Tag Archives: Winners & Losers

Channel 7, Drama, FRONT, Local TV, TV

More Winners and Losers for Channel 7

Back for season 5, Winners and Losers on 7
Back for season 5, Winners and Losers on 7

It’s great to see Channel 7 showing faith in one of it’s locally produced dramas after the announcement of a fifth season of Winners & Losers to come in 2015.

The drama, currently half way through it’s fourth season, has been officially greenlit for season 5, Seven said yesterday.  “At its heart, Winners & Losers is about the unbreakable bond of friendship and that’s why it resonates with so many Australians,” said Seven’s head of drama, Julie McGauran. “It’s an evolving story about young women trying to make their way in life, connected by shared experiences and supporting each other along the way. We’re delighted the journey continues.”

There’s no real surprise though with the renewal seeing the series averaged 1.05m metro viewers through it’s run in 2014 and is also Sevens highest-rated locally produced drama series in the younger demographic, even ahead of Home and Away.

To refresh you all, last time we saw our favorite winners, Frances had just given birth to her baby girl, Sophie was contemplating single life after another break-up, Jen was struggling to deal with life after her double mastectomy and Sam was left dealing with a dying Luke in her arms.

Season 4 continues in 2015 on Channel 7.

Channel 7, Drama, FRONT, Local TV, TV

Winners & Losers Mid Season Finale Info

Gabe and Jenny head for hard times
Gabe (Nick Russell) and Jenny (Melissa Berglund) head for hard times.  Source: Provided

Winners & Losers is steamrolling into it’s mid season finale (airing next Tuesday, Sept 23rd) and like usual, the show is goes out with a bang that will leave fans hanging.

Tonight’s episode fast tracks the time line forward one month after Jen’s double mastectomy and reconstruction and there’s tension in the air between her and boyfriend Gabe (Nick Russell) with Jen not wanting to accept that the surgery has changed things in her life. Sam (Katherine Hicks) is struggling living life without Cory (Jacob Holt) who has returned to the care of his mum Hayley (Anna Samson) while Sophie (Mellanie Vajello) decides to make amends with Luke (Nathin Butler) and attempts to rekindle their friendship.

But it’s next week’s finale that brings out all the drama with Frances (Virginia Gay) finally going into labour (hoorah!) that brings some of the funniest moments from the season to date while Doug (Tom Wren) and Carla (Sibylla Budd) come up against some unexpected closed doors while looking into the possibility of adoption leaving Carla’s sister Izzy (Laura Gordon) wanting to make a selfless offer. while Jenny and Gabe and Sophie and Jack find themselves in romantic messes trying to determine what they both want out of their relationships.

This mid-season finale’s biggest ‘OMG!’ moments however revolve around the Sam/Cory/Hayley story-line that has played  out over the first half of this season, finally coming to a very dramatic end that will not only leave you wondering who’s going to survive, but also grabbing the tissues!

Winners & Losers airs tonight, channel 7 at 8:30pm with the mid season finale airing next Tuesday night on 7.

Channel 7, FRONT, Local TV, TV

Big Changes in Place for Winners and Losers

Big cast changes took place in Tuesdays Winners & Losers
Big cast changes took place in Tuesdays Winners & Losers

Well, you can’t say Channel 7 favorite Winners and Losers is one of those shows that just cruises along without offering too much or shaking things up – whether it be for good or for bad.

In the past handful of episodes, leading up-to and including last Tuesdays season three finale (still unsure why we were left dangling for three months to get the last three episodes of the season) we’ve seen Zach (Stephen Phillips) take flight for Abu Dhabi, Patrick (Jack Pearson) and Jasmine (PiaGrace Moon) leave for an extended Europe vacation, Bec (Zoe Tuckwell-Smith), Harrison and Ryan (David Paterson) uproot to Singapore, Jonathan (Damien Bodie) and Rhys (Nick Simpson-Deeks) move to San Francisco and Flynn (Tom Hobbs) making a quick exit for New Zealand (you can tell how happy I am about that last one).

