What to watch on SBS On Demand – quick links
SBS On Demand: new this week
Empty Nets – 24 March
Film (2023). On Iran’s northern coast, Amir struggles to secure steady work in the fishing industry while pursuing a secret romance with Narges, whose family expects greater stability. Economic precarity and social norms create tension, forcing their relationship into risk and quiet compromise.
Directed by Behrooz Karamizade and starring Ali Rezaei, Sara Ahmadi and Reza Karimi.
Fallen Leaves – 25 March
Film (2023). In contemporary Helsinki, solitary workers Ansa and Holappa meet by chance and begin a tentative romance. With minimalist, deadpan style, the film captures loneliness, resilience, and the subtle possibilities of love, winning the Jury Prize at Cannes and reaffirming Finnish master Aki Kaurismäki’s signature humanistic vision.
Starring Alma Pöysti, Jussi Vatanen and Janne Hyytiäinen.
Homebodies – 28 March
Series. A world premiere, this heartfelt new Australian drama stars Claudia Karvan, Luke Wiltshire, Jazi Dall and Roxie Mohebbi. When trans man Darcy reluctantly returns to his regional hometown to care for his estranged mother, Nora, he’s shocked to discover that she has secretly been living with Dee – the ghost of his pre-transition self – who manifested two years earlier.
Nora hopes Darcy’s arrival might help them all move forward. Trapped in the house with her mum, Dee is a powder keg of teen emotions, which manifest in flickering lights and electrical short circuits. But Darcy and Dee clash, competing for their mother’s attention. Through a misguided exorcism, Darcy unwittingly unlocks Dee’s ability to leave the property, and when he finally tracks her down, he is horrified to discover that she can now be seen by others. This ghost is becoming more and more real, but he is slowly losing his own reflection. Is Darcy at risk of fading altogether? Watch the trailer.
SBS On Demand: recently added
Northern Exposure Seasons 1-6 – 19 March
Series. This Emmy-winning series might have been unavailable to audiences for years, but its warm-hearted charms are ready to be discovered again. The series stars Rob Morrow (Quiz Show, Numbers) as a recent med school graduate who owes four years of medical service to Alaska because of a condition of his student loans. After relocating to the remote town of Cicely to settle his debt, it isn’t long before the brash New York City native realises the unique eccentricities of the town’s inhabitants.
Northern Exposure had an indelible impact on TV and culture at large. It laid the groundwork for offbeat series like Gilmore Girls and Schitt’s Creek, featured one of TV’s first gay weddings, and was lauded for its nuanced and celebratory depiction of Native American characters, informed by consultants and cast members.
Its impact even extends into music with Bon Iver deriving his stage name from a phrase he heard during his binge of the series while he was sick with glandular fever. This hilarious and beautifully written dramedy also stars John Corbett (United States of Tara, Sex and the City) and Janine Turner (Steel Magnolias, Cliffhanger).
Nepobaby – 19 March
Series. In this Norwegian Succession-style family comedy, a single day completely changes Emma’s (Vivild Falk Berg, Porni) life. She learns she’s an heir to one of Norway’s oldest and wealthiest shipping dynasties. Her estranged father, who recently passed, secretly added her to his will and the family business.
What do you do when you find out you’re the daughter of one of Norway’s richest men? And get the thing you’ve always wanted most: a family? And what if the siblings you’ve wished for your entire life want nothing to do with you?
Also starring Nicolai Cleve Broch (Ammo, Operation Arctic and The Sandhamn Murders) and Henriette Steenstrup (Porni).
Eid Collection – 19 March
Collection. SBS On Demand marks Eid al-Fitr with a selection of films, series and documentaries that span the diverse cultures and languages of Muslim communities around the world. Eid Mubarak! Titles include:
Raised by Refugees Seasons 1-2 – written and created by comedian Pax Assadi, Raised By Refugees is a 12-episode coming-of-age comedy with authenticity and humour in spades.
Americanish – in this romantic comedy film, three young Pakistani-American women – career-focused sisters Maryam and Sam Khan and their just-off-the-boat cousin Ameera – try to find a rich husband in Queens, New York.
Lunch With Us Season 1 – In this six-part series, filmmakers travel across Asia to explore the locals’ favourite lunch dishes, and uncover stories behind their midday meals.
Coroner Seasons 1-4 – 22 March
Series. This character-driven, one-hour procedural drama from Canada is based on the Jenny Cooper crime novels by MR Hall, following Dr Jenny Cooper (Serinda Swan), a recently widowed new coroner who investigates any suspicious, unnatural or sudden deaths in Toronto.
Jenny taps into her intuition as much as her intellect and heart as she solves cases along with the help of Homicide Detective Donovan McAvoy (Roger Cross), a man who isn’t afraid of challenging status quo, pathologist Dr Dwayne Allen (Lovell Adams-Gray), his assistant River Baitz (Kiley May), and Alison Trent (Tamara Podemski), Jenny’s assistant who keeps it real.
And while Jenny solves mysterious deaths, she also deals with clinical anxiety, a teenage son, Ross (Ehren Kassam), who is still grieving the death of his father, and the prospect of starting a new relationship with the enigmatic Liam (Éric Bruneau), who is her neighbour and handyman.
