Mia Freedman about to debut in her own talk show on Sky News (picture Max Doyle, Fairfax)
With the success of Channel Ten’s female chat fest The Circle, it comes as no surprise that Sky News is getting in on the action with the post-Easter debut of a new female-friendly show hosted by Sydney journalist and regular Sky guest, Mia Freedman.
Freedman and Sky insiders are being tight-lipped about the show that could challenge Ten’s new ratings juggernaut and popular newcomer Chrissie Swan, who is up for three Logies.
Or it might find its way to an evening time-slot amid the highly respected political shows PM Agenda followed by The Nation With [political heavyhitter] David Speers and Paul Murray Live, helmed by the multi-talented 2UE drive-timebroadcaster.
Sky recently boosted its political credentials by giving Helen Dalley and Graham Richardson shows in the evening timeslot, and it ran a NSW-election special called So You Want To Be A Politician.
Freedman refused to confirm her imminent debut when I asked her via Twitter yesterday, saying only; “So many rumours”. However, I can report the show will involve a revolving panel of guests from the familiar worlds of fashion, media and celebrity, in which she has a slew of mates and contacts, mirroring her spectacularly popular blog, MamaMia. Politicos also have been approached to appear.
News of the Freedman experiment follows speculation in the Media column in The Australian earlier this year that Sky news boss Angelo Frangopoulos was considering giving her a talk show. It also follows the short-lived effort by Sky to launch 2GB superstar broadcaster Ray Hadley in the evenings. Experiments, however, don’t always work. Hadley quit after four episodes including one in which a young woman appeared in a bikini and boxing gloves (don’t ask), reportedly upsetting some of serious players at the station.
The only questions remaining for the Freedman TV trial are: what time-slot will it get and what will it be called? If the show lands in the hard-hitting political nightly line-up the title Mama Mia might not be a perfect fit, though I suspect it would work if the show goes into day-time.
Freedman was a successful magazine editor at ACP Magazines before a brief and unsuccessful stint at Channel Nine with the ill-fated, all-female day-time show, The Catch-Up (based on the US show, The View). It was boned after four months of low ratings.
She is a mother of three and successful pop culture commentator, author and Fairfax columnist, proving that some women can have it all. At once. Eventually.
