much-anticipated ABC1 miniseries, will screen on Thursday nights from October 6.

Only hours after publication of Media’s story about internal programming chaos at the ABC over the handling of the adaptation of Christos Tsiolkas’s award-winning novel, a tweet from the show’s producers confirmed the premiere.

ABC1 planned to premiere the series starring Alex Dimitriades, Sophie Lowe, Jonathan LaPaglia and Melissa George, on Sunday nights in September after taking the bold, and ultimately successful, step to premiere two episodes during the Melbourne International Film Festival in August.

But Nine pre-empted the series by scheduling the new series Underbelly: Razor on Sunday nights, on the back of what was anticipated to be, and was, the finale of the reality series The Block.

Consequently, there has been some gnashing of teeth within the ABC about where to program one of its key 2011 assets. While Thursday nights don’t provide the bulk viewers attainable on a Sunday or even earlier in the week, the night is a fairly clear zone as one of Seven’s weakest nights before The X Factor arrived and Nine’s Hamish & Andy’s Gap Year not maintaining its high launch audience. ABC1 also attracts its biggest audience of the week on Wednesday – and last week its best for the year – on the back of The Gruen Transfer and Spicks and Specks.

The Slap will replace the young legal drama, Crownies.

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