Channel Nine’s Shane Warne miniseries suffers ratings decline

Channel Nine’s Shane Warne biographical TV series, titled Warnie, has seen a decline in ratings after the debut episode screened on Sunday.  

The two-part miniseries drew 528,000 metro viewers on the first night, but that number had slipped to 434,000. 

Part of the distaste for the program came from its lack of authenticity, with cricketer Ian Healy telling the Herald Sun that the portrayal of his close friend Warne was off base. 

‘The first voiceover bit of Warnie speaking about his life… they didn’t have his attitude right’ he told the publication. 

‘They made him out to be too cynical, sarcastic, he’s not like that at all. That’s not Warnie… that got me annoyed.’  

The series debuted on Sunday night to an avalanche of negative reviews. 

Viewers tuning in were not impressed with what they saw, with many sharing their thoughts on Twitter. 

‘Warnie series couldn’t better represent how trashy your brand is. Insult to the great man. Shame!’ wrote one person. 

’10 minutes into Warnie and have turned it off. Ordinary, no actually horrific,’ said another. 

‘Cringe factor aside, this is just boring,’ tweeted another, while one more wrote, ‘This is putrid and getting worse…’ 

The two-part miniseries drew 528,000 metro viewers on the first night, but that number had slipped to 434,000 

Part of the distaste for the program came from its lack of authenticity, with cricketer Ian Healy (picured) telling the Herald Sun that the portrayal of his close friend Warne was off base

‘This is HORRENDOUS!’ commented someone else, with another asking, ‘Who approved this crap?’ 

‘This Warnie biopic is such a cringe, how’d this get approved,’ one more person watching at home said.  

‘This isn’t ‘it’s that bad it’s funny’ it’s that bad it’s god awfully painful Not even 15 mins in,’ someone else tweeted. 

‘So far it’s worse than I expected. Tacky and sensationalist. So disappointing,’ yet another viewer wrote. 

Other said they would give it a chance, with one writing, ‘This Warnie series on Nine is already highly cringeworthy, poorly directed, and rougher than sandpaper gate.’

Viewers tuning in were not impressed with what they saw, with many sharing their thoughts on Twitter. ‘This Warnie biopic is such a cringe, how’d this get approved,’ one person said 

‘Warnie and Packer sitting somewhere highly bemused. I’ll keep watching, see if it improves,’ they added. 

It comes after Shane’s ex-wife Simone Callahan slammed the timing of the miniseries.  

The former WAG believes it’s too soon for a show about the late cricketer, who died suddenly from a heart attack aged just 52 on March 4, 2022 while on holiday in Thailand.

‘I haven’t wanted to read into too much about it, but I think it’s a bit unkind and mean spirited to be honest,’ the 53-year-old told the Herald Sun. 

‘He’s just passed, let him rest in peace. And for the kids, I just believe that they’re not showing any compassion at all by putting this out there in such a short amount of time after this has happened. To be honest but that’s how I feel about it,’ she added. 

‘This is HORRENDOUS!’ commented someone else, with another asking, ‘Who approved this crap?’ ‘Cringe factor aside, this is just boring’ tweeted another