Seven thanks god it got show Thank God You're HereCHANNEL 7 has snatched the rights to the Channel 10 ratings gem Thank God You're Here, with the price tag believed to be the princely sum of $1 million per episode.
The deal is a massive blow to Ten as it was one of their most popular programs, pulling an average audience of one million viewers on repeats alone earlier this year.
Seven will air a new season of the improvised comedy show next year.
The critically-acclaimed and Logie Award-winning show, masterminded by Rob Sitch, Santo Cilauro and Tom Gleisner of Working Dog Productions, wanted to switch networks to freshen up the format.
While co-creator and program judge Gleisner wouldn't be drawn on negotiations, he did admit lots of money was being thrown around by Seven and Ten.
"We could have stayed with Ten and both Seven and Ten made generous offers ... I don't think we would have gone broke staying with either,'' he said.
"It came down to a sense that this was an opportunity to refresh the show beyond merely repainting the set.''
Gleisner said one of Working Dog Productions' main concerns with returning to Ten was studio availability.
Global Studios in Melbourne, the same venue Neighbours is filmed at, was no longer available.
"It's a big production (money wise). You are building five sets a week, unlike a sitcom where you build and shoot in the same living room every week,'' he said.
"We push the envelope as far as we can with authenticity and love the costumes and props to be the real deal. We don't scrimp and we will continue going in that direction.''
City Homicide's Shane Bourne will continue to host the series, which premiered on Ten in 2006 and quickly became the most successful new show of the year with an average national audience of 1.7 million viewers.
The Working Dog Productions team rested the format this year to focus on a new venture, political satire program The Hollowmen.
With two series of the ABC1 production completed and broadcast earlier this year, Gleisner said it's time to revisit the unscripted mayhem of Thank God You're Here, whose guests included Jimeoin, Fifi Box, Merrick Watts and Shaun Micallef.
"It's great to get the show up again,'' he said.
"We have taken a year off and it's a project we are fond off ... we have a spring in our step.''
The show has been sold in countries including French Canada, Denmark, Germany and the US.
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http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/story/0,26278,24744240-10229,00.html?referrer=emailMASSIVE blow to 10. One of their highest rating shows (when not in repeats) gone. Hopefully they have flogged out the repeats so much people don't care much for it. And I thought Working Dog weren't going to do any more seasons.
Logged
I enjoyed seeing the female comedian Cal Wilson pregnant and Colin Lane looked fab as a pregnant hairy woman. Love love love this show 99% of the time. 
