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Home / Entertainment

Jackman show axed after being called 'worst show ever made'

24 Oct, 2007 04:00 PM2 mins to read

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Hugh Jackman. Photo / Reuters

Hugh Jackman. Photo / Reuters

KEY POINTS:

Hugh Jackman's musical TV drama Viva Laughlin has been canned by Australia's Nine Network after just one episode. In the United States, the offbeat drama lasted two episodes.

Nine aired the premiere episode of Viva Laughlin to a disappointing audience of 833,000 viewers.

Based on the Golden Globe-nominated
British series Viva Blackpool, Viva Laughlin was heavily criticised on its first showing in the US, with one reviewer calling it possibly the worst show ever made.

Deborra-Lee Furness, the wife and business partner of Hugh Jackman, says the couple are disappointed Viva Laughlin was axed, but admits it was a "huge risk".

"We are obviously very disappointed but you have to take risks in this business," Furness said.

"Doing a drama that is a musical is going to be a huge risk ... but if you don't take any risks, you know ...

"If I'm going to fail I want to fail spectacularly, and it seems like we did."

Jackman, who rose to fame in musical theatre before cracking Hollywood as a leading man, was a co-producer on the show and also played a minor role.

"He did it for fun," Furness said.

"It's our first TV series and he jumped in.

"Have you seen him? He was fabulous."

Furness said she and Jackman were disappointed the show wasn't given more of a chance, but they would move on.

"Yeah, hey that's showbiz," she said.

"The fact that it got cancelled after two shows, it happened fast and you've just got to dust your knees off and get onto the next one.

"We're still looking at scripts and still developing and you just keep going."

- AAP

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