The ground has never been more fertile for fresh, new talent in Australian telly, as Channel Ten’s much-hyped “Pilot Week” has spurred other networks into action with their own experimental lineups.

Here’s the best of the best, as exclusively revealed to Crikey‘s Ben Pobjie.

Channel Nine

  • The Larrikin Show — Eddie McGuire, Billy Brownless and Mike Munro get together to provide hilarious knockabout commentary on classic hidden-camera pranks from some of Australia’s wackiest department store changing rooms.
  • Grizz Strasbourg, Law Doctor — Grizz (Gary Sweet) tries to balance life as a busy surgeon with life as a busy Supreme Court judge, while also keeping his wife (Rebecca Gibney) and teenage daughter (Lisa McCune) happy. From the writing team who brought you Water Rats.
  • The Cam Shaft — Scott Cam visits ordinary Australians and surprises them with the news that he will renovate their house, then leaves and never contacts them again.

Channel Seven

  • You Sketch Ya Life! — Australia’s hottest new comedic talent — Chris Lilley, Mick Molloy, Vince Sorrenti, Steve Vizard and MORE — take a wickedly “skewiff” look at modern life. From texting-teens to vegans, no sacred cow is safe!
  • Pick The Thug — Sam Armytage hosts a hard-hitting discussion program in which a panel of eminent Australians is invited to guess which member of a lineup of immigrants is the real felon.
  • A Bird In The Bush — Erik Thomson stars as Dave Bird, a wealthy dramaturg who gets fed up with the rat race and moves into a tree. But will Dave be able to take the bush lifestyle for long, as he learns painful lessons while raising his adopted marsupial son?

The ABC

  • Q&A After Dark — Live footage from a tiny camera secretly hidden in Tony Jones’ tie.
  • You Can Ask That! — ordinary Australian communications ministers from all walks of life answer questions of mild interest that will not offend anyone.
  • Think Tank — Paul McDermott returns to host the reboot of his beloved quiz show, where a panel of expert Institute of Public Affairs fellows try to help contestants understand the benefits of a free market.

SBS

  • Hildegarde — grim new Scandinavian crime drama following Hildegarde Svelbund, a clinically depressed detective attempting to solve a series of grisly murders in which every victim has been sewn into the carcass of a moose. The first full-length series to be filmed with no artificial or natural light.
  • Who Do You Think You Aren’t? — Famous Australians delve into the past to discover the surprising stories of people who they are not related to in any way.
  • Sack Race — a lineup of exciting new talent races to see who can be first to lose their jobs due to political pressure from the prime minister’s office.