Kath & Kim (also written as Kath and Kim) is an Australian sitcom that aired on the prime-time slot on ABC Television from 2002 to 2005 and on Seven Network in 2007. The show was produced by Riley and Turner Productions, the firm of Jane Turner and Gina Riley, who star as the titular characters of Kath Day-Knight, a cheery, middle-aged suburban mother, and Kim Craig, her narcissistic daughter. Additional cast members include Glenn Robbins as Kel Knight, Kath's metrosexual boyfriend (later husband); Peter Rowsthorn as Brett Craig, Kim's henpecked husband; and Magda Szubanski as her lonely "second-best friend" Sharon Strzelecki. The series is set in Fountain Lakes, a fictional suburb of Melbourne, Victoria. The series received highly positive reviews from critics, who praised the humour and cast performances, particularly of Turner and Riley.
Aside from the television series which comprises four seasons, the franchise also includes a television film, Da Kath & Kim Code (2005), and a feature film, Kath & Kimderella (2012). The series also spawned a short-lived American remake, which ran for 17 episodes between 2008 and 2009.
A two-part special to mark its 20th anniversary, titled Kath & Kim: Our Effluent Life and Kath and Kim: 20 Preposterous Years, was screened on 20–21 November 2022.
Premise Kath & Kim follows the day-to-day Australian suburban life of Kath Day-Knight (Jane Turner), her only child Kimberly (Kim) Diane Craig née Day (Gina Riley), Kim's husband and Computa City salesman, Brett Craig (Peter Rowsthorn), Kath's love interest and eventual husband who works as a "purveyor of fine meats", Kel Knight (Glenn Robbins), and long-time family friend Sharon Strzelecki (Magda Szubanski).
Storylines follow the characters' day-to-day lives, and document their personal struggles and the banality of their achievements and aspirations. Kath & Kim satirises the mother-daughter relationship and the habits and values of modern suburban Australians, and emphasises the kitsch and superficial elements of contemporary society, particularly the traditional working class which has progressed to a level of affluence (or "effluence" as the show's title characters would have it) which previous generations had been unable to achieve. Despite this affluence, good taste and cultural sophistication still elude the show's characters.
They visit places such as the Westfield Fountain Gate (some parts filmed at Westfield Southland), the local IKEA, Target and various local restaurants.
It also occasionally mocks Australian and international mass popular culture, such as popular reality television shows Big Brother and Australian Idol. It sometimes makes statements about Australian politics. The crass and embarrassing behaviour of the characters, and their gaudy, out-dated retro fashion sense are popular features of the show. Processed and widely recognised Australian foods, such as Jatz crackers, Tim Tams and Fruche yoghurt are frequently referenced in the series.
Most episodes end with Kath and Kim sitting in Kath's back yard, chatting about issues related to the episode. Sometimes these chats help to complete the story which was told during the episode. This final element is accompanied by the show's credits.
Cast and characters
Main cast Jane Turner as Kath Day-Knight – A middle-aged suburban woman who strives to keep herself fit. Gina Riley as Kim Craig – Kath's 20-something-year-old daughter who is known for being lazy and extremely self-centred. Magda Szubanski as Sharon Strzelecki – Kim's "second-best friend", described as very lonely, unlucky in love and a sports enthusiast. Glenn Robbins as Kel Knight – Kath's boyfriend and later husband, a metrosexual man who is a local "purveyor of fine meats". Peter Rowsthorn as Brett Craig – Kim's henpecked husband whom she refers to as a "complete dud".
Recurring cast Zara Harrington, Emma Le Boeuf and Makayla Berkers as Epponnee-Rae Craig – Kim's baby (series 2, episode 8 and onwards), and Morghyne de Vries played her as a young girl in the movie. Jane Turner and Gina Riley as Prue and Trude, two snobby women who work in a homewares store (8 episodes, TV movie, plus movie) Marg Downey as Marion, a new-age marriage celebrant and counsellor (6 episodes + movie) Mick Molloy as Gary Poole, Kim's father (2 episodes, plus movie) William McInnes (credited as Rock Hampton) as Sandy Freckle, long-time friend of Kel (2 episodes) Tony Martin as Mark, romantic interest of Sharon (4 episodes) Peta Brady as Kelly, Brett's supervisor at work (4 episodes, plus TV movie) Mark Trevorrow as Daryl Lee, a camp man who works in a menswear shop (3 episodes, plus TV movie). Trevorrow also plays a similar character in the movie. Luke Lennox as Brodie (1 episode, plus TV movie) Matt Lucas as Karen, Sharon's maternal half-sister (2 episodes) Shivantha Wijesinha as Imran (2 episodes)
Guest cast
Several guest stars are well-known Australian comedy performers, some of whom previously worked with Turner or Riley. Bublé and Lucas were fans of the show and asked to appear in it. Humphries declared himself a fan of the series before taking part.
Episodes
Overview The storyline of the first series follows Kath's engagement and plans for her wedding to Kel. Kim frequently stays in her mother's house owing to her rocky relationship with Brett (most of which is due to her own childish, spoilt, and rude behaviour towards Brett). Sharon's always around with a helping hand and her own relationship problems. Her history with Brett is also explored.
