Sleuth 101 was an Australian comedy "improvisatory whodunit game show"[1] television series, broadcast on ABC1 in 2010.
The show is hosted by comedian Cal Wilson, who occasionally gives subtle hints towards the crime.
Mumbrella reports that they "noticed the emergence of similar programs, featuring panels and people sitting down [and] realised there was a need for something a little more 'physical' and decided to go beyond a traditional game show by incorporating a scripted narrative portion to its structure, as well as an element of improvisation."
", and Kane added "The idea of using comedians was very attractive to us, to get people that we worked with on Spicks and Specks to solve the crime...Mystery tends to appeal to older audiences as well.
In the same way that Spicks and Specks has never aimed at one demographic and grandparents watch it with their children, we’re looking for a similar kind of audience here".Watt felt it was essential for the producers to find the right tone for the show; his vision was "to modernise the whodunit concept by incorporating elements of forensic science, but keeping it as a family-oriented PG program", noting "the 10-minute drama element is definitely on a comedy tone" despite dealing with "serious subjects".
[6] The show was appealing due to being "far less expensive than scripted drama", and because subverted TV conventions and exploiting their potential for light entertainment.
Commenting on the unique position of watching fellow comedians in an unfamiliar, pressured situation[15] Cal said: They were all pretty good at making stuff up.
[9] In an interview with Nova FM, Cal described the shows reminiscent of How to Host a Murder Party, "but not daggy".
[18] On 15 March Head of programming Marena Manzoufas said: "The dedicated Collectors' audience has clearly demonstrated their preference for the show's original 8pm Friday slot so I have decided to reinstate it there and move Sleuth 101 to Sundays at 6.30pm".
[20] In early 2010, Kane told the magazine Encore that ABC saw the mystery/game show hybrid Sleuth 101 as a "highly 'formattable', sellable product", commenting "They’re very interested in this one; they seem to be keen to [sell the format].
Though ABC had traditionally not used franchise-creating as a business strategy, Jane insisted "There’s no reluctance from them to do it, but it’s not something that they have done in a commercial sense.
[21] After the guest detective is introduced, they watch prerecorded footage of the murder taking place and meeting the four suspects, and are then guided to a mock-up of the crime scene, where they scour for clues, which are then "sent to the lab" by Wilson.
[23] This is a list of episodes from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's dark comedy miniseries, Sleuth 101, hosted by comedian Cal Wilson.
Upon the series' debut, The Sydney Morning Herald wrote that "Wilson exudes...good-natured charm and quick wit" and "even gets away with such daggy to-camera spiels".
[9] By the series' end, the newspaper concluded "What seemed both a promising idea and a rather delightful nod to two genre predecessors - the 1970s mystery show Whodunit?
It is one thing to try to reinvent a genre after two fairly excellent executions but to live up to neither, with the benefit of significantly higher production values than both, is a terrible shame.
"[26] The rarity of a woman heading the programme was remarked upon in New Zealand press, who put it down to her previous role in Thank God You're Here.
[27] The newspaper wrote "Host Cal Wilson is witty and charming but unless her celebrity guests come up with some snappy improvisation, the show falls flat.
[32] In another article it wrote that similar to the show's commercial cousin, Thank God You're Here, Sleuth 101 lives and dies by the strength of its celebrity guests.
[34] On the Sleuth 101 website, an interactive murder mystery game tie-in was created, in which players have to solve 8 cases.