Seven Network announces ‘Stranded On Honeymoon Island’, ‘Once In A Lifetime’ as ‘Home and Away’, ‘RFDS’ lead scripted slate
Seven Network will look overseas for new premium drama in 2025, with the 37th season of Home and Away and the third season of RFDS leading its local scripted slate.
As part “7plus first” approach to all of its new international programming announced at its upfronts today, the network plans to welcome a new premium series on 7plus every single month, starting with Canadian crime drama Murder In A Small Town next week.
From NBC, there is Suits: LA, in which Ted Black, a former federal prosecutor from New York, reinvents himself representing the most powerful clients in Los Angeles; Grosse Pointe Garden Society, which centres on four members of a suburban garden club, all from different walks of life, who get caught up in murder and mischief; and The Hunting Party, a high-concept crime procedural about a small team of investigators who are assembled to track down and capture most dangerous killers who have just escaped from a top-secret prison that’s not supposed to exist. Seven will also air BBC Studios Natural History Unit’s The Americas, an 11-part tentpole event series, narrated by Tom Hanks.
Outside of drama, 7plus will also screen AFL and cricket for the first time.
Seven MD and Chief Executive Officer Jeff Howard said the network’s streaming audience continued to grow at a rapid rate.
“7plus is set to soar from late November with cricket and again in March with AFL, both available on a free streamer for the first time,” he said.
New local titles to air on Seven next year include Stranded On Honeymoon Island, a social experiment in which couples are matched by experts following a speed dating event and then abandoned on their deserted tropical islands after committing themselves to each other; Once In A Lifetime, centred on global wildlife journies undertaken by vet Chris Brown, who enlists Mick Molloy, Amanda Keller, Kate Ritchie and Matt Preston as his assistants; and Jim Jefferies And Friends, a stand-up program featuring Jefferies alongside Dave Hughes, Jimeoin, Arj Barker, Tommy Little, Nikki Osborne, Mel Buttle, and Felicity Ward, among others.
There are also new episodes of First Dates, produced by Warner Bros. International Television Australia, and the special events Working Class Man (the story of Jimmy Barnes), Live It Up: The Mental As Anything Story, and Cold Chisel Live: 50th Anniversary Tour.
In addition to Home and Away and Endemol Shine Australia’s RFDS, the network’s returning slate includes Farmer Wants A Wife, Australian Idol, My Kitchen Rules, The Voice, Dancing With The Stars, The 1% Club, Better Homes and Gardens, The Chase Australia, Border Security: Australia’s Front Line, Highway Patrol, The Hunters, The Rise And Fall Of Kings Cross, The Great Outdoors and Off The Grid with Manu Feildel and Colin Fassnidge.
Seven chief content officer Brook Hall said the line-up was designed to “consistently deliver audiences year-round across Seven and 7plus”.
“From our content ‘spine’ of Sunrise, The Morning Show, The Chase Australia, 7NEWS, Home and Away and Better Homes and Gardens, to increasingly popular tentpoles such as Farmer Wants A Wife, Australian Idol, The Voice, My Kitchen Rules, The 1% Club and Dancing With The Stars, Seven has a powerful year-long schedule that will keep Australians connected and entertained,” he said.
“Our new tentpoles including Stranded On Honeymoon Island and Once In A Lifetime will further strengthen our 7.30pm lineup.”