While Bec’s absence won’t be noticeable (she’s back next week and not happy with life in Singapore) the absence of such a large number of characters in such a small space of time is quite apparent, especially with only two new characters – Luke McKenzie (Nathin Butler) and Gabe Reynolds (Nick Russell) to fill the void along with a beefed up role for Bridget Fitzgerald (Sarah Grace) – and then there’s Carla (Sibylla Budd), but I don’t like to talk about her.

There’s no word yet on a return of any of our recently departed, though with the news that Francis (Virginia Gay) is five weeks pregnant, one could hope that Zach or Jonathan may be back earlier than later.

Winners and Losers Season 4 kicks off Tuesday July 1st 8:45pm on Channel 7.

Channel 7, Drama, FRONT, Local TV, TV

Winners And Losers: Tough Decisions Ahead For Frances

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Doug Gives Frances Some Less Than Good News (c)Channel 7

I’ve always said to my partner “if something happens to you and you need full-time care, then I’m outta here!”  Half of me is joking, the other half…joking not so much, but this is a situation Frances (played by the wonderful Virginia Gay) is currently facing in Channel 7’s Winners & Losers.

In scenes dealt with by many people in real life, Frances is faced with the possibility of having her life completely turned upside down to become Zach’s (Stephen Phillips) full-time care giver after suffering a stroke while in emergency surgery resulting from a viscous attack by a jealous Shannon (Luke McKenzie).

It is literally one of the toughest decisions Frances has had to make so far.

To stay or go?

When asked if Frances could ever accommodate the idea of leaving, star Virginia Gay says “It’s a subject broached in the very next episode.”

In Tuesday nights episode titled ‘Afternoon Delight’, we’ll see Frances distancing herself from her worries with Zach and the hospital by joining her friends for a day away at Sam’s (Katherine Hicks) farm while becoming agitated with sexual frustration egged on by Jonathan (Damien Bodie).

In Frances’ worst case scenario, could she contemplate stepping away from Zach?  Would there be moral fall-backs from family and friends in doing so?

Winners and Losers continues Tuesday night, channel 7, 8:30pm!

 

Comedy, Drama, FRONT, Local TV

Winners and Losers pulls a Packed to the Rafters

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The cast of Winners and Losers

I’m just going to put it out there….I really don’t (and never really have) watch many Australian made tv shows.  Blue Heelers?  I remember a whole lot of fuss and bother over Maggie Doyle and that guy Martin Sacks played.  Offspring?  I think I’m the only one who didn’t know who Patrick was and why the country stopped to honor his death.  I did give Packed to the Rafters a shot, but that was only because I was in love with Rebecca Gibney.  Don’t get me wrong though, I do watch some things we make….

Along with Wentworth, Please Like Me and anything involving Chris Lilley, Winners and Losers sits happily in my ‘really want to watch’ pile.  That age old story of four friends reuniting at their high school reunion only to find out they’ve won 2 million each in the lottery had me hooked from episode one.

Ratings wise, the show is doing well.  After a shaky season three opener (Why?!  Did people not remember the cliffhanger of season two?  MATT. BLOWS. UP.) the ratings have begun to top the 1 million viewer mark and usually wins it’s time-slot.  So that said, why is channel 7 splitting the season in half, stopping after 13 episodes instead of the usual 20+ season run?  Next week will see a double night mid-season finale before the show returns next year.

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  Winners and Losers script producer Dan Bennett tweeted me informing me that yes, the show will be back and that next week’s mid-season finale will be a life changing cliffhanger.

Though I’m wondering if Channel 7 have forgotten what happened when they did this to Packed to the Rafters during season 5?  Remember?  People invested themselves into 10 episodes of the show before it was pulled off the air until the following year, then, when Channel 7 so graciously brought it back, people stopped watching and ratings dropped considerably.

I’m hoping (and secretly knowing) that Winners and Losers should be strong enough to withstand a         mid-season pause.  The season so far has been strong with the show moving away from “We’re rich!”         story-lines and focusing more on family/relationships and and the addition of new characters has given the show a much needed boost with Matt (Blair McDonough) and Tiffany Turner (Michala Banas) exiting.

Next weeks double hitter begins Tuesday at 8:45pm on Channel 7.