Upfronts 2022: SBS

• SBS WorldWatch channel launches in May 
• New SBS / NITV drama True Colours; four new Digital Originals
• New local docos: Life on the Outside; Jess Hill in Yes, No, Maybe
• Matt Moran, Paula Duncan and Myf Warhurst in Who Do You Think You Are?; Eurovision 2022, Mastermind, Celebrity Letters & Numbers.
• International dramas: The Responder, Nine Perfect Strangers, Handmaid’s Tale, War of the Worlds
• International docos: SAS: Rogue Heroes, Django
• Sport: FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, Tour De France, the inaugural Tour De France Femmes;
• Multi-year partnership with StudioCanal
• Commitment to on and off-screen diversity with the SBS Commissioning Equity and Inclusion Guidelines
• 2023: Safe Home; Alone.

SBS has now announced its 2022 highlights, after postponing its Upfronts event from 2021.

Anew SBS WorldWatch channel specialising in foreign language news launches in May and there is the first SBS / NITV joint drama commission True Colours starring Rarriwuy Hick (previously announced for 2021 as Copping It Black), four new Digital Originals for SBS on Demand.

Reality survival series Alone gets a local adaptation, Alone Australia. Director Rachel Perkins tackles The Australian Wars (originally announced for 2020 as First Wars), and Jess Hill looks at consent in Yes, No, Maybe.

Matt Moran, Paula Duncan and Myf Warhurst are first names announced in a new season of Who Do You Think You Are?

Every Family Has a Secret, delayed by pandemic impact, also returns.

SBS Managing Director, James Taylor, said: “SBS in 2022 is natively multilingual, digital-first, truly innovative, and trusted by a growing audience. Come to us on any platform and you’ll find stories that give a voice to communities otherwise unheard, perspectives that break down barriers, entertainment and sporting moments that unite us, news that Australians turn to, and programs that are capturing the hearts and minds of people around the world.

“Our distinctive content and world-class services are underpinned by the incredibly diverse creative talent that exists in Australia. At SBS, we want to ensure that everyone in our sector can participate with equal opportunity to succeed, and we have expanded our commitment to on-screen and off-screen inclusion through new commissioning guidelines and targets we’re sharing today – the most ambitious, nuanced and comprehensive commitment in our industry. As we grow more diverse as a nation, all Australians will continue to recognise themselves and their communities on SBS.”

SBS Acting Director of Television and Online Content, Chris Irvine said: “2022 is set to be another enormous year for SBS, packed full of world class content. We are a home for all Australians, and the true diversity of Australia needs to be celebrated and reflected both on our screens and behind the camera. Examining issues central to our Charter, we continue to uncover what it means to be Australian today. This year, impactful and powerful storytelling across SBS screens will continue to inspire, inform and emotionally connect with our audience.”

SBS is also launching SBS Commissioning Equity and Inclusion Guidelines with diversity targets for commissioned titles.

“Diversity is in our DNA,” says Irvine. “Now we’re launching our Equity and Inclusion guidelines which underpin our commitment to seeing the screen sector better represent the audience it serves. We’re holding ourselves to account to ensure we’re going to deliver on that commitment by introducing formal targets across all of our commissioned shows over the next three years. This is part of a wide-ranging investment in inclusion to make sure everyone has a pathway in our sector and a more level playing field for for creating, both in front of and behind the camera.”

There is also a 2023 drama title, Safe Home, announced from Producer Imogen Banks (Offspring, RFDS, The Beautiful Life).

Here are the SBS and SBS on Demand highlights (TX = Airdate).

