October brings the premieres of five new TV titles from Australia and New Zealand to the US, including mystery-crime dramas, documentary and reality series, and a dark thriller.
For updates about shows from Australia and New Zealand added to US linear TV and streaming channels throughout the month, see the Down Under TV Viewing Guide.
Programs and dates are subject to change without prior notice.
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NATIONAL PREMIERES
Shipwreck Hunters Australia: Season 1 (AU)
In each episode of this adventure docuseries, a team of divers, underwater filmmakers, and expert maritime archaeologists — led by an obsessed, salty captain — embarks on an epic expedition to a remote location off the vast coast of Western Australia to uncover long-lost shipwreck secrets, in the hope of making some world-first discoveries.
Combining new evidence, archival research, and all-out adventure, the journeys into the mysterious past by these modern-day ocean explorers are also about the unique wildlife that call the waters of Western Australia home, and the stunning landscapes that sprawl as far as the eye can see.
Shipwreck Hunters Australia: Season 1 premieres globally on Wednesday, October 5, exclusively on Disney+.
My Life Is Murder: Season 3 (NZ)
Lucy Lawless (Spartacus, Xena: Warrior Princess) returns as irrepressible investigator Alexa Crowe in the new season of this light mystery-crime dramedy. Back in her hometown of Auckland, New Zealand, Alexa dives into ten new cases that pit her against fascinating, powerful, and surprising suspects each week — from eccentric billionaires and grieving florists, to tango dancers and fiery fashionistas.
In the two-episode opener of Season 3, Alexa investigates the death of a young teacher at a tango club, followed by the discovery of a crime novelist’s dead body, found encased in a public sculpture. Future episodes see Alexa working to prove that a champion thoroughbred was not responsible for the death of his handler, investigating a death at an upscale retirement village, and unraveling a mystery involving Christmas lights, amongst other cases.
Returning cast members include Ebony Vagulans (The Heart Guy) as Madison, Rawiri Jobe (The Brokenwood Mysteries) as Detective Harry Henare, Joe Naufahu (Game of Thrones) as Reuben, and Martin Henderson (Virgin River) as Alexa’s brother, Will.
My Life Is Murder: Season 3, an Acorn TV Original, premieres in the US and Canada with its first two episodes (of ten) on Monday, October 10, exclusively on Acorn TV and its digital channels, including Acorn TV on Amazon. New episodes will debut in pairs through November 7.
Wild Croc Territory (AU)
This reality TV series sees chopper pilot and animal expert Matt Wright and his fearless team of crocodile wranglers catch and relocate some of the world’s most ferocious reptiles in Australia’s wild Outback.
Wild Croc Territory premieres globally on Wednesday, October 12, exclusively on Netflix. (You can set a reminder for it now.)
The Stranger (AU)
This psychological thriller is based on the true story of one of the largest investigations and undercover operations in Australia, in which a small circle of seasoned undercover cops pose as a vast and influential criminal network in order to catch a murderer who has evaded conviction for eight years.
The story revolves around two strangers — Mark (Joel Edgerton, Loving, Boy Erased) and Henry (Sean Harris, Southcliffe, Macbeth) — who strike up a conversation on a long journey. One is a suspect in an unsolved missing person’s case; the other is an undercover operative on his trail.
The Stranger, a Netflix Film, premieres globally on Wednesday, October 19, exclusively on Netflix. (You can set a reminder for it now.)
True Colours (AU)
Rarriwuy Hick (Darby and Joan, Wentworth, Cleverman) stars in this Aussie noir mystery-crime drama as Toni Alma, an Aboriginal detective assigned to investigate a suspicious car accident in Perda Theendar, the Indigenous community she left as a child and has had little to do with ever since. As the clues lead back to her own family in the Northern Territory, Toni must navigate her way between the white and black laws, as well as the complexities of the Aboriginal art world, to find a killer who is way too close to home.
Costars in the four-episode limited series include Luke Arnold (Home and Away), Emma Jackson (Crownies), Sabella Kngwarraye Ross Turner, Miranda Otto (The Unusual Suspects), Errol Shand (Mystery Road), and Warren H. Williams, amongst others.
True Colours debuts in the US and Canada as a four-episode binge premiere on Thursday, October 20, exclusively on Sundance Now and its digital channels, including Sundance Now on Amazon, the AMC+ streaming bundle, and AMC+ on Amazon.
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Did you miss any of the new shows from previous days, weeks, or months? Check the Down Under TV Viewing Guide and Archives to find out.
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For details about the October premieres of shows from the UK, Canada, and Ireland, visit The British TV Place. For info about the debuts of original-language, English-subtitled programs from Europe, visit The Euro TV Place.
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