Channel Nine has opened its arms to cricket once again. After a broadcasting absence the last couple of years, it’s back with a bang — the Ashes and it doesn’t end there.
The media giant is aggressively promoting its new two-part biopic drama series coming to televisions across Australia sometime in the not so distant future, following the life of the late great Shane Warne.
Simply named Warnie, the drama mini-series is set to showcase the spin king’s life both on and off the field, of a man that without a doubt lived a larger-than-life existence.
The hype and buzz surrounding the Nine release kicked off recently, after the broadcaster aired adverts for the show during the first State Of Origin match coverage.
Many cricketing fans down under are eager to watch ‘Warnie’ for obvious reasons, he’s one of Australia’s sporting icons. And there will be immense scrutiny to see if 9 can live up to their previous cricket dramatisations standards; this two-part series isn’t their first attempt. Many fans may remember Howzat! Kerry Packer’s War, which premiered back in 2012.
Other bystanders have followed the emotions of one of Shane Warne’s daughter’s disapproval of the show, saying that dramatising his life, especially this soon to his tragic passing, is beyond disrespectful.
This won’t be like your typical great sports documentary, but it will offer something different.
So with a lot to be determined, here’s what we know so far about the upcoming Shane Warne mini-series.
When will ‘Warnie’, the Shane Warne biopic, be released?
The official date of the premiere is just around the corner with Channel Nine recently announcing that the Shane Warne mini-series will be aired Sunday, June 25 at 7pm and Monday, June 26 at 7:30pm.
While Nine doesn’t have the rights to broadcasting cricket across the jam-packed Australian summer of cricket anymore, the network has exclusive rights to The Ashes. It seems they are leveraging hype off the mid-year, five-Test grudge series happening in the northern hemisphere to get eyes onto ‘Warnie’.
The mid-Ashes release works perfectly, with fans guaranteed to be caught up in the emotions of what is shaping up to be one of the most anticipated Ashes series in recent memory.
Where can I watch ‘Warnie’ when it is released?
Now that Warnie has an official release date, it has been announced that it will be available to watch firstly, through free-to-air coverage on Channel Nine, before it can be watched on demand on 9Now.
What will ‘Warnie’, the Shane Warne mini-series, be about?
You couldn’t just make a TV series about any cricketer; they’d need to have a larger-than-life persona and Shane Warne is certainly that guy.
At times, his off-field antics overshadowed his brilliance on the ground. And that just made the story of Warne a more captivating one for all cricket diehards around the world. It’s expected that a balance will be struck between covering his multiple scandals in his personal life and his achievements in the game of cricket.
Going off Channel 9’s previous mini-series Howzat! Kerry Packer’s War, it will most likely follow a chronological order of Warne’s life.
In Channel 9’s press release for the show, they outlined briefly what ‘Warnie’ will entail and seemed to provide context for those unfamiliar with the story of Shane Warne.
“This is a sportsman who found himself in trouble, multiple times – who at one point was banned from the game, for a year,” Channel 9 said.
“A man who lived his life in the full glare of the spotlight, had his every failing scrutinised by global media and had more than his fair share of controversy.”
“Yet, in spite of all that, Shane Warne managed to retain the love of not only his family and friends but a vast number of ordinary folk around the world.”
How does Shane Warne’s family feel about the mini-series ‘Warnie’?
Shane Warne’s eldest daughter Brooke has voiced her disliking of the Channel 9 production of the mini-series ever since filming began just months after her fathers passing. She felt that the plan to dramatise his life in ‘Warnie’ was “beyond disrespectful” to her family and didn’t want it to be made, at least this soon.
Taking to Instagram, she wrote:
“Do any of you have any respect for Dad? Or his family? Who did so much for Channel 9 and now you want to dramatise his life and our families life 6 months after he has passed away? You are beyond disrespectful.”
This has caught the attention of many since the advertising for the Shane Warne mini-series started and some have written off watching it all together.
As anticipation builds, it will be interesting to see how views change, with world cricket heads definitely split as to whether they’re going to tune in.