New:

True Colours
TX: 2022 on SBS and NITV
Number of Episodes: 4 x 1hr
Detective Toni Alma is assigned to investigate a suspicious car accident in Perdar Theendar, the Aboriginal community she left as a child and has had little to do with over the years. The beauty of Aboriginal art and the sometimes-devious practices in the global art market take Detective Toni Alma on a hunt for a killer. This is a murder mystery like no other, exploring culture, community, family and one woman’s pursuit to find her place within it. The series came from an original concept by Arrernte singer-songwriter Warren H. Williams and co-creator, writer and director Erica Glynn. Warren H. Williams stars alongside Rarriwuy Hick (Redfern Now, Cleverman), Luke Arnold (Never Tear Us Apart, Black Sails), Errol Shand (Mystery Road, Rake), Emilie de Ravin (Remember Me, Lost), Trisha Morton Thomas (Total Control), Ben Oxenbould (Mr InBetween, Mystery Road) and Miranda Otto (The Unusual Suspects, The Lord of the Rings). In an Australian first, the languages spoken in the series are Arrernte as well as English. This new four-part crime drama from SBS is our first drama co-production with NITV. Produced by Bunya Productions, with the support of Screen Australia’s First Nations Department, Screen NSW, Screen Territory and international partner About Premium Content.

Life On the Outside
TX: 16 March 2022 on SBS
Number of Episodes: 3 x 1hr
With more than 40,000 people currently incarcerated in Australia and half of them ending up back inside within two years of release, this ground-breaking series looks at whether that outcome can be changed if you place prisoners into ordinary households for the first 100 days of their release. Life On the Outside is an ITV Studios Australia production for SBS.

The Australian Wars
TX: Mid 2022 on SBS
Number of Episodes: 3 x 1hr
This landmark documentary series reveals the extraordinary story of Australia’s First Wars. It reveals how more than 100 years of conflict between Colonial Settlers and Indigenous Australians have often been buried, whitewashed or ignored. By challenging our past, it asks Australians who we are today, and who we want to become as a nation. Major production investment from SBS in association with Screen Australia. Australian Wars is a Blackfella Films production for SBS.

Yes, No, Maybe
TX: 2023 on SBS
Number of Episodes: 3 x 1hr
In 2021 investigative journalist Jess Hill and the team from Northern Pictures journeyed into Australian homes to explore a national crisis, domestic abuse, with See What You Made Me Do. In the bold, new, thesis driven series, Yes, No, Maybe, Jess will use first-person testimony to explore the status of consent in Australia, following an explosive year of this issue in the headlines. Yes, No, Maybe is a Northern Pictures production for SBS. Principal production investment from Screen Australia in association with SBS.

International:

The Responder
TX: 16 March 2022 on SBS
Number of Episodes: 6 x 1 hr
A gripping new drama following an urgent response police officer at rock bottom as he searches for redemption in the darkest of places. Inspired by the real-life experiences of former police officer and writer Tony Schumacher. The Responder gives us a rare glimpse into the heart of our societies’ dark and gritty underbelly, as we follow an officer whose own life hangs in the balance while he tries to save himself by saving others. In one of the most deprived areas of the UK, Chris (Martin Freeman) drives a front-line response vehicle. Night after night, he faces crime, violence, and addiction on the streets he patrols, while also battling personal demons that trouble his work life, his marriage, and his mental health. Cast includes Martin Freeman, Adelayo Adedayo, Ian Hart, and MyAnna Buring

Django
TX: 2022 on SBS
Number of Episodes: 10 x 1hr
The story is set in the Wild West in the 1860s and 1870s. Sarah and John have founded New Babylon, a city of outcasts, full of men and women of all backgrounds, races and creeds, that welcomes everyone with open arms. Haunted by the murder of his family eight years earlier, Django is still looking for his daughter, believing she may have survived. He is shocked to find her in New Babylon, about to marry John. But Sarah, now a grown woman, wants Django to leave, as she fears he will put New Babylon in jeopardy if he stays. However, Django, believing the city is in danger, is adamant that he will not lose his daughter twice. Cast includes Matthias Schoenaerts, Noomi Rapace, Nicholas Pinnock, and Lisa Vicari.

