Following up on the recent spikes in viewership comes news today that Network Ten will renew 7pm Project for a second season, through mid-way 2011.

Ten declined to officially confirm the news, but the newspaper [The Daily Telegraph] was told the decision was final and that production company Roving Enterprises would be advised.

The network’s director of programming, David Mott, said they were extremely pleased with the present success of the show.

“I’m so proud of this show after we took a huge risk and everyone wrote it off at the beginning.

“But we tweaked it, gave it a more newsy edge and Charlie’s old look was a victim of that process. The old look wasn’t right and the new one is. We’re very, very happy at how Project is coming along,” he added.

Network insiders suggested that the team’s recent image and wardrobe overhauls have also contributed to the improvement. Presenters Carrie Bickmore, Dave Hughes and Charlie Pickering were all given ‘straight-overs’ so they represented newsreaders.

The 7pm Project which just months ago was written off as a ratings failure has proven that sometimes sticking to your guns can prove worthwhile.

The Logie award winning, almost one year old show beat all competition in the 7pm timeslot last night in total viewers and all demographics. 1.11 million viewers watched nationally, the most viewers the show has received since its premiere week. Earlier this week it also pushed the million mark.

MasterChef following 7pm obviously helps but the show had already added at least 100,000 regular viewers before the MC juggernaut this year. Hopefully the trend continues, having watched every single episode of the show thanks to the magic of the IQ, I can say its been an uphill struggle but the show has turned itself around into a show you truly enjoy watching.

The 7pm Project’s Carrie Bickmore left with a gong for ‘Most Popular New Female Talent’ at last nights 52nd Annual TV Week Logie Awards handed out at Crown’s Palladium in Melbourne. See her full speech below.

Her co-host Charlie Pickering’s other show, Talkin’ ‘Bout Your Generation, picked up two awards, including Most Popular Light Entertainment.

Rove McManus will host the Breakthrough Awards, organised by the Los Angeles Based ‘Australians in Film’ on May 13th.

The awards go to stars yet to breakthrough in Hollywood. Chris Hemsworth and Ryan Kwanten will be among the recipients. AIF will also announce at the ceremony the 2010 winner of the Heath Ledger Scholarship.

The scholarship, judged by a panel of Ledger’s friends, will go to an Australian actor yet to break into Hollywood.

Source: ABC Online

‘The Bounce’, the family friendly AFL show hosted by Peter Helliar is being ‘rested’ or put on hiatus until the AFL finals series around September according to the Herald Sun and TV Tonight.

Head of Programming and Production for Seven Network, Tim Worner had this to say about the announcement:

“We didn’t think it was going to be easy. We went into it knowing it was going to be a pretty difficult challenge, but we wanted to give it our best shot. We don’t think we’ve done that yet, the show’s still got legs, there’s no question.

“The ratings tell one story. But looking at the show, and from what people tell you about the show, there’s another story.”

Worner remains supportive of Helliar and envisages the show returning in its early evening timeslot.

“He’s put his heart and soul into that show. He’s bloody funny,” he said.

“It’s always been our ambition to come up with something that’s family friendly, as a point of difference. We want something that’s fun that everyone can watch. There are parts of that show that are incredibly good fun.”

In the meantime, Helliar is out promoting his film I Love You Too which hits cinemas May 6th.

Rove has been in New Zealand recently as part of a comedy event and has appeared on his favourite New Zealander’s show ‘John Campbell Live’ on TV3. You can watch the chummy interview on the TV3 website.

RoveOnline has a great wrap up of media interviews while he is over there. Including this one from The Edge FM where the host apologises for a previous PR stuff-up with a literal hatchet burying.