So those of us who appreciate the quality work done in the US, the UK (and Europe too, especially Scandinavia at the moment for some reason) are stuck with downloads. Because we are the minority. We are the intelligentsia. Which, frankly, sucks. It’s our job to lead the people from the wilderness, but they don’t want to be led. (The curse of the intellectual). So me, I’ve moved to France to try to get working here or in the UK (I’d have gone to LA, but lack the requisite visa. For the moment.) Here in France the standard of TV isn’t perhaps as high as in the UK or the US, but at least the audience demands it – they look at US drama as being the high point to which their own should aspire. Le docteur House, for example.

Right, that said…

The problem isn’t exclusive to Australia. The Situation, DB supreme that he is, makes more money than Obama, because people in the US watch Jersey Shore. Two And A Half Men? Huge there. The West Wing had such a small audience that only its wealthy demographics kept it on air (luxury and premium brands knew they could reach their target audience reasonably cheaply). Deadwood only lasted three seasons. The Wire never really found the audience it deserved. Breaking Bad, Mad Men and The Walking Dead, three of the greatest shows ever made, are all on cable, with a maximum audience in the US of only a small percentage of the 300 million population, while those without cable lament the dearth of quality work available on the free-to-air networks. Charlie Sheen’s Anger Management landed a debut audience of 5.4 million people, which is a smash hit in cable terms. Thirty years ago the finale to M*A*S*H scored 115 million. It’s not just Australia, it’s everywhere. But it’s true, in Australia it’s perhaps that much more acute – except when it comes to blue-sky drama. If you write for Offspring, Rafters or that new one (there’s always a new one) you’ll be fine. It’s done well in Australia, writers are encouraged to be great, and audiences lap it up. Work in any other genre, and you’ll struggle. Think about it. East-West 101, which won the AAFTA award for best series, and is the closest thing I’ve seen to the kind of quality work to which we should aspire, never broke much more than a half million on the SBS. That despite the fact that it’s clearly built as a procedural with an over-arching series arc, in order to cater for an Australian audience.

Move to the US or the UK if you can. Bigger markets, broader audiences. And in the UK you have the BBC, which isn’t beholden to advertisers and therefore is able to programme for a wide variety of tones, genres and audiences. Adventure is out there. But not so much in Australia. Not right now, at least.