SAS: Rogue Heroes
TX: 2022 on SBS
Number of Episodes: 6 x 1 hr
Based on Ben Macintyre’s best-selling book of the same name, SAS: Rogue Heroes is a dramatised account of how the world’s greatest Special Forces unit, the SAS, was formed under extraordinary circumstances in the darkest days of WWII. The series centres on David Stirling, an eccentric young officer, who is hospitalized after a training exercise gone wrong. Convinced that traditional commando units do not work, Stirling creates a radical plan that flies in the face of all accepted rules of modern warfare. Portraying David Stirling is actor Connor Swindells, best known for his role as Adam Groff in Sex Education and for drama series Vigil. He will be joined by Skins actor Jack O’Connell as Paddy Mayne, Game of Thrones’ Alfie Allen as Jock Lewes, The Wire’s Dominic West as Lieutenant Colonel Wrangel Clarke and Atomic Blonde star Sofia Boutella as Eve. The series is written by Steven Knight, creator and writer of Peaky Blinders.

DI Ray
TX: 2022 on SBS
Number of Episodes: 4 x 1hr
Set in Birmingham, DI Ray introduces us to Leicester-born Rachita Ray (Parminder Nagra), a police officer who takes on a case that forces her to confront a lifelong personal conflict between her British identity and her South Asian heritage. Rachita achieves the promotion she has been waiting for when she is asked to join a homicide investigation. However, on her first day she is told the murder to which she has been assigned is a ‘Culturally Specific Homicide.’ Rachita’s heart sinks – she suspects she is a ‘token appointment’, chosen for her ethnicity rather than her ability.

Tokyo Vice
TX: Late 2022 on SBS
Number of Episodes: 8 x 1hr Jake Adelstein is the only Western reporter who has written for a Japanese newspaper. Based on his memoir, Tokyo Vice is Jake’s (Ansel Elgort) daily descent into the neon-soaked underbelly of Tokyo, where he embeds himself into the police squad and becomes enmeshed in the hidden, complex, and corrupted cultures of the city’s vice cops and the criminal underworld. Tokyo Vice takes us deep into a series of overlapping worlds, where no one and nothing is who or what they seem. Cast includes Ken Watanabe, Ansel Elgort, Rachel Keller, Ella Rumpf, and Rinko Kikuchi.

Wolf
TX: Late 2022 on SBS
Number of Episodes: 6 x 1hr Jack Caffery is a restless 34-year-old cop burdened by the guilt of a past family tragedy. After landing in hot water with his hierarchy, he goes on yet another wild chase by revisiting an old case: a gory crime that happened years ago. A few miles away, a wealthy local family is being held hostage in their remote home and their ordeal is the stuff of any great horror film, becoming increasingly bizarre and terrifying. This is no random crime, and their fate relies entirely on Jack. If only he was able to let the ghosts of the past go, he might be able to connect the two stories and save them. Based on the Mo Hayder series of novels.

Nine Perfect Strangers
TX: Late 2022 on SBS
Number of Episodes: 8 x 1hr
Based on The New York Times best-selling book by author Liane Moriarty, Nine Perfect Strangers takes place at a boutique health-and-wellness resort that promises healing and transformation as nine stressed city dwellers try to get on a path to a better way of living. Watching over them during this 10-day retreat is the resort’s director, Masha, a woman on a mission to reinvigorate their tired minds and bodies. However, these nine ‘perfect’ strangers have no idea what is about to hit them. Cast includes Nicole Kidman, Melissa McCarthy, Samara Weaving, and Bobby Cannavale.

Tony Robinson: Britain’s Greatest River
TX: March 2022 on SBS
Number of Episodes: 8 x 1hr
Audience favourite Tony Robinson takes us the full length of the Thames, from the Cotswolds in the west to the estuary in the east, taking in the stunning scenery and delving into the river’s vast history. He’ll meet the people who live and work along the river and explore the incredible infrastructure it supports, go behind the scenes at some of its most iconic monuments and discover some real hidden gems.

