Fart from the Past: Get Nicked

Flops on Australian television work one of two ways: they get to air and stink so badly they’re axed, or you read about someone desperately trying to talk up a project that’s clearly never going to happen. What we almost never see is the show that progresses a long way down the track before getting the chop – after all, even The White Room eventually made it to air after years of faffing around. But it does happen: come with us now on an epic journey into the strange and mildly depressing world of… Get Nicked.

Seven gets Nicked – Nick Giannopoulos returns to Television
25-Oct-2005
Channel Seven today announced it has commissioned a new Australian comedy series starring Nick Giannopoulos entitled Get Nicked. Produced by Granada Productions and In Good Nick Productions, the eight part, half-hour series is created and written by multi-award winning Giannopoulos (The Wannabes, The Wog Boy, Wogs Out Of Work and Acropolis Now) and will be directed by Ted Emery (Fast Forward, Full Frontal Jimeoin and Kath Kim). Get Nicked follows the ups and downs of Giannopoulos chaotic family and celebrity lifestyle. The series will go into pre-production at the end of the month and will air on the Seven Network in 2006.

Nick Giannopoulos said today: I am very excited that the Seven Network has commissioned my new TV series Get Nicked. After 12 years of stage and film I feel like Im coming back home to where it all began with Acropolis Now. I am sure that with such a successful and experienced partner as Granada, we will be able to produce a very funny and unique Australian comedy series. Sevens Head of Program Development, Mr Brad Lyons, said: Get Nicked is a fresh and unique concept, audiences are going to love and laugh at Nicks escapades. Its fantastic to have Nick back at Seven. Head of Development, Granada Productions, Ms Hilary Innes said: The timing for Nick G to pop back up on our small screens is perfect. We can certainly do with some more self deprecating contemporary Australian comedy. Get Nicked is full of well drawn characters that we can all identify with, some sparkling new talent and a cast list of cameos to die for great home grown laughs for all!

From a gossip column a few months later:

Rave reviews for Get Nicked

Get Nicked, Nick Giannopoulos’ clever new take on reality television
is up for grabs.

With the Granada Television pilot already receiving rave reviews from
Granada’s international head, it can only be a matter of time before
it pops up on one of the networks.

Described by Giannopoulos as “art imitating life”, Get Nicked
features actors playing the star’s family and friends while
celebrities play themselves.

Vince Colosimo and Holly Brisley were both in the pilot, which
included an hysterical scene at Icebergs Dining Room.

And yet, the next we heard about it was this from an interview with Giannopoulos in 2007:

In 2005 [Nick Giannopoulos] began work on a sitcom concept, Get Nicked. Production house Granada shopped it to the networks and it was snapped up by an enthusiastic Channel 7.

Giannopoulos toiled in script development and the casting process, only to find Seven had pulled the plug on the concept. A year’s passion and commitment went down the loo.

“We shot the pilot, everyone seemed to love it and it was the most enjoyable thing I’d done in TV,” Giannopoulos says.

“We were ready to shoot the 10 episodes when I got a call saying Seven wasn’t going ahead. I was shattered. I literally spent two months on the floor. I’d put more than 18 months of my life into that show.

“It’s so confusing and frustrating for this to happen after the show had previously been so enthusiastically embraced. We all got paid out and you move on, but I still don’t know the real reason the show didn’t get made.”

Obviously Nick never read the business pages:

— Quote —23/05/06
Sector:Plc
TV plc (”ITV”) today announces the sale of a 11.6% stake in Seven Network Limited, the Australian Media Company, for £87 million.

The disposal represents a further step in the disposal programme of non-core assets which has raised close to £400m in cash since the creation of ITV in 2004.

ITV retains its strong interest in the Australian television production sector through its wholly-owned subsidiary Granada Productions Pty Limited.

Notes to editors
About ITV
ITV is Britain’s biggest and most popular commercial broadcaster, with 82% of people in the UK watching ITV in any week. ITV’s flagship channel – ITV1 – is the home of the most popular drama and entertainment programmes on British television and ITV2, 3 and 4 are among the most popular channels on multi-channel television.

Granada Australia is one of Australia’s leading independent television producers. Its recent and current programme slate includes Merrick and Rosso Unplanned (Nine Network); World Comedy Tour (Nine Network, Foxtel, Comedy Central USA); Dancing with the Stars Series 4 (Seven Network and TVNZ); Guinness World Records (Seven Network); Australia’s Next Top Model Series 2 (Fox 8); and Australian Princess (Ten Network). It is also currently working on Get Nicked, a situation comedy starring Australian celebrity Nick Giannopoulos for the Seven Network. Dancing with the Stars was the sixth most watched series of 2005 and the Final of Dancing with the Stars was one of the most watched shows in 2005.
— End quote —

So to clarify: Nick Giannopoulos sold a show produced by Granada to a network partially owned by Granada’s parent company, then when that parent company sold off their share in Seven, Seven suddenly lost interest in Nick’s show.  Hmm. That doesn’t really seem to say a lot for the intrinsic quality of Get Nicked.

All was not lost though: while Nick G went on to host the now-completely forgotten The Singing Office and then make the utterly worthless Wogboy 2: Kings of Mykonos, Ted Emery directed basically the same concept – which, let’s be honest, is just “let’s rip off Curb Your Enthusiasm” – starring Peter Moon for Foxtel as Whatever Happened to That Guy? Which we actually liked. Hurrah!