Upper Middle Bogan's Patrick Brammall and Annie Maynard.
Television's best offerings in 2015 are a mixed bag of war stories, Australia's coming of age, reality TV shows that parachute celebrities into the African wilderness and a mix of strange, hilarious and brave imported dramas.
Fairfax Media takes the remote control to channel some of the best shows on offer in 2015, from the critically exalted American drama Transparent to a pair of landmark Gallipoli dramas and a home-grown soap opera about the wealthy House of Hancock.
Glitch (ABC)
The Ex-PM: Shaun Micallef stars in this political sitcom on ABC. Photo: Simon Schluter
The pitch: Australia does zombies. Sort of.
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Star factor: Patrick Brammall, of Offspring and The Moodys fame and who in acting terms is the man of the moment.
The plot: A small-town cop is called to the local cemetery in the middle of the night to discover that six people have risen from the dead in perfect health.
Dr Chris Brown and Julia Morris are the hosts of Ten's I'm A Celebrity ... Get Me Out Of Here. Photo: Supplied
The fine print: Great writers, including Louise Fox, Kris Mrksa and Giula Sandler.
Why it will work: The time is right for smart genre stories.
The ex-PM (ABC)
Patrick Brammall stars in Glitch, a series about the Undead. Photo: Supplied
The pitch: Shaun Micallef does House of Cards. For laughs.
Star factor: The brilliant Micallef.
The plot: Andrew Dugdale is Australia's third-longest-serving prime minister, grappling with the challenge of life after The Lodge.
The fine print: Australia's best comedy producer, Nick Murray.
Why it will work: The brilliant Shaun Micallef.
Gallipoli (Nine)
The pitch: "A landmark television event."
Star factor: Lachy Hulme, Matt Nable, Anthony Hayes, Jeremy Lindsay Taylor, plus Kodi Smit-McPhee.
The plot: A 17-year-old boy lies about his age to follow his brother into the army and into the Great War.
The fine print: Produced by John Edwards and Imogen Banks.
Why it will work: A powerful blend of scale and soul.
Transparent (Stan)
The pitch: A jangled, jagged family drama with a twist.
Star factor: Jeffrey Tambor and Judith Light.
The plot: Retired professor Mort Pfefferman reveals to his family that he is transgender.
The fine print: The show's creator, Jill Soloway, has written a brilliant series.
Why it will work: It's breathtakingly original. And superbly bold.
Australia: The Story of Us (Seven)
The pitch: "More than 40,000 years in the making ... Australia's history, from the beginning to the present day."
Star factor: CGI sequences that offer a never-seen-before window into early Australia.
The plot: "Stories of the nation's origins and fresh insights into how Australians came to create the homeland they inhabit today."
The fine print: It's a very ABC-seeming program, on a commercial network. That's risky.
Why it will work: Because 40,000 years is a long time to wait for a definitive history of our nation.
Deadline Gallipoli (Foxtel)
The pitch: The Gallipoli story, from the perspective of Australia's war correspondents.
Star factor: Sam Worthington, plus Hugh Dancy, Ewen Leslie and Charles Dance.
The plot: Charles Bean, Ellis Ashmead-Bartlett, Phillip Schuler and Keith Murdoch bear witness to the events of 1915.
The fine print: Bryan Browne as General Bridges and John Bell as Lord Kitchener.
Why it will work: An iconic moment in history told from a new perspective.
Grace and Frankie (Netflix)
The pitch: Rivals become friends when their husbands run off together.
Star factor: Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin.
The plot: Long-time rivals Grace and Frankie are brought together when their husbands (Martin Sheen, Sam Waterston) announce they are in love.
The fine print: Created by the woman behind Friends, Marta Kauffman.
Why it will work: It's two-thirds of the iconic comedy 9 to 5. Can a Dolly Parton guestie be far off?
House of Hancock (Nine)
The pitch: Dynasty, Australian-style.
Star factor: Mandy McElhinney as Gina, Peta Sergeant as Rose and Sam Neill as Lang.
The plot: The true story of the Hancock mining dynasty, and the clash between daughter Gina and her father's housekeeper-turned-wife Rose.
The fine print: Produced by Michael Cordell, Claudia Karvan and Paul Bennett.
Why it will work: Pure soap, but ripped straight from the headlines.
Gogglebox (Ten)
The pitch: Watching people watching TV.
Star factor: The format, which is tricky to get your head around, but brilliant when you do.
The plot: Cameras capture ordinary Australians as they watch TV and interact with each other.
The fine print: It's a hit format elsewhere in the world, and its success depends heavily on smart casting.
Why it will work: It's brilliant. Difficult to explain clearly. But brilliant.
The Great Australian Race Riot (SBS)
The pitch: Australia's hidden history of mob rules.
Star factor: Best-selling author and columnist Peter FitzSimons.
The plot: A three-part documentary series that charts Australia's 170-year history of violent mobs and race riots.
The fine print: It will turn everything you think you know upside down.
Why it will work: A punchy approach that illuminates a provocative topic.
I'm A Celebrity ... Get Me Out Of Here (Ten)
The pitch: Celebrities parachuted into the wilderness and left to fend for themselves.
Star factor: Hosts Julia Morris and Dr Chris Brown.
The plot: Reality series based on a hit format, usually produced in Australia for other countries. This one is filmed in Africa.
The fine print: In this genre, casting is everything, so it needs the right mix of B- and C-listers.
Why it will work: It smells new, and the Australian market, presently, smells a little stale.
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