Robson Green’s Icelandic Adventure
TX: March 2022 on SBS
Number of Episodes: 3 x 1hr
Amongst the huge fish, offbeat banter and jaw dropping scenery, actors Robson Green and James Murray lay bare their darkest ever moments in a bid to share just how powerful a therapy fly fishing has been for them both. It has played a vital role in restoring their mental well-being after Robson’s addiction issues at the height of his fame, and the grief Jim suffered after the tragic loss of his daughter. But an indulgent, navel gazing exposé this is not. The joyful and life affirming humour these two cast over you when joining them on their trip of a lifetime is highly contagious, and with the lyrical and evocative backdrop only Iceland can offer. This is a truly original adventure you will definitely want a ticket for!

Michael Mosley’s Health Intervention
TX: March 2022 on SBS
Number of Episodes: 3 x 1hr
Doctor Michael Mosley devises a lifestyle intervention and eating plan to help five volunteers get their health back on track, post-lockdown. In the first episode, Michael runs a series of tests to see just how badly lockdown has affected his volunteers’ health, before creating a bespoke diet for the 21 days. Come on their journey towards better health and learn something along the way!

World’s Most Scenic River Journeys
TX: April 2022 on SBS
Number of Episodes: 6 x 1hr
There is no better perspective than from a boat on a river, as it gently winds its way through gorgeous landscapes and natural beauty. Bill Nighy narrates this visually stunning six-part documentary series, telling the stories of six epic river journeys through the characters who live and work on them. Winding through rivers in the UK, Europe, Canada and the USA, each episode showcases beautiful and distinctive landscapes, from emerald green hills, ancient forests, and biodiverse river deltas, to fairy tale castles, chocolate box villages and iconic cities. We meet the people who live and work on the rivers, hitch rides on fishing boats and yachts, even canoes and replica Viking Ships, hopping on and off to explore the wealth of hidden stories along the riverbanks of the world’s most beautiful rivers.

Jack The Ripper
TX: 2022 on SBS
Number of Episodes: 3 x 1hr
In 1888 London witnessed the most notorious unsolved crime in British history. It saw the birth of the modern serial killer and launched the legend of ‘Jack the Ripper’, meanwhile his victims have been forgotten. Now three experts in forensic psychology, policing and history reinvestigate the case and question the version of the story we think is true. The team’s mission is to separate fact from fiction and ask how much of what we know about this celebrated killer is a myth and why has the only truth, the story of the five brutally murdered women, been hidden by history?

Returning:

Who Do You Think You Are? S13
TX: Mid 2022 on SBS
Number of Episodes: 8 x 1hr
Well-known Australians including Matt Moran, Paula Duncan and Myf Warhurst play detective as they go in search of their family history, revealing secrets from the past. Who Do You Think You Are? is a Warner Bros. production for SBS.

Every Family Has a Secret S3
TX: March 2022 on SBS
Number of Episodes: 4 x 1hr
Presented by Australian actor Noni Hazlehurst, Every Family Has a Secret follows everyday Australians on life changing journeys as they seek out the hidden secrets within their families. Do I have Royal blood? Was my father a war criminal? Who abandoned me on a doorstep as a baby? Did my father, a Roman Catholic priest, have other children? These are among the family secrets to be unravelled in Season 3, exploring compelling and dynamic social and political histories of Australians. Major production investment from SBS in association with Screen Australia. Financed with support from Screenwest.

Australia Uncovered
TX: Late 2022 on SBS
4 x Documentaries
SBS’s returning strand of prime-time single documentaries exploring diversity and equality in contemporary

The Cleaning Company
TX: Late 2022 on SBS
Number of Episodes: 1 x 90 mins
The Cleaning Company is a fly-on-the-wall insight into the world of trauma cleaning through the journey of charming transgendered business owner Sandra Pankhurst and the lives of a motley crew of workers at Frankston’s Specialised Trauma Cleaning Services (STC). The Cleaning Company is a Walking Fish Productions and Good Things Productions production for SBS. Principal production funding from Screen Australia in association with Film Victoria.

