Kath & Kim

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Kath & Kim
Genre	Comedy
Created by	Jane Turner Gina Riley
Directed by	Ted Emery
Starring	Jane Turner Gina Riley Magda Szubanski Peter Rowsthorn Glenn Robbins
Opening theme	The Joker
Country of origin	Australia
Original language	English
No. of seasons	4
No. of episodes	32 (list of episodes)
Production
Production locations	Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Editor	Steven Robinson
Running time	25 minutes
Production companies	ABC Riley Turner Productions
Original release
Network	ABC (2002–2005) Seven Network (2007, 2022)
Release	16 May 2002 (2002-05-16) – 14 October 2007 (2007-10-14)

Kath & Kim (also written as Kath and Kim) is an Australian sitcom originally airing in the prime-time slot on ABC Television from 2002 and 2005 and subsequently on the Seven Network in 2007 and 2022. The show was produced by Riley and Turner Productions, the firm of Jane Turner and Gina Riley, who star as the titular characters of Kath Day-Knight, a cheery, middle-aged suburban mother, and Kim, her narcissistic daughter. Additional cast members include Glenn Robbins as Kel Knight, Kath's metrosexual boyfriend (later husband); Kim's henpecked husband Brett Craig (Peter Rowsthorn), and her lonely "second-best friend" Magda Szubanski as Sharon Strzelecki. The series is set in Fountain Lakes, a fictional suburb of Melbourne, Victoria. The series received highly positive reviews from critics, who praised the humor and cast performances, particularly of Turner and Riley.

Aside from the television series which comprises four seasons, the franchise also includes a television film, Da Kath & Kim Code (2005), and a feature film, Kath & Kimderella (2012). The series also spawned a short-lived American remake, which ran for 17 episodes between 2008 and 2009.

A two-part special to mark its 20th anniversary, titled Kath & Kim: Our Effluent Life and Kath and Kim: 20 Preposterous Years, was screened on 20–21 November 2022.^[1][2]

Kath & Kim follows the day-to-day Australian suburban life of Kath Day-Knight (Jane Turner), her only child Kimberly (Kim) Diane Craig née Day (Gina Riley), Kim's husband and Computa City salesman, Brett Craig (Peter Rowsthorn), Kath's love interest and eventual husband who works as a "purveyor of fine meats", Kel Knight (Glenn Robbins), and long-time family friend Sharon Strzelecki (Magda Szubanski).

Storylines follow the characters' day-to-day lives, and document their personal struggles and the banality of their achievements and aspirations. Kath & Kim satirises the mother-daughter relationship and the habits and values of modern suburban Australians, and emphasises the kitsch and superficial elements of contemporary society, particularly the traditional working class which has progressed to a level of affluence (or "effluence" as the show's title characters would have it) which previous generations had been unable to achieve. Despite this affluence, good taste and a sense of cultural sophistication still eludes the show's characters.

They visit places such as the Westfield Fountain Gate (some parts filmed at Westfield Southland), the local IKEA, Target and various local restaurants.

It also occasionally mocks Australian and international mass popular culture, such as popular reality television shows Big Brother and Australian Idol. It sometimes makes statements about Australian politics. The crass and embarrassing behaviour of the characters, and their gaudy, out-dated retro fashion sense are popular features of the show. Processed and widely recognised Australian foods, such as Jatz crackers, Tim Tams and Fruche yoghurt are frequently referenced in the series.

Most episodes end with Kath and Kim sitting in Kath's back yard, chatting about issues related to the episode. Sometimes these chats help to complete the story which was told during the episode. This final element is accompanied by the show's credits.

