Original title
Lowdown
Released
4/21/2010
Origin country
AU
Genre
Comedy
Production companies
Australian Broadcasting Corporation, High Wire Films
Status
Ended
Number of seasons
2
Number of episodes
16
Lowdown shines a torch on the life of a man whose job it is to feed the public's insatiable appetite for celebrity gossip. Alex Burchill, the author of the Lowdown column which appears in the once great but now ailing tabloid newspaper – the Sunday Sun. Each week Alex interviews celebrities for his column, and each week at least one of those celebrities ruins his week. Sometimes the celebrity gets drunk and punches Alex out. Sometimes the celebrity gets him arrested. Usually the celebrity sleeps with his girlfriend, Rita. It may not sound like much of a life, but it invariably leads to great copy and the readers love it. In fact, it's the only thing standing between the Sunday Sun and oblivion.
Alex Burchill is the top reporter at the once mighty tabloid shock-sheet, the Sunday Sun. But with circulation in decline, Alex has to stop the rot by producing a scandalous, circulation-boosting story on a misbehaving celebrity every week. And every week, the universe punishes him for his intrusions into the private lives of the rich and famous by somehow ruining his life.
Celebrity tabloid journalist and Lowdown columnist Alex Burchill scores a highly coveted interview with the environmentalist, Tantra-loving, Buddhist rock God, Wasp Warneke on one condition... he doesn't ask about Tantra.
Publicist to the stars Hope van der Boom, briefs Alex before he interviews actor, sex-symbol and family man Oliver Barry. The interview is awkward and uncomfortable, despite the fact that Alex and Oliver share a birthday.
Temperamental tennis star Mitch "Zirco" Zicopoulos has pulled out from a warm-up tournament citing a sore finger, leaving 20,000 fans out of pocket. Alex's editor is convinced Zirco is faking his injury and sends Alex and Bob to find the truth.
When plagiarising popstar Sofia Corelli is assaulted on the eve of her Melbourne tour, Alex suspects that the renowned torch singer Abi Hart has something to do with it. After all, Sofia has totally ripped-off Abi's sound and look.
It's late Saturday night, and the editor is thrilled to hear via the police scanner that prominent businessman Jack Cooper has been busted drink driving. A reluctant Alex, with Bob and Rita in tow, heads to Cooper's Toorak home for a foot-in-door interview.
Australia's number one golfer Mike Lavish arrives in town to promote his new golf DVD game. Armed with video evidence of Lavish taking an alleged air-swing at the Australian Masters, Alex confronts Lavish at a press conference and is quickly ejected by a "hormonal" Hope Van der Boom.
Alex is heavied into writing a puff piece on underworld crime boss Tony Marino and drags Bob along to take the pics. Blindfolded, they are taken to meet Tony at a seedy hotel.
Project Starsearch finalist Joss Miller has absconded from the show's compound, jeopardising the multi-million dollar TV final. The editor offers $10,000 of his own money to the first journalist able to locate Joss and get the story – the Sunday Sun's future depends on it.
Alex Burchill writes the Lowdown column for struggling tabloid newspaper, the Sunday Sun. Circulation is in decline and the paper is downsizing and adapting to the brutal economic climate, and Alex's methods for unearthing stories become increasingly desperate. Each week he must come up with a shock-and-awe story for the embattled paper, and each week that shock-and-awe story somehow ruins his own life.
Alex has a chance to impress the new editor of the Sunday Sun when some erotic photos of the morally conservative Minister for Families fall into his lap.
After missing out on the biggest story of the year, Alex has a chance to redeem himself by entrapping a fornicating film director. But a road rage incident throws a spanner in the works.
Alex is commandeered into ghost-writing a controversial column for a high profile footballer who has decided to come out.
When Alex is assigned to interview highly volatile actor Lachlan Reid, he goes out of his way to antagonise Reid in the hope of getting a rise worth reporting.
Alex is charged with locating the spurned lover of Australian test cricket captain Mark Hardy, and convincing her to grant an exclusive interview to the Sunday Sun.
When one of the journalists invited to spend the night in the share-house of reality show 'Life in a Bubble' is found stabbed to death, Alex becomes the prime suspect.
When a celebrity chef insults Alex's new girlfriend on national television, Alex and Bob set up an elaborate News of the World-type sting to expose the chef cheating on his wife with a wannabe actress.
When Bob inadvertently snaps a compromising photo of singer/actor Ben Hollander, Alex and Bob decide to capitalise on it as revenge for Hollander running up a massive tab on Alex's credit card.
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