The “less racist than anticipated, but very, very, very unfunny” first season of Here Come The Habibs! brought with it a storm of controversy in the lead-up to its debut on Channel Nine a few weeks ago.
Slammed for perpetuating gross stereotypes before even a single frame had aired, the show’s coverage in the media meant that its visibility was a lot higher than what it might have been.
And because of that, or perhaps in spite of it, the show has been absolutely killing it in the ratings.
Its February 9 premiere saw a whopping 1.24million metro viewers tune in to the show, making it the second-most watched show in the country on the day (behind only the My Kitchen Rules juggernaut, which refuses to relinquish everyone’s attention).
But far from being a one-off curiosity, the show has persisted, somehow managing to stave off the sharp-decline in viewership that new shows often experience after a hotly-anticipated premiere. In the three weeks since the debut episode, the show has attracted metro audiences of 944,000, 896,000, and 800,000, with all three episodes ranking in the top ten most-watched shows for each respective day.
That, right there, is the absolute dictionary definition of a ratings hit.
So despite the controversy, despite the huge risk being taken in launching a scripted comedy series on a commercial network’s primary channel, and despite all empirical evidence suggesting that this simply should not work, Channel Nine has gone ahead today and renewed Here Come The Habibs! for a second season.
Nine’s heads of drama (the fact that there’s not a dedicated comedy division speaks volumes, frankly) Jo Rooney and Andy Ryan issued a joint statement earlier today confirming the renewal.
“After 15 years without a new comedy on commercial TV, Australia has fallen for the Habibs. We’re delighted to bring back the Habibs and their uptight neighbours for another series of comedy, chaos and multicultural mayhem.”
This is happening, and we’ve got no one to blame for it but ourselves.
With any luck season two might actually feature a well-constructed joke.
Source: TV Tonight.
