It was love at first sight in late 1999 when Gina Riley and Jane Turner gave the ABC their pitch for a sitcom based on a long-form sketch they had done forBig Girl’s Blouse,their series with Magda Szubanski. But just a few months later it turned to acrimony when a senior executive dumped the show by fax,just days before pre-production was due to start.
Gina Riley as Kim and Jane Turner as Kath.Supplied
“It got to the steps of court,” recalls Rick McKenna,one of the show’s three producers with his wife Riley and Turner. “We spent more money on legal fees than we made out of the first series. It was horrible.”
McKenna and others shared their recollections of the show’s difficult birth with this masthead for,ahead of a 20th anniversary special airing on Seven.
Riley and Turner were among the biggest comedy stars on Australian television at the time,and they had already written scripts for two episodes when they met with the ABC. They even had a pilot of sorts cut from the sketch material to show what it would look like.
“The ABC couldn’t believe their luck with the package that had walked in their door,” says McKenna. The broadcaster snapped upKath&Kim,with an order for 13 episodes.
But in early 2000,a senior executive began sharing notes that were,says McKenna,“just bizarre” on all the things wrong with the project.
“It was like that old joke,’how many network executives does it take to change a lightbulb,” says McKenna. The answer:“We love it,it’s great,but are you wedded to the whole lightbulb thing?”
Among the key sticking points,McKenna recalls,were:“Kim is too unlikable;Kel is implausible,no male would be that much of a nice guy;no one will believe Sharon would tolerate that relationship;please don’t mention trams or the Nepean Highway because Sydney won’t like that.”
The worst of all:“No one wants to see a mother and daughter argue for half an hour – which is the bedrock of the show.”
Director Ted Emery explains how Gina Riley and Jane Turner managed to play four characters on screen at the same time in the famous Shane Warne wedding episode.
At one point,the women were told the ABC would rather they do a sketch show instead. But as one last batch of notes was slid across the table,Riley and Turner simply slid them back. “You keep these for your show,” they said. “They’re great notes,but we’re doing our show.”
Feeling there was no way forward at the ABC,they looked elsewhere. There was a nibble of interest from Ten but,McKenna claims,that faded to nothing when the ABC asserted its copyright on the show – even though it had no intention of making it.
Had it not been for the arrival of Sandra Levy at the ABC,Kath&Kim may simply have withered on the vine. The experienced executive felt the ABC had made a clear commitment to produce the show,and soon after being appointed head of television she contacted McKenna to say they needed to sort it out
“And we did,” she says. “Very quickly and very satisfactorily.”
Not that it was all smooth sailing after that. Even after the show was in the can,there were some at the ABC who wondered why they had agreed to do it.
At the Logies in April 2002,Riley and Turner appeared as their comic creations to rapturous applause from the audience,many of whom knew something of their battle with Aunty. A month later the show finally went to air.
But even at television’s night of nights there was pushback. “A very senior ABC programmer,maybe after a few too many roses,saw Gina at the Logies and said,‘I’ve seen your show,I’ve got no idea what we’re going to do with it’,and then stumbled off into the dark,” claims McKenna.
Given that turbulent beginning,it’s something of a miracleKath&Kim ever saw the light of day. But 20 years on,McKenna insists there’s no hard feelings.
“Somebody said to me recently,‘what comedy project hasn’t been difficult to get up’,” he says. “And I thought that’s so true. Comedy is just a different story.”
Kath&Kim:Our Effluent Lives is on Seven,Sunday,November 20,7pm and Monday,November 21,7.30pm. The originalKath&Kim is on Netflix and 7Plus.
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