Streaming on ABC iview – quick links
ABC iview: new this week
Always Was Tonight – 21 January
Special. Popular broadcaster and proud Gamilaroi man Tony Armstrong is in the hosting seat for this sharp new satirical special. Filmed live at the ABC’s studios in Sydney, Always Was Tonight is set to decolonise the news – one headline at a time. Landing squarely in the ongoing national conversation around 26 January, the special promises to bring a fearless First Nations lens to the stories shaping the country.
The Piano UK Season 3 – 25 January
Series. Hosts Claudia Winkleman and Mika are back, joined by new mentor and seven-time Grammy winner Jon Batiste, as they begin their search for the UK’s best amateur pianists.
Australian of the Year – 25 January
Special. Leigh Sales hosts the Australian of the Year Awards, live from Canberra. The Prime Minister will present four prestigious awards: The Australian of the Year, The Young Australian of the Year, The Senior Australian of the Year, and Australia’s Local Hero 2026. The event includes a live performance by singer and songwriter Casey Donovan.
ABC iview: recently added
But Also John Clarke – 1 January
Documentary (2025). The late John Clarke, the New Zealand-born Australian satirist, is revealed through candid talks with his daughter, filmmaker Lorin Clarke, in this ‘abundantly comforting’ doco. This tribute explores his defiance, his move to Australia, and four decades of comedy, blending stories and archival material. Read ScreenHub’s four-star review and watch the trailer.
The Jetty Season 1 – 1 January
Series (2024). Jenna Coleman (Doctor Who, The Sandman, Me Before You) showcases her dramatic chops in this British crime drama series created and written by Cat Jones (The Idris Takeover). Recently widowed Detective Ember Manning uncovers dark secrets beneath the tranquillity of her hometown, secrets that threaten everything she thought she knew about consent – and her own life.
Changing Ends Season 3 – 1 January
Series. In the latest season of comedian Alan Carr’s semi-autobiographical sitcom, we return to 1980s Northampton, where a young Carr is struggling to find his place. Between a dad managing a 4th division football club and friends ditching him for being camp, Alan wants to change. Should he go against his instincts and become a footballer?
Amanda & Alan’s Italian Job – 1 January
Series. In a bid to breathe new life into forgotten towns, Italian municipalities are selling empty homes for one euro. In this reality series, we watch on as British media personality Amanda Holden fulfils a long-held ambition, purchasing two dilapidated apartments in picture-perfect Salemi, and convinces best friend Alan Carr to spend a summer renovating them to create an Italian dream home.
The Scarecrows’ Wedding – 1 January
Film (2025). Based on the beloved book by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler, this new made-for-television animated movie from the BBC and multi-Oscar-nominated Magic Light Pictures will delight young children. The Scarecrows’ Wedding is an enchanting story about two devoted scarecrows who are planning a wedding to remember. Will they be able to overcome disaster and celebrate a wedding that no one will ever forget?
Shaun Tan’s Tales from Outer Suburbia – 1 January
Series. This highly anticipated adaptation of Shaun Tan’s best-selling illustrated book premieres on New Year’s Day. Exploring the strangeness of everyday life through surreal imagery and fantastical characters, this 10-part cinematic series also features the voices of Dawn French and Geraldine Hakewill.
Viewers follow Klara and her brother Pim as they move to the suburbs with their mum, finding that there’s more to their new neighbourhood than meets the eye. As Pim and Klara navigate the quiet mysteries of everyday life and adventures full of surprising and bizarre encounters, they must learn to support each other as a family and discover where they belong in their ever-changing world.
Gardening Australia Junior Season 3 – 1 January
Series. Gardening Australia Junior is back and it’s full of green goodness, critters that wriggle and squawk, and projects that are tiny as ants, or as big as your school! Costa is back, along with a squad of nature-loving, spade-wielding kids to explore, create and laugh.
Art Detectives – 2 January
Series. In this gripping new six-episode British crime drama, art-loving DI Mick Palmer (True Blood’s Stephen Moyer) and straight-talking DC Shazia Malik (Nina Singh) lead the Met’s smallest department, the Heritage Crime Unit, investigating murders and thefts in the shadowy world of art, antiquities and priceless artefacts – from forged paintings to Viking gold.
Call the Midwife Season 14 – 3 January
Series. It’s the beginning of a new decade for the midwives of Poplar. This much-loved British series about life and birth in London’s impoverished East End continues with its 14th season, now set in the 1970s. (Hot tip: you can also watch Season 15 of Call the Midwife on BritBox this January.)
Goolagong – 4 January
Limited Series. Filmed in Victoria in 2025, this three-part mini-series is based on the inspiring true story of world champion tennis player Evonne Goolagong, one of Australia’s most loved female sporting heroes. With a powerhouse team of First Nations creatives behind the camera, Goolagong was developed in close collaboration with Goolagong herself and her husband Roger Cawley, who are both attached as associate producers.