Kids Raising Kids
TX: Late 2022 on SBS
Number of Episodes: 1 x 1hr
Kids Raising Kids takes audiences inside Canberra College (CC) – a unique school for teen parents – but our characters’ lessons are not confined to the classroom. We are with them at home, the women’s refuge, the birthing clinic, support groups, or wherever their journeys take us. Many of the students are single parents, some are overcoming family trauma and drug dependency, and all are navigating a complex system. What unites them is a will to transform their lives – to get an education, stay on the right side of the law, and be the best parents they can be. Kids Raising Kids is an Only Human production for SBS. Principal production investment from Screen Australia in association with SBS. Financed with support from Screen NSW and Screen Canberra.

Inconceivable
TX: Late 2022 on SBS
Number of Episodes: 1 x 1hr
This one-hour documentary is based on a journalist’s discovery at the age of 27 that the man who brought her up and loved dearly – was not her biological father. Her mother was impregnated with anonymous donor sperm. The intensely personal film is the story of award-winning investigative journalist Sarah Dingle and her fight to uncover the truth about who made her and how. At the same time, she uses her skills to investigate the secretive fertility industry and family secrets along the way. Inconceivable is a Sam Content production for SBS. Principal production investment from Screen Australia in association with SBS. Financed with support from Screen NSW.

Me and My Tourette’s
TX: Late 2022 on SBS
Number of Episodes: 1 x 1hr
Around one in every hundred Australians are diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome (TS), a condition that has no cure and is so little understood, even by medical science. With repetitive, sudden movements and sometimes obscene vocals, the involuntary physical effects can leave people with Tourette’s feeling on the outskirts of Australian society. The one-hour documentary will follow three people as they experience one of Australia’s biggest Tourette’s camps. From a young man diagnosed for the first time in recent weeks to a teenager with a Greek father struggling to understand his child’s condition. Through their personal stories we learn the difficulties faced by them and their families as well as the spectrum of this disorder. Me and My Tourette’s is a Joined Up Films production for SBS. Principal production investment from Screen Australia in association with SBS. Financed with support from Screenwest.

Mastermind S4
TX: 21 February 2022 on SBS
Number of Episodes: 85 x 1hr
Mastermind is the legendary quiz that sets the toughest questions on television. Join Mastermind quizmaster Marc Fennell, as each night he puts four contenders to the test. Mastermind is a BBC Studios production for SBS.

Eurovision: Australia Decides
TX: 26 February 2022 on SBS
Hosted on the Gold Coast, Eurovision – Australia Decides will feature 11 of Australia’s biggest acts vying for their chance to represent the country at the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 in Italy. Joel Creasey and Myf Warhurst will again be at the helm of this year’s live coverage. Produced by Blink TV for SBS.

Celebrity Letters and Numbers S2
TX: 5 March 2022 on SBS
Number of Episodes: 12 x 1hr
Each week three celebrity contestants compete in a hilarious version of the classic show Letters and Numbers. Hosted by Michael Hing and featuring wordsmith David Astle in Dictionary Corner, the series offers endless nuggets of wisdom that you never knew you didn’t know! Over at the board, numbers expert Lily Serna explains mathematical techniques in a way that makes complete sense. The compulsive play along letters and number games are back with the all-important conundrum buzzer round to crown the winning celebrity. Produced by ITV Studios Australia for SBS.

Eurovision Song Contest, Turin
TX: May 2022 on SBS
The world’s biggest singing contest returns exclusively to SBS in 2022. At the helm of SBS’s Eurovision coverage, hosts Joel Creasey and Myf Warhurst will bring Australians every angle of the contest as they explore the razzmatazz, kitsch, political voting, showbiz, cultural displays, and the heart of Eurovision – the artists and songs. Produced by Blink TV for SBS.