The second series follows Kim's pregnancy and her rekindled relationship with Brett. Kath and Kel's relationship goes through some teething troubles. Kim and Brett have a baby in the final episode of the second series whom they name Epponnee Raelene Kathleen Darlene Charlene Craig, shortened to Epponnee Rae. Several episodes of the third series focus on Epponnee Rae. The third-season finale features an adult Epponnee Rae, played by Kylie Minogue. The fourth series focused a lot more on Sharon, she meets her half sibling, wins $20k on Deal or No Deal, commits adultery with Brett, and finally finds love, marriage and divorce.
Production Development The characters of Kath, Kim (created by Riley and Turner) and Sharon (created and played by Magda SzubanskiThe secret life of Sharon, The Age, 29 September 2004) first featured in their current forms during the mid-1990s as a weekly segment of the Australian comedy series Big Girl's Blouse (Seven, 1994–95), having appeared in an embryonic incarnation earlier in the decade on the sketch comedy show Fast Forward (Seven, 1989–92). They also appeared in Something Stupid (Seven, 1998). Robbins had also appeared on Fast Forward, while Rowsthorn and Robbins had previously worked together on The Comedy Company.
The skits were developed by Riley and Turner into a full series. Big Girl's Blouse had been deemed a failure by the ABC head of comedy Geoff Portman who wanted to pull Kath and Kim. But it was championed by Sandra Levy the ABC Head of Television so Kath and Kim had the distinction for a comedy show of being produced by the drama department, and was loved by a very broad audience, including the "suburban people" it parodied.
The name of the series "Kath and Kim" is a pun of the idiom kith and kin which is an old fashioned idiom for 'friends and family'.
Twenty-four episodes lasting approximately twenty-five minutes each across three seasons aired on ABC TV from 2002 to 2004. The series debuted on 15 May 2002 on the ABC Network with "Sex" and became one of the highest-rated shows for ABC. A replacement of a full series occurred in 2005 with the telemovie Da Kath & Kim Code. The fourth season of Kath & Kim began airing on the Seven Network on 19 August 2007; the arrangement with Seven having begun after their contract with the ABC expired.
In late 2009, they announced that writing had begun on season 5, but by May 2010, Turner said: "We sort of felt like it was the end two years ago. We thought, 'We've done enough and the well is dry and we can't think of any more ideas' ... We think we might just leave it for now."
Writing The alternative vocabulary including the mixed metaphors, hypercorrection, malapropisms, eggcorns (like "ravishing" instead of "ravenous"), and mis-pronunciations of the regular characters are much repeated by the show's fans. These include: "Look at moi” (look at me)—used by Kath to command attention during arguments, and "It's noice, different and unusual"—used by Kath, Kim and Sharon to express approval or agreement.
Filming Kath's home, known as "Chateau Kath", was within the fictionalised suburb of Fountain Lakes, and served as the central filming location for the series. The home, located in Patterson Lakes, Victoria, 35 km east of Melbourne, was originally rented by ABC during the entire run of the series, and chosen for its likeness to Sylvania Waters. The property backs onto a canal, which ABC fenced off during filming in order for it to look more suburban. It was sold in 2016 for $1,485,000. The house was demolished in July 2022.
Other footage was filmed around the Melbourne suburbs of Cheltenham and Moorabbin; scenes set at Fountain Gate were actually filmed at Westfield Southland.
Costuming Second-hand shops were used for Kath's clothing, whereas Kim was dressed in current trends.
Theme music and opening titles The theme music for Kath and Kim is performed by Gina Riley and is a cover of Anthony Newley's "The Joker", performed in the style of Shirley Bassey's recording of the song. A reworked recording of its debut in the telemovie opening sequence, was utilised for the show's run on the Seven Network.
The title sequence shows the main five regular characters over a white background. In season 3, it was amended to include Epponnee-Rae and Cujo, before switching to a revised version of the previous sequence for the Seven Network run, where Cujo was retained. The five regular cast members are then credited over aerial shots of suburban houses (Szubanski is credited as a "special guest" despite appearing in every episode) before fading into an aerial shot of Kath and Kim's house (some episodes replace it with an aerial shot of the mall, while the episode "The Wedding" replaced it with a ground-level shot of a hospital).
Broadcast Kath & Kim was broadcast Thursday nights at 8.30 pm throughout its run on ABC, while Seven Network aired the series Sunday nights at 7.30 pm.
The series premiered in the United Kingdom in April 2004, when it was broadcast on the now-defunct subscription channel LivingTV, and later on Ftn. It made its terrestrial television debut when it screened on BBC Two from 12 May 2005. The fourth season has never been broadcast in the UK, but did premiere when it was made available on Netflix.
In 2017, the rights to the series were acquired by the Nine Network, which began airing repeats of the series from 1 August 2017 until 21 November 2017.
In 2018, the series was released on Netflix in several regions, as well as the films and TV specials. In July 2019, the series was launched onto Netflix in Australia as well as the Kountdown Specials and Souvenir Editions.
In 2022, to mark its 20th anniversary, the Seven Network began airing repeats of the series from 29 September 2022.
Reception Ratings