Rising star Lila McGuire (The Twelve) leads the cast as Evonne, joined by Marton Csokas (Equalizer) as coach Vic Edwards, Felix Mallard (Ginny & Georgia) as Roger Cawley, and Luke Carroll (Mystery Road: Origin) as Evonne’s brother, Kenny Goolagong.
Muster Dogs: Where Are They Now Season 2 – 4 January
Series. Now in its second season, this follow-up to the ABC’s beloved doco-series Muster Dogs: Collies & Kelpies catches up with the human and canine stars who captured the hearts of millions of Australians – delving a little deeper into their lives and seeing what they’ve been up to since they competed to be crowned Champion Muster Dog.
Judi Dench: Shakespeare, My Family and Me – 5 January
Documentary (2025). Dame Judi Dench turns historical detective to solve the greatest mystery of her past: did one of her ancestors actually meet her hero, William Shakespeare?
Having played nearly every key female role in the Bard’s canon, the Oscar-winning actress also looks back on the special place the words and worlds of Shakespeare have had in her luminous career on stage and screen.
The Tree of Wisdom – 5 January
Series. A music-filled, laugh-out-loud adventure from the world of The Wiggles, this new spin-off series homes in on the Wiggles’ much-loved new offsider – The Tree of Wisdom – a viral sensation and loved across generations. The lovable leaf-covered larrikin and his sapling-sized sidekick have ‘tree-mendous’ fun across 18 five-minute episodes, throwing energetic dance parties and proving that learning can be as fun as a ‘Bush Doof’!
Disease X: Hunting the Next Pandemic – 5 January
Documentary (2025). In this new BBC production, virologist Dr Chris Van Tulleken embarks on a global investigation into the most urgent science story of our time: the hunt for the pathogen that could trigger the next pandemic. Known only as ‘Disease X’, it is shrouded in uncertainty. Its origin is unknown, but its impact could be much more severe than Covid-19.
Dr Karl’s How Things Work Season 2 – 6 January
Documentary series. Dr Karl heads to eight new factories to find out how some of Australia’s best-known products are made. With an access all areas pass to see how everyday items like books, guitars, and chips are made, he’ll discover the secrets of modern manufacturing.
Human – 6 January
Documentary series (2025). Around 300,000 years ago, Homo sapiens appeared in Africa. Today, they’re the only remaining human species left on the planet. How did this happen? This new BBC/PBS series is hosted by paleoanthropologist Ella Al-Shamahi and delves into the deep historical past of Homo sapiens to discover how humans became the most dominant animal on Earth.
Hard Quiz Season 11 – 7 January
Series. Tom Gleeson is back with a fresh batch of experts for Australia’s wildest quiz show, ready to award the Big Brass Mug to whichever expert best answers his Hard Quiz questions on their expert topic.
Grand Designs Transformations Season 2 – 8 January
Series. Australia’s boldest and most daring home renovators return in the new series of Grand Designs Transformations. They risk their sanity and savings to reinvent worn, tired spaces and prove that resourcefulness and creativity matter most when tackling renovations during Australia’s housing and cost-of-living crisis.
Richard Osman’s House of Games Night Season 1-2 – 10 January
Series. In BBC One’s primetime spin-off of Richard Osman’s House of Games, four famous faces go head-to-head to test their general knowledge in a variety of fun trivia-based games.
Fun, witty, and full of surprises, Richard Osman’s cross-examination of the celebs provides an entertaining watch for all the family as the level of competitiveness and camaraderie grows. And of course, this warm, feel-good quiz is perfect to play along with at home.
Portrait Artist of the Year UK Seasons 1-8 – 11 January
Series. Did you enjoy watching Aussie artists compete to create celebrity portraits with live sitters in the ABC’s Portrait Artist of the Year? Well, now you can binge all eight seasons of the original UK series, where the capital cities of the British Isles play host to competitions to find the UK and Ireland’s most talented portrait artists and celebrate the art of portraiture.
The Great Art Fraud – 12 January
Documentary series (2025). Lies, forgeries, manipulation – and fraud worth $86 million. This two-part BBC doco uncovers how Inigo Philbrick deceived the super-rich of the art world and ended up going from paradise to prison.
Simon Schama: The Road to Auschwitz – 12 January
Documentary (2025). In this new documentary for BBC Two, historian Simon Schama poresents the most personal and unflinching film of his career, confronting the Holocaust as not just a Nazi obsession, but as a European-wide crime of complicity.
The Weekly Season 12 – from 14 January
Series. Charlie Pickering is ready for 2026 as The Weekly returns to take a satirical stab at the news of the week. Look out for a new episode each week.