• Jane Turner as Kath Day-Knight – A middle aged woman who strives to keep herself fit.
• Gina Riley as Kim Craig – Kath's 20-something year old daughter who is known for being lazy and extremely self-centred.
• Magda Szubanski as Sharon Strzelecki – Kim's "second-best friend", described as very unlucky in love and a sports enthusiast.
• Glenn Robbins as Kel Knight – Kath's boyfriend and later husband, a metrosexual man who is a local "purveyor of fine meats"
• Peter Rowsthorn as Brett Craig – Kim's husband

• Gina Riley as Robin, dance instructor
• Zara Harrington, Emma Le Boeuf and Makayla Berkers as Epponnee-Rae Craig – Kim's baby (series 2, episode 8 and onwards), and Morghyne de Vries played her as a young girl in the movie.
• Jane Turner and Gina Riley as Prue and Trude, two snobby women who work in a homewares store (8 episodes, TV movie, plus movie)
• Marg Downey as Marion, a new-age marriage celebrant and counsellor (6 episodes + movie)
• Mick Molloy as Gary Poole, Kim's father (2 episodes, plus movie)
• William McInnes (credited as Rock Hampton) as Sandy Freckle, long-time friend of Kel (2 episodes)
• Tony Martin as Mark, romantic interest of Sharon (4 episodes)
• Peta Brady as Kelly, Brett's supervisor at work (4 episodes, plus TV movie)
• Mark Trevorrow as Daryl Lee, a camp man who works in a menswear shop (3 episodes, plus TV movie). Trevorrow also plays a similar character in the movie.
• Luke Lennox as Brodie (1 episode, plus TV movie)
• Matt Lucas as Karen, Sharon's maternal half-sister (2 episodes)
• Shivantha Wijesinha as Imran (2 episodes)

Several guest stars are well-known Australian comedy performers, some of whom previously worked with Turner or Riley. Bublé and Lucas were fans of the show and asked to appear in it. Humphries declared himself a fan of the series before taking part.

The storyline of the first series follows Kath's engagement and plans for her wedding to Kel. Kim frequently stays in her mother's house owing to her rocky relationship with Brett (most of which is due to her own childish, spoilt, and rude behaviour towards Brett). Sharon's always around with a helping hand and her own relationship problems. Her history with Brett is also explored.

The second series follows Kim's pregnancy and her rekindled relationship with Brett. Kath and Kel's relationship goes through some teething troubles. Kim and Brett have a baby in the final episode of the second series whom they name Epponnee Raelene Kathleen Darlene Charlene Craig, shortened to Epponnee Rae. Several episodes of the third series focus on Epponnee Rae. The third-season finale features an adult Epponnee Rae, played by Kylie Minogue.

The characters of Kath, Kim (created by Riley and Turner) and Sharon (created and played by Magda Szubanski^[3]) first featured in their current forms during the mid-1990s as a weekly segment of the Australian comedy series Big Girl's Blouse (Seven, 1994–95),^[4] having appeared in a more embryonic incarnation earlier in the decade on the sketch comedy show Fast Forward (Seven, 1989–92).^[5] They also appeared in Something Stupid (Seven, 1998).^[4] Robbins had also appeared on Fast Forward, while Rowsthorn and Robbins had previously worked together on The Comedy Company.

The skits were developed by Riley and Turner into a full series. Big Girl's Blouse had been deemed a failure by the ABC who wanted to pull Kath and Kim. But it was championed by Robyn Kershaw the ABC Head of Drama so Kath and Kim had the distinction for a comedy show of being produced by the drama department, and was loved by the "suburban people" it supposedly attacked.

The name of the series "Kath and Kim" is a pun of the idiom kith and kin which is an old fashioned idiom for 'friends and family'.

Twenty-four episodes lasting approximately twenty-five minutes each across three seasons aired on ABC TV from 2002 to 2004. The series debuted on 15 May 2002 on the ABC Network with "Sex" and became one of the highest-rated shows for ABC.^{[citation needed]} A replacement of a full series occurred in 2005 with the telemovie Da Kath & Kim Code. The fourth season of Kath & Kim began airing on the Seven Network on 19 August 2007, due to the contract expiring with ABC.