The Handmaid’s Tale
S5 TX: 2022 on SBS
Number of Episodes: 10 x 1 hr
The Emmy-award winning hit drama returns in the wake of the extraordinary events of season 4, in which June (Elisabeth Moss) and her resistance struck a major blow against her chief tormentor and one of the former rulers of Gilead. In the upcoming fifth season of The Handmaid’s Tale, June will contemplate her future as a fierce rebel leader and consider the personal toll of her quest for retribution and justice.

War Of the Worlds S3
TX: 2022 on SBS
Number of Episodes: 8 x 1hr
The third season of this dynamic adaptation of H.G. Wells’ classic novel sees the war between the survivors and the aliens reach a new turning point as a strange phenomenon grips countless people across the globe. Gabriel Byrne (In Treatment) reprises his role as Bill Ward, along with brand new talent, including BAFTA Award-winner Molly Windsor (Three Girls), Ernest Kingsley Junior, Madeleine Worrall and Oliver Hembrough.

Sport

This year marks the return of the event that stops entire nations, the FIFA World Cup. An event like no other, the World Cup unites people from all walks of life in celebration of the global game of football. With all 64 matches live, free and exclusively on SBS, this will be the first ever summer tournament offering the most sociable kick off times. This event will not only deliver the biggest audiences on SBS but deliver some of the biggest audiences across all free-to-air television in 2022. SBS is Australia’s cycling network and will continue to broadcast the iconic Tour de France after securing the exclusive broadcast rights until 2030. Including the Tour de France, Giro d’Italia and the Vuelta a Espana, SBS is home to all three Grand Tours in professional cycling. This year will also see the premiere of the inaugural Tour de France Femmes – the long-awaited women’s Tour de France. The Tour de France Femmes, as well as SBS’ live broadcast of the Paris-Roubaix Femmes signals a turning point for women’s cycling. More highlights in cycling for 2022 include the Women’s and Men’s Australian National Road Series as well as the Women’s and Men’s European Cycling Spring Classics.

News & Current Affairs

SBS will further expand its multiplatform multilingual services in 2022, with the launch of new free-to-air television channel, SBS WorldWatch, from 23 May. Featuring news bulletins from leading international broadcasters in more than 35 languages, it will also be the free-to-air television home SBS’s new Arabic and Mandarin language news programs – SBS عربي News and SBS 中文 News – produced locally, and which premiered on SBS On Demand in February.

SBS’s Tuesday night current affairs line-up returns with Insight, The Feed and Dateline. In 2022, these series will explore global issues and events, deliver original investigations, and connect audiences with important stories from across Australia.

SBS on Demand

Digital Originals 

A Beginner’s Guide to Grief
TX: 2022 on SBS On Demand
Number of Episodes: 6 x 10mins and 1 x 60 mins
A Beginner’s Guide to Grief is the latest project to be greenlit via SBS, Screen Australia and NITV’s Digital Originals initiative. Harriet (Harry) Wylde is struggling to come to terms with the loss of her two terminally ill parents within the same week and forced to face her ultimate fear: absolute aloneness. But when she stumbles across her dysfunctional foster sister, Daisy, camping in the cemetery, Harry discovers that grief doesn’t play by any rules and soon, neither will she. Filmed in South Australia, this dark comedy is written by and stars Anna Lindner and is directed by Renée Mao. KOJO Studios’ Linda Ujuk is executive producer and creative producer, and KOJO’s Kate Butler is series producer, together with Julie Byrne. A Beginner’s Guide To Grief is a KOJO Studios production for SBS. Principal production funding from Screen Australia in association with SBS through the Digital Originals initiative with the assistance of The South Australian Film Corporation (SAFC).

