New show & films – quick links
Stan: new shows & films
The Witches – 6 January
Film (2020). A young grandson and his grandmother find themselves face to face with a coven of witches. Starring Anne Hathaway and Stanley Tucci.
Gods of Tennis Season 1 – 10 January
Series. Looking back at the golden age of tennis during the 70s and 80s, with a particular focus on Wimbledon.
When A Stranger Calls – 11 January
Film (2006). A high-school student is harassed while babysitting by an increasingly worrisome prank caller. Starring Camilla Bell and Tommy Flanagan.
Netflix: new shows & films
Unlocked: A Jail Experiment Season 2 – 7 January
Documentary series. Coming up on two years since the first season debuted, Netflix is releasing a new season of this eye-opening reality series. Inside an Arkansas detention facility, a controversial sheriff implements a radical social experiment to grant incarcerated men more agency. Watch the trailer.
His & Hers – 8 January
Limited Series. Based on Alice Feeney’s 2020 novel of the same name, this brand new limited mystery-thriller series follows two estranged spouses – one a cop, the other a news reporter – as they compete to solve a murder case in which each believes the other is a prime suspect.
Starring Tessa Thompson, Jon Bernthal, Pablo Schreiber, Marin Ireland, Sunita Mani, Rebecca Rittenhouse and Crystal Fox.
People We Meet on Vacation – 9 January
Film. Pack your bags – Emily Henry’s bestselling romance novel is getting the Netflix movie treatment. Poppy’s a free spirit. Alex loves a plan. After years of summer vacations, these polar-opposite best pals can’t help but wonder if they could be a perfect romantic match.
Starring Emily Bader, Tom Blyth, Sarah Catherine Hook, Lukas Gage and Jameela Jamil. Watch the trailer.
AMC+, Shudder, Acorn TV: new shows & films
Brokenwood Mysteries: Season 11 – 5 January (Acorn TV & AMC+)
Series. This quirky, fan-favourite crime drama returns with an all-new season starring Neill Rea (Go Girls, Auckward Love) as Detective Senior Sergeant Mike Shepherd and Fern Sutherland (The Almighty Johnsons) as by-the-book Detective Kristin Sims. The formidable duo investigate crimes in the sleepy and secret-filled town of Brokenwood, New Zealand.
Chain Reactions – 9 January (Shudder & AMC+)
Documentary. Fifty years after Tobe Hooper’s The Texas Chain Saw Massacre shocked the world and forever changed the face of global cinema and popular culture, Chain Reactions charts the film’s profound impact and lasting influence on five great artists – Patton Oswalt, Takashi Miike, Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, Stephen King and Karyn Kusama – through early memories, sensory experiences and childhood trauma.
ABC iview: new shows & films
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?
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.
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.
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.
SBS On Demand: new shows & films
In Flight – 8 January
Series. An Australian premiere, this gripping new eight-episode British crime drama follows Jo Conran (Katherine Kelly), a single mum who is working as a flight attendant when her son (Harry Cadby) is imprisoned in Bulgaria for a murder he swears he didn’t commit. Jo is approached by the mysterious Cormac Kelleher (Stuart Martin), who knows all about her son and blackmails her into smuggling drugs.
Nurse Jackie Seasons 1-7 – 8 January
Series. Is it time you revisited this Emmy-Award-winning dark comedy? Edie Falco stars as the title character Jackie Peyton, a strong-willed and brilliant, but very flawed, emergency room nurse working in the frenzied environment of a New York City hospital. A lapsed Catholic with a weakness for painkillers, Jackie keeps the hospital balanced with her unique bedside manner and own brand of medical justice.
BritBox: new shows & films
Casualty Season 40 – 5 January
Series. Britain’s longest-running medical drama returns with a gripping new chapter, as Holby City Hospital’s Emergency Department faces one of its toughest years yet. As the department reels from senior nurse Charlie Fairhead’s retirement, the team is thrown into turmoil by a major incident that pushes resources (and tempers) to breaking point.
Starring William Beck (Robin Hood, Snatch), Elinor Lawless (EastEnders, Doctors), Olly Rix (Call The Midwife, Of Kings and Prophets), Sammy T Dobson (The Duke, Lore, Almost Married), Melanie Hill (Bread, Coronation Street), Michael Stevenson (The Syndicate, Innocent), Charles Venn (EastEnders, Dream Team, The Dark Knight) and Milo Clarke (How to Navigate Being a Monster).
