TV producers, listen up. If you want to reward your loyal viewers, allow them to write and produce an entire new series of a show. It's what community network Aurora did. It reckons the move "really paid off".
The subscription TV channel screens locally produced community shows. It is preparing to air the next season - the fifth - of popular comedy series Pete Boone Private Eye. It revolves around its title character who is portrayed as "Australia's Worst Detective", incapable of ever solving a case correctly.
But this series has a twist. It's been created entirely by fans, covering everything including writing, direction, shooting, editing and production.
Aurora claimed that after the show went into hiatus last year, a large number of fans "demanded to know what happened next". Viewers were asking to create their own content using the show's characters, which led to the producers passing the reins onto the fans to let them decide its new direction.
Scripts then started "rolling in", with the crew getting actors on board. The eager group then decided to break the next season into three parts, each made by a different group of fans.
The station, naturally, thinks it is the best thing since sliced bread. Make your own mind up. The first episode, Made By The Fans, For The Fans, premieres on Aurora on Sunday 14 April at 8.30pm.
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