Appetite
TX: 2022 SBS On Demand
Number of Episodes: 6 x 10mins and 1 x 60 mins
In Appetite, when a food delivery rider dies on the streets of Sydney, an unlikely trio of fellow riders find themselves entangled in a mystery to uncover the truth and expose a multinational food delivery behemoth. This mystery series comes from creator, writer, director and producer Mohini Herse with writers Neilesh Verma and Grace Tan, director Neil Sharma, and producer Karen Radzyner with executive producers Sleena Wilson, Elise McCredie and Jomon Thomas. Principal production funding from Screen Australia in association with SBS through the Digital Originals initiative with the assistance of Screen NSW.

Latecomers
TX: 2022 on SBS On Demand
Number of Episodes: 6 x 10mins and 1 x60 mins
Latecomers is a comedy drama about two strangers with cerebral palsy, Frank and Sarah who, after watching their carers hook up at a bar, become determined to explore their own relationships with sex, and each other. Written and created by Emma Myers, Angus Thompson, and Nina Oyama, Latecomers will be directed by Madeleine Gottlieb and Alistair Baldwin, and produced by Hannah Ngo and Liam Heyen. Principal production funding from Screen Australia in association with SBS through the Digital Originals initiative with the assistance of Screen NSW.

Night Bloomers
TX: 2022 on SBS On Demand
Number of Episodes: 5 x 12 mins and 1 x 60 mins
Night Bloomers is an anthology of horror stories from the Korean diaspora. With a goblin stowaway and monsters hunting in the night, the heroes of Night Bloomers experience a world of fractured identities and unresolved yearnings. This chilling horror comes from creator, writer, director, and producer Andrew Lee with writers Ra Chapman, Jacob Holmes-Brown, and Suzanne Kim, who will also direct an episode. It’s produced by Turnabout Entertainment’s Ashlea Ritchie and executive producers are Michael McMahon and Information & Cultural Exchange’s Barry Gamba. Night Bloomers is a Turnabout Entertainment production for SBS. Principal production funding from Screen Australia in association with SBS through the Digital Originals initiative with the assistance of Screen NSW.

Black Sands
TX: Early 2022 on SBS On Demand
Number of Episodes: 8 x 1 hr
Police Detective Anita is forced to leave Reykjavik for her hometown situated in Iceland’s striking black sands. The death of a tourist on the black sands appears to be an accident. It quickly becomes Anita’s first case and sends her on a dark journey to revisit her past, unravelling a serial killer operating for years, disguising murders as accidents. Stars Aldís Amah Hamilton, Þór Tulinius and Steinunn Ólína Þorsteinsdóttir.

The Spectacular
TX: March 2022 on SBS on Demand
Number of Episodes: 4 x 1 hr
The Spectacular comes from the Netherlands and is inspired by a true story. The story is set in the 1980s during a criminal investigation into two IRA attacks on British military personnel stationed in the Dutch region of Limburg. Meanwhile, in Northern Ireland, British security service MI5 coerces an IRA volunteer to infiltrate the inner circle of legendary bomber Declan Moore, who is soon expected to lead an IRA active service unit in mainland Europe. The Spectacular is a spy thriller with two strong female leads and is a pure European story, based in the UK, Ireland, Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands. Cast includes Aoibhínn McGinnity, Declan Conlon, Hadewych Minis, Kerr Logan, and Ian Beattie.

Atlanta S3
TX: March 2022 on SBS On Demand
Number of Episodes: 10 x 30 mins
After three years, Donald Glover’s critically acclaimed comedy series Atlanta is set to return to screens. The highly anticipated third season centres on college dropout and music manager Earnest ‘Earn’ Marks (Donald Glover) and rapper Paper Boi (Brian Tyree Henry) as they navigate the Atlanta rap scene. It also stars Lakeith Stanfield and Zazie Beetz.