Keeping Faith Seasons 1-3 – 5 January
Series (2017-2020). New to BritBox, this gripping Welsh thriller follows solicitor Faith Howells, whose world unravels when her husband vanishes without warning – and the double life he was leading comes to light.
Starring Eve Myles (Torchwood, Belonging), Bradley Freegard (Vikings: Valhalla, EastEnders), Mark-Lewis Jones (Outlander, The Crown), Eiry Thomas (Rillington Place, The Accident), Rhashan Stone (Midsomer Murders, Hollington Drive).
Richard Osman’s House of Games – 6 January
Series. Beloved British author and television presenter Richard Osman (creator of Pointless) is back with a new season of this popular quiz show. Each episode brings together a fresh line-up of celebrity contestants to face off in a fast-paced round of games, puzzles, and competitive banter as their general knowledge is put to the test.
Attenborough and the Giant Elephant – 8 January
Documentary (2017). David Attenborough explores the extraordinary life of Jumbo the elephant, the animal superstar said to have inspired Disney’s Dumbo, from his rise to global fame to the troubling legacy behind the world’s most iconic circus animal.
The Lost King – 9 January
Film (2022). This acclaimed drama follows the true story of amateur historian Philippa Langley, whose unwavering determination led to the discovery of King Richard III’s long-lost remains beneath a Leicester car park.
Starring Sally Hawkins (The Shape of Water, Paddington, Paddington 2), Steve Coogan, Harry Lloyd, Mark Addy, Lee Ingleby and James Fleet.
HBO Max: new shows & films
The Pitt Season 2 – 9 January
Series. The critically acclaimed series returns for its second season, diving even deeper into the relentless, high-pressure world of modern American healthcare.
It follows the frontline heroes of a Pittsburgh hospital as they face life-and-death decisions, systemic challenges, and the emotional toll of caring for a community that relies on them. Grounded, gripping, and unapologetically real, The Pitt pulls back the curtain on the triumphs and heartbreaks defining today’s medical frontline.
Season 2 stars Noah Wyle, Patrick Ball and Katherine LaNasa.
Binge: new shows & films
The Postcard Bandit – 7 January
Documentary. A companion piece to crime drama RUN, The Postcard Bandit is a gripping two-part documentary that dives deep into the life and crimes of Brenden Abbott, one of Australia’s most infamous criminal masterminds.
Prime Video: new shows & films
Spring Fever – 6 January
Series. Based on a web novel, Spring Fever is a Korean rom-com series that follows Yoon Bom (Lee Joo-been), who moves to the small town of Sinsu for a new beginning. Initially detached and cold, she gradually opens her heart after meeting Sun Jae-gyu (Ahn Bo-hyun).
Starring Ahn Bo-hyun, Lee Joo-been, Cha Seo-won, Cho Jun-young, Lee Jae-in, Jin Kyung, and Bae Jung-nam.
Beast Games Season 2 – 7 January
Series. After a record-shattering first season, Beast Games is back! Bigger, bolder, and more intense than ever. MrBeast has assembled 100 of the planet’s strongest competitors and 100 of the world’s smartest minds. ‘Strong vs. Smart’ will battle for an eye-watering USD$5,000,000 prize.
Starring Jimmy Donaldson aka MrBeast.
The Night Manager Season 2 – 11 January
Series. Jonathan Pine (Tom Hiddleston) thought he’d buried his past. Now living as Alex Goodwin – a low-level MI6 officer running a quiet surveillance unit in London – his life is comfortingly uneventful.
Then one night a chance sighting of an old Roper mercenary prompts a call to action and leads Pine to a violent encounter with a new player: Colombian businessman Teddy Dos Santos (Diego Calva).
Disney+: new shows & films
Chicago Fire Seasons 1-11 – 7 January
Series. You can now binge on all 279 existing episodes of the show that spurned the entire Chicago television franchise (which has grown to include Chicago P.D., Chicago Med and Chicago Justice). Chicago Fire explores the professional and personal lives of the firefighters, rescue personnel and paramedics of the Chicago Fire Department at the fictional Firehouse 51.
A Thousand Blows Season 2 – 9 January
Series. This British historical drama series is inspired by the Forty Elephants, an all-female crime syndicate who clash with the world of illegal bare-knuckle boxing in 1880s East London.
