Do you remember the original Underbelly series back in 2008? Undoubtedly quality TV and a great story. While the more recent incarnation of the concept on Nine has had mixed reviews, something interesting on Foxtel has popped up – Killing Time.
This is clearly an important investment for Foxtel with buckets of marketing money going into the series and a huge amount of promotional air-time across Foxtel’s channels leading up to the launch a week or two back on TV1. Turns out the series was due to go on air last year, however it was pulled before airing because of a court case – similar to the reason Underbelly originally never went to air in Victoria. TV1 will air the first six episodes of Killing Time this year with the rest on hold to avoid issues with ongoing court cases. It already sounds good!
Killing Time follows the working life of lawyer Andrew Fraser (David Wenham) who represented some of the underworld’s most infamous criminals back in the day – so it’s like Underbelly-style drama but from the lawyer and criminal side of the fence instead.
David Wenham, Diana Glenn and Colin Friels are the familiar faces within Killing Time that add a very credible element to the cast and programme overall. Friels plays Lewis Moran while Diana Glenn plays Fraser’s partner. There is no doubt this program doesn’t have the production budget of the Underbelly series, but for the average viewer you can also see this is something bigger and better than the average Aussie TV show.
Interestingly, looking at the audience figures published in the Guide today (SMH) around 124,000 people watched Killing Time – compare that to the 1.2million who watch Underbelly and you can see why shows like this are really ‘hidden treasures’.
Quality TV, quality story, quality cast – Killing Time is most certainly worth a look if you have Foxtel. Set your IQ’s today, and look for the first three episodes in the schedule which went to air in recent weeks. It’s certainly worth a look if you’re into your true life crime drama.
Web: Killing Time