In late 2009, they announced that writing had begun on season 5,^[6] but by May 2010, Turner said: "We sort of felt like it was the end two years ago. We thought, 'We've done enough and the well is dry and we can't think of any more ideas' ... We think we might just leave it for now."^[7]

The alternative vocabulary including the mixed metaphors, hypercorrection, malapropisms, eggcorns (like "ravishing" instead of "ravenous"), and mis-pronunciations of the regular characters are much repeated by the show's fans. These include: "Look at moy" (look at me)—used by Kath to command attention during arguments, and "It's noice, different and unusual"—used by Kath, Kim and Sharon to express approval or agreement.

Kath's home, known as "Chateau Kath", was within the fictionalised suburb of Fountain Lakes, and served as the central filming location for the series. The home, located in Patterson Lakes, Victoria, 35 km east of Melbourne, was originally rented by ABC during the entire run of the series,^[8] and chosen for its likeness to Sylvania Waters. The property backs onto a canal, which ABC fenced off during filming in order for it to look more suburban.^[9] It was sold in 2016 for $1,485,000. The house was demolished in July 2022.^[10]

Other footage was filmed around the Melbourne suburbs of Cheltenham and Moorabbin; scenes set at Fountain Gate were actually filmed at Westfield Southland.^[11]

Second-hand shops were used for Kath's clothing, whereas Kim was dressed in current trends.^[12]

The theme music for Kath and Kim is performed by Gina Riley and is a cover of Anthony Newley's "The Joker", performed in the style of Shirley Bassey's recording of the song. A reworked recording of its debut in the telemovie opening sequence, was utilised for the show's run on the Seven Network.

The title sequence shows the main five regular characters over a white background. In season 3, it was amended to include Epponnee-Rae and Cujo, before switching to a revised version of the previous sequence for the Seven Network run, where Cujo was retained. The five regular cast members are then credited over aerial shots of suburban houses (Szubanski is credited as a "special guest" despite appearing in every episode) before fading into an aerial shot of Kath and Kim's house (some episodes replace it with an aerial shot of the mall, while the episode "The Wedding" replaced it with a ground-level shot of a hospital).

Kath & Kim was broadcast Thursday nights at 8.30 pm throughout its run on ABC, while Seven Network aired the series Sunday nights at 7.30 pm.

The series premiered in the United Kingdom in April 2004, when it was broadcast on the now-defunct subscription channel LivingTV,^[13] and later on Ftn.^[14] It made its terrestrial television debut when it screened on BBC Two from 12 May 2005.^{[15][16][17][14][18]} The fourth season has never been broadcast in the UK, but did premiere when it was made available on Netflix.

In 2017, the rights to the series were acquired by the Nine Network which began airing repeats of the series from 1 August 2017 until 21 November 2017.^[19]

In 2018, the series was released on Netflix in several regions, as well as the films and TV specials.^[20] In July 2019, the series was launched onto Netflix in Australia as well as the Kountdown Specials and Souvenir Editions.

In 2022, to mark its 20th anniversary the Seven Network began airing repeats of the series from 29 September 2022.

Kath & Kim premiered on 16 May 2002 and became one of ABC's highest-rated shows. When the show premiered on the Seven Network, it became the highest-rating episode in Australian television history, until the record was broken by Nine Network's Underbelly: A Tale of Two Cities on 9 February 2009. The fourth season of Kath & Kim debuted with a record-breaking 2.511 million viewers peaking at 2.731 million. In its second and third episodes viewers fell to 1.994 & 1.817 million, respectively; however, viewers then rebounded for its fourth and fifth episodes with ratings of 2.047 and 2.157 million, respectively. Strong ratings continued with viewers of 2.049 and 2.066 million for the sixth and seventh episodes. The eighth episode and show's finale rated 2.338 million giving the fourth season an average viewership of 2.122 million, making it the highest-rating TV season in Australia for 2007 and the highest-rating of all four seasons of the show.^{[citation needed]}

