Australian entertainers and brothers, Andrew and Cameron Daddo, have teamed up with Nova Entertainment to launch a new podcast series that chronicles the creative process behind making scripted television.
“So You Want To Make A TV Show” marks the first time that the brothers have worked together since 1992 when they both appeared on an episode of Australian television game show, “Cluedo”.
“I thought about this the other day,” Cameron told Variety Australia exclusively. “We haven’t worked together in this way before, we’ve never created something together. Andrew was on [“Cluedo”]. I went on and played a guest role and got killed off inside 46 minutes.”
The Daddo’s are Australian television royalty. Cameron, 57, launched his TV career as host of dating show “Perfect Match Australia” in 1987. He went on to spend 25 years working in Hollywood, before returning to Australia in 2017. He also hosts his own evening show on Nova’s Smooth FM.
Cameron, 55, is a former MTV VJ. He acted in Australian children’s series “Round the Twist” and “Cluedo”, and went on to host a number of popular shows, including “The Apprentice Australia”. Like his brother, Cameron is also an author – and now, a podcaster.
During the first three episodes of their new podcast, shared with Variety Australia, the pair workshop ideas for a hit TV show. They settle on a plot about a guy who is dying to meet his dead wife. The Daddo’s then enlist a number of industry friends to further develop the vision – but learn quickly that with each new team member, their creative control wanes.
“The plan was to start with this idea and see how it would change when everyone gets their muddy boots into it,” Andrew told Variety Australia exclusively. “It’s going to be interesting to see how that plays out. Will it be ‘dying to meet my dead wife’? Or will it be ‘I moved to the Gold Coast to escape the rain and we got flooded again’?
“So, that’s what really is interesting for me as a writer I suppose, to see who’s going to mess with it the most,” he added.
The series is perfectly narrated by Rachel Corbett, a former radio star, a regular panellist on Channel 10’s “The Project” and Nova Entertainment’s Sydney-based head of podcasts and digital content.
“The Daddo brothers have had a huge amount of experience in all forms of media,” Corbett said, “but they’ve never made a TV show.
“We wanted to follow them and see if they could go from blank piece of paper to fully-fledged TV show concept in less than 10 episodes.”
Among the guests to make an appearance are producers Anne Robinson (“Born to Spy”, “Backyard Ashes”, “Heartbreak High”) and Tania Chambers – who recently worked with Cameron on “How To Please A Woman” – and writers Michael Petroni (“The Book Thief”), Libby Butler (“Neighbours”) and Joe Murphy (“Emily In Paris”).
Variety Australia understands at least half a dozen high profile actors join the Daddo’s in later episodes, including an Emmy Award nominee and Golden Globe winner. Season 1 of “So You Want To Make A TV Show” premieres April 6 via the Nova Entertainment Podcast Network.
Listen to Episode 1 below, exclusively, courtesy of Nova Entertainment, ahead of its debut on podcast streaming platforms on Wednesday.