According to Variety Australia, the Paramount Upfronts 2027 presentation puts true crime, big family franchises and shoppable content at the centre of the coming programming year. The pitch is aimed as much at advertisers as at viewers.

The most concrete example arrives first. The Great Aussie Christmas Presented By Bunnings Warehouse follows families getting their homes ready for the holiday, hosted by Matty J and Laura Byrne. Created with PHD and OM Content, the four-part show uses Paramount’s Pause To Shop technology, powered by KERV.ai, to surface Bunnings products while people watch. Paramount calls it Australia’s first purpose-built shoppable series.

The series launches on 10 Streaming on Sunday, November 1 with weekly segments. It then airs in full on Channel 10 on Wednesday, November 25 at 8:30 pm, and lands on Paramount+ the following day.

The headline drama is Mushroom Murders, a six-part limited series for Paramount+. Lynskey stars as Erin Patterson and also executive produces. The show covers the 97 days between the 2023 mushroom lunch and Patterson’s arrest. Soapbox Pictures will produce it, with Daina Reid directing all six episodes. Filming takes place in Victoria, with support from the Victorian Screen Incentive.

True crime also continues with Hedley Thomas Investigates, a six-part series from Warner Bros. International Television Production. Each episode looks at a different Australian case and what may still be unresolved. Younger viewers get a sports tie-in too. Sam Kerr Kicking Goals is a live-action series inspired by the Matildas star’s childhood, based on books she co-wrote with Fiona Harris. It follows an 11-year-old Sam in Western Australia, and a nationwide casting search is underway.

How will advertisers know their ads work?

Variety Australia reports that the biggest change for buyers is on the subscription side. Paramount is carrying ad tools from 10 Streaming over to Paramount+, including title-level sponsorships, integrations and premium formats such as premium pause and interactive units. Streaming Fixed Units follow in early 2027, letting advertisers pick the exact placement on video-on-demand content after broadcast.

“We want every major campaign across linear, BVOD and SVOD measured to demonstrate the quality of our media,” Madigan said.

Underpinning the push is a new measurement partnership with Adelaide, Cint and Infinitum. The aim is to combine attention, brand lift and business outcomes in one campaign view. An Adelaide audit gave 10 and Paramount+ an average CTV AU score of 71.98, which Paramount says is 22 per cent above Adelaide’s benchmark. Live Big Brother content scored up to 80. Those are predictive scores, and they support new high-attention packages. Samba will extend the measurement to linear television in 2027 through ad exposure matching.

“Last-touch attribution has favoured social and performance channels for too long, and this puts premium video on the same playing field.” Madigan said.

The entertainment side is heavy on returning franchises. Australian Ninja Warrior comes back with Robert Irwin, Georgie Tunny and Beau Ryan as hosts, plus a new course. Australian Survivor: Rivals premieres on Monday, January 11, with David Genat taking the cast to Malaysia. Big Brother moves to Brisbane for a longer season with live nominations and evictions, hosted by Mel Tracina. MasterChef Australia returns with Andy Allen, Poh Ling Yeow, Jean-Christophe Novelli and Sofia Levin.

Comedy and factual titles fill the rest of the calendar. Taskmaster Australia reaches season six, Gogglebox Australia hits its 25th season, and Shaun Micallef’s Parents’ Evening is among the comedy titles returning. New factual additions include Aussie Auctions, Extraordinary Homes Australia hosted by Wendy Moore, and Dogs At Work narrated by Melanie Zanetti. Globally, Nicole Kidman and Elle Fanning star in the legal thriller Discretion, and Anne Hathaway stars in and executive produces Fear Not.

Simoneau has described the 10 line-up as big, bold and noisy, and the franchise list supports that description. Scheduling varies by title, with family franchises as the core of the channel and original dramas on Paramount+ spread across platforms over time.

As Variety Australia reports, Madigan framed success around advertisers coming back and seeing a return on investment from the new formats. The measurement partners will be the test of that claim through 2027.

Quick answers

When does The Great Aussie Christmas air?
The series launches on 10 Streaming on Sunday, November 1 with weekly segments. It airs in full on Channel 10 on Wednesday, November 25 at 8:30 pm, and lands on Paramount+ the following day.

Who stars in Mushroom Murders?
Lynskey stars as Erin Patterson in the six-part limited series for Paramount+, and also executive produces it.

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Source: Variety Australia