Melissa George joins Mosquito Coast

Melissa George.

Australian actress Melissa George has signed up to the Apple TV+ reboot of Mosquito Coast. The series is based on the book by Paul Theroux which was previously adapted for the big screen in 1986, starring Harrison Ford. The television adaptation will star Justin Theroux – the nephew of the book’s author – as an inventor who moves to the jungle of Central America with his family to start a new life. George will play Margot, the wife of Theroux’s character Allie. The series will also star Logan Polish and Gabriel Bateman as Dina and Charlie, Allie and Margot’s children. The project will be produced and written by Neil Cross (with Tom Bissell) and directed by Rupert Wyatt.

Marc Fennell.Credit:SBS

Oz podcast scores Rose D’or nomination

It Burns, the podcast in which broadcaster Marc Fennell explores the “bizarre war to grow the most brutal pepper on earth” has been nominated for a prestigious Rose d’Or award. The five-part podcast, produced for the Audible platform, was nominated in the audio entertainment category, against podcasts from the UK, Ireland and Belgium. Other nominees include the ABC’s factual series Employable Me, The Bisexual and Derry Girls (in comedy drama/sitcom), Baroness Von Sketch Show and This Time With Alan Partridge (comedy), David Bowie: Finding Fame (arts) and Eastenders, Casualty and Brazil’s Topissima (soap/telenovela). The winners are announced on December 1.

Ronny Chieng.

Ronny Chieng: Emmy host …

Australian comedian Ronny Chieng will host the 47th International Emmy Awards in New York. Chieng is a correspondent for The Daily Show With Trevor Noah, and starred in the ABC sitcom Ronny Chieng: International Student. He also has a Netflix comedy special which will debut in December. The Founders Award this year goes to Game of Thrones producer/writers David Benioff and D.B. Weiss; the award will be presented to the pair by Game of Thrones actor Conleth Hill. CNN chief anchor Christiane Amanpour will also be honoured. The event will be held in New York at the end of November.

… And a revamp for the daytime version

Meanwhile, across town at the Emmy’s younger sibling, the Daytime Emmys, organisers have unfurled a raft of changes ahead of next year’s 47th annual Daytime Emmy awards. Aside from a slightly swollen schedule – they will be held aross three nights, beginning on Friday, June 12 and ending on Sunday, June 14 – the changes include merging the outstanding male and female performer categories into one, expanding the casting, costume design, art direction, lighting, editing and music categories to both broadcast and digital dramas and the nixing of the outstanding musical performance in a daytime program category. That’s you Gina Romalotti. The game’s up.

Nine names new radio boss

News and sports executive Tom Malone has been named managing director of Nine’s radio division, formed after Nine takes operational control of Macquarie Media and its suite of stations, including 2GB, 3AW, 4BC and 6PR. Malone was previously Nine’s head of sport and has also held senior producing roles with Today and 60 Minutes. “Tom has a stellar track record as both a content creator and a media executive,” Nine’s CEO Hugh Marks said. In a media statement, Malone said he was excited to be returning to radio. “2GB, 3AW, 4BC and 6PR are all powerful voices in their respective cities with deep connections to their communities and we will seek to expand on that,” he said.

It’s A Knockout, again

It has been joked that if you want to look at next year’s Australian TV schedule, just look up what’s number one right now in Finland. Well, it’s not Finland, but Italy and France are both dusting off the It’s A Knockout format. The one with the slightly hyperbolic theme song that goes you can feel the expectation, and the wild jubilation as they’re shouting the winner’s name aloud. The series, in which teams compete in nonsensical physical games, could be a hit in the post-Wipeout/Ninja Warrior world. “This has something for everybody, from the epic fails to silly costumes to nostalgia value,” Banijay head of content Lucas Green told Variety. Can Royal It’s A Knockout: The Next Generation be far behind?

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