Simon Baker's much-hyped new American TV series has spectacularly crashed and burned, but Rachel Griffiths has found a new hit TV show.
Australian actors have had mixed success during the first three weeks of the new autumn US TV ratings season, where the American networks roll out their new series.
Griffiths' new show Brothers & Sisters has been an early ratings winner and former Neighbours star Alan Dale has scored big with his new comedy, Ugly Betty.
Tasmanian-born Baker was the casualty among the Aussies.
His new high-action, big budget TV series, Smith, was one of the most expensive shows ever made, but it was axed this week by the CBS TV network after just three episodes because of average ratings.
Smith, about a crack team of thieves, was loaded with actors better known to Hollywood films, such as Ray Liotta, Virginia Madsen and Amy Smart, but American audiences were not impressed.
It was Baker's return to TV following the axing of his TV series in 2004, The Guardian.
"It's a cut-throat industry," Australian-born talent manager Rob Marsala, who represents a stable of actors in Hollywood, said.
"If a show is not working, the networks have no problem with pulling it off the air quickly."
Australia's Nine Network has the rights to Smith, but Australians may never see the show.
Griffiths, the star of the hit TV series Six Feet Under for five seasons, appears to be safe with Brothers & Sisters, another show focusing on a dysfunctional family.
The drama, which Australia's Seven Network has the rights to, also stars Calista Flockart and Sally Field and has been solid in the ratings, scoring 13 million viewers on Sunday.
Ugly Betty, in which Dale plays the head of a magazine empire, is the most-watched new show in the US. Last week it had 14.26 million viewers, which is also good news for the Seven Network which owns the Australian rights.
Smith's ratings could not match the show's huge budget.
Its heavily-publicised first episode, which centred on a museum heist and a high-speed boat chase, drew an audience of 11 million.
The second week Smith's ratings fell to 9.6 million and the fatal trend continued last week when only 8.4 million tuned in.
That is when CBS executives stepped in and pulled the show from the network's schedule.
An Australian also continues to star in the American version of Dancing with the Stars. Professional ballroom dancer Kym Johnson, who partnered Tom Williams to victory in last year's Australian Dancing with the Stars series, has guided controversial talkshow host Jerry Springer into the fourth week of the US show.
Another professional Australian ballroom dancer on the show, Nick Kosovich, was booted last week with his actress partner, Vivica A Fox.
The top five shows in the US last week were: Grey's Anatomy (22.8 million), CSI (21.51 million), Desperate Housewives (20.96 million), Lost (18.82 million) and Dancing with the Stars (18.38 million).
Front page
RSS Feed