In 2007, Channel Seven started showing repeats of the show from season one onwards which had previously only aired on the ABC network. The repeats proved quite successful, with the first two rating 1.465 and 1.530 million, winning in a very competitive timeslot and being amongst the highest-rating shows of the week.^[21]

In the UK, its BBC premiere drew viewing figures of 1.691 million in May 2005.^[22]

The enduring public interest and popularity of Kath and Kim has led to a merchandising industry. The title family and supporting characters appear on everything from T-shirts to posters. The Kath & Kim series have been released on VHS (although titles are now discontinued in the VHS format) and DVD, in box sets and separate series editions in both region 4 (Australia, New Zealand, Latin America) as well as region 2 (Europe). The series has also had a CD release, featuring songs from the series and recordings from Kath and Kim. In addition, there has been clothing (such as aprons, T-shirts and oven mitts). Merchandise is available to purchase online, from the Kath & Kim official website.

A CD, titled "Kath & Kim's Party Tape", was released on 2 May 2004.^[54] It reached #17 in the Australian Albums Chart^[55] and was certified Gold (50,000+ units sold).^[55]

In 2004, Kath & Kim's Party Tape was released in Australia under the Universal record label. It features 21 tracks including the full length version of the show's title theme, "The Joker" (as sung by Gina Riley) as well as Diana Ross and Lionel Richie's "Endless Love" and Donna Summer's "MacArthur Park".

On 9 March 2011, Turner and Riley announced plans for a movie, in which, Kath, Kim, Kel, Brett, Sharon and Epponnee would head overseas on holiday. Contracts were written to finance the film's production under the working title of The Kath & Kim Filum, with the word 'film' deliberately misspelt with the letter 'u' in typical Kath and Kim yumour.^[56] However, the title Kath & Kimderella was ultimately used, and the film was released in Australia on 6 September 2012.^[57] It was directed by Ted Emery (director of the television series) and produced by Rick McKenna. The holiday scenes were shot in Positano, Italy and filming took a total of two weeks.^[58]

The film was released in Australian cinemas on 6 September 2012.^[57] It grossed in excess of $2.1 million in its first weekend on Australian movie screens.^[59]

In July 2022, it was reported that Kath & Kim will be returning for a 10-minute special to commentate 20 years of the series. The special will showcase a countdown of celebrity guests and unseen clips that didn't feature in the series, as well as the cast discussing their favourite scenes. Celebrity guests for the special will include Mason Cox, Sonia Kruger and Celia Pacquola.^[60] The two specials, Kath and Kim: Our Effluent Life and Kath and Kim: 20 Preposterous Years, aired on 20 and 21 November 2022, respectively.^[61][62]

Due to the success that Kath & Kim has achieved internationally, it was remade for US audiences by NBC.^[63][64][65] Riley and Turner served as executive producers on the US version. In this remake, actress Molly Shannon has taken the role of Kath Day,^[66] and Selma Blair the role of Kim.^[67] The character of Sharon does not appear at the insistence of Szubanski.

NBC chose Jason Ensler to direct. Michelle Nader developed the series for American television, which premiered in the United States as part of the Fall schedule of 2008. The series started to shoot in California in July 2008. NBC debuted the US adaptation on 9 October 2008, while Seven started screening it to Australian viewers on 12 October 2008. After airing only two episodes, Seven dropped the sitcom from their lineup due to poor ratings, only to bring it back several weeks later as a late-night schedule filler. In America, reviews were poor, but it averaged roughly around 5 to 7 million viewers per week, and was rewarded with a full season order in October 2008.^[68][69] On 19 May 2009, NBC announced that there would not be a second season of Kath & Kim.

Wikiquote has quotations related to Kath & Kim.

• Official Kath & Kim website
• Official BBC website
• Yahoo!7 website
• Kath & Kim at IMDb