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Channel Nine’s new 9pm gameshow effort was quite literally The Weakest Link on Tuesday night.
The Magda Szubanski-fronted revival of the once-popular quiz format premiered to a tepid 423,000 viewers across the five metro capital cities.
The failure to launch is even more disappointing given the show’s lead-in, Celebrity Apprentice, was the highest-rated entertainment show of the night.
Does what it says on the tin: Channel Nine’s new 9pm gameshow effort was quite literally The Weakest Link on Tuesday night, managing just 423,000 metro viewers for the premiere. Pictured is host Magda Szubanski
The boardroom portion of Celebrity Apprentice managed 646,000, edging out Home and Away at 613,000 metro viewers.
Channel Nine splits the show into the elimination (boardroom) segment and the episode itself, which managed 567,000 viewers.
The Weakest Link wasn’t a total disaster, knocking Channel Seven’s The Good Doctor out of the top twenty shows, but the American drama costs the network considerably less money to air.
Nine’s program director Hamish Turner put a positive spin on the results in a statement to B&T, saying the network were ‘extremely happy’ with the launch, which won its timeslot and led in all the key demographics.’
You’re fired? The failure to launch is even more disappointing given the show’s lead-in, Celebrity Apprentice, was the highest-rated entertainment show of the night with 646,000 viewers tuning in for the eviction segment. Pictured are contestants Jess and Lisa Origliasso
The statement is misleading, given the fact the only other show to start at 9pm was The Good Doctor. It was beaten by ABC’s Love On The Spectrum, with 437,000 viewers watching the one-hour program at 8:30.
Any further significant ratings dip may spell the end for The Weakest Link, with timeslot relegation more likely than cancellation due to the amount of episodes that have already been filmed.
Pub test: Nine’s program director Hamish Turner put a positive spin on the results, saying the network were ‘extremely happy’ with the launch, which won its timeslot’ – but the only other show to start at 9pm was The Good Doctor, an American drama that costs Channel Seven far less to put to air
Also worrying is the fact response to the show on Twitter was largely negative.
Many viewers said they wouldn’t be watching the Channel Nine game show again, making up their minds before the first episode was even over.
‘I gave it 2 segments. It’s a no from me,’ commented one viewer, while another wrote, ‘Sorry @MagdaSzubanski @Channel9 but #WeakestLinkAU is… Well… Weak. I won’t be back.’
Blink and you’ll miss it: Any further significant ratings dip may spell the end for The Weakest Link, with timeslot relegation more likely than cancellation due to the amount of episodes that have already been filmed
Others accused Magda, 60, of ‘overacting’ and urged her to just be herself.
’10 mins into #WeakestLinkAU and I couldn’t cringe harder. Magda’s overacting and scripted put downs are unbearable,’ one viewer tweeted.
Weak start: Also worrying is the fact response to the show on Twitter was largely negative
Losing viewers: Many stated that they wouldn’t be watching the Channel Nine game show again, making up their minds before the first episode was even over
‘Wrong choice in host. I’m done. Back to the internet. Reboot you are the weakest link. Goodbye!!’ commented one person, using the show’s famous catchphrase.
Added another: ‘Watching Magda Szubanski do an ill-fitting impression of the nasty schoolmarm from the UK’s The Weakest Link is just… sad. Just be yourself, Magda.’
‘I gave it 2 segments. It’s a no from me,’ commented one viewer, while another wrote, ‘Sorry @MagdaSzubanski @Channel9 but #WeakestLinkAU is… Well… Weak. I won’t be back’
Acting up: Others accused Magda, 60, of ‘overacting’ and urged her to just be herself. ’10 mins into #WeakestLinkAU and I couldn’t cringe harder,’ commented one viewer
One person said the late Cornelia Frances, who hosted the series in the early noughties, ‘would be horrified at what they’re doing to her legacy’.
‘Magda is no Cornelia that’s for sure,’ commented another, while one person wrote, ‘Nobody can say GOODBYE quite like Cornelia Frances. RIP’.
RIP: One person said the late Cornelia Frances (pictured), who hosted the series in the early noughties, ‘would be horrified at what they’re doing to her legacy’
‘Magda is no Cornelia that’s for sure,’ commented another, while one person wrote, ‘Nobody can say GOODBYE quite like Cornelia Frances. RIP’
‘Can we get another presenter?!’ asked another.
But not everyone was hating the reboot, one fan gushed that it was ‘so much better than the original airing’.
‘I love this show and have wanted it back for years. Even better now that it’s with @MagdaSzubanski,’ commented another fan.
Approval: Not everyone was hating the reboot, with one person declaring it ‘so much better than the original’
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