Agent Hamilton: New Missions S2
TX: April 2022 on SBS On Demand
Number of Episodes: 8 x 1 hr
The high-concept, international spy thriller, based on the iconic novels and characters by best-selling Swedish author Jan Guillou, is back! Carl Hamilton faces new missions, from the northernmost town in Sweden to the South of France. Never sure whom to trust, always sniffing out conspiracies that sometimes run straight to the halls of power, he uncovers new plots that threaten Sweden and the whole world – a nuclear threat emerges, an old Navy Seal comrade is found dead, plans to attack French elections are revealed and his fiancée is dragged into a blackmail plot.

Trom
TX: Mid 2022 on SBS On Demand
Number of Episodes: 8 x 1 hr
Trom is a Nordic crime drama, set in the heart of the North Atlantic Ocean. Trom is based on Jagvan Isaksen’s crime novels, adapted for television by emerging screenwriter Torfinnur Jákupsson. In the series journalist Hannis Martinsson investigates the murder of an animal rights activist, found floating in the bloody waters of a whale killing. Martinsson risks his own skin on the trail of a spectacular story, sending shock waves through the isolated island community, where every friend has suddenly become a suspect.

The Orville: New Horizons
TX: Mid 2022 on SBS On Demand
Number of Episodes: 10 x 1 hr
The Orville: New Horizons sees the crew of the Planetary Union exploration vessel, the USS Orville, quantum drive onto our screens. The teaser does remind us of the events that took place at the end of Season 2, way back in April 2019 – if you remember there was time-travel tomfoolery, alt-universe escapades, and a Kaylon army to deal with. Stars Seth MacFarlane, Adrianne Palicki, and Penny Johnson.

Das Boot S3
TX: Mid 2022 on SBS On Demand
Number of Episodes: 8 x 1 hr
The third series follows the tense struggles of a young U-boat crew as they engage in the Battle of the Atlantic whilst being hunted down by an obsessed Royal Navy Commander in a thrilling game of cat-and-mouse. The series sees Tom Wlaschiha (Game of Thrones), Franz Dinda, Rick Okon, Pierre Kiwitt, Leonard Scheicher and Robert Stadlober reprise their roles. As well as boasting a stellar array of new cast members including Ray Stevenson, International Emmy Award winner Anna Schudt, and Jo Hartley (After Life).

…and 2023

Safe Home
TX: 2023 on SBS
Number of Episodes: 4 x 1hr
From Imogen Banks, the award-winning producer of Offspring, Puberty Blues and RFDS, we have Safe Home; a cleverly woven drama that will keep you guessing until the end. Safe Home tells the story of Phoebe, a woman whose life is turned upside down when she begins working at a family violence legal centre. The thrilling plot takes you on a journey that twists and turns ultimately exploring the stories we tell about family violence and its refusal to discriminate regardless of race, age, class or gender.Created by Anna Barnes, and written by Anna Barnes, Jean Tong and Michelle Law, Safe Home is the first show from Imogen Bank’s new production company – Kindling Pictures. Major production investment from Screen Australia in association with SBS. Banijay are managing international sales.

Alone Australia
TX: 2023 on SBS
Number of Episodes: 10 x 1hr
Alone is a smash hit around the world. On SBS On Demand it has over 18-million-chapter-views second only to The Handmaid’s Tale. Now it is coming to SBS, for a new Australian series. In this unique survival series, participants compete against others but more profoundly they compete against themselves. There are no crew, no producers, just survival. 10 individuals with expert survival skills are dropped off, alone into separate parts of a remote wilderness location. Each confronts the merciless forces of nature, hunger, and the toughest challenge of all: Loneliness. The goal is to survive alone for as long as possible with a limited amount of survival equipment but can leave or ‘tap out’ at any time they wish. The survivalist who lasts the longest wins a life changing prize. Alone Australia is an ITV Studios Australia production for SBS.

Upfronts 2022: NITV, SBS Food, SBS World Movies