February brings the US and Canada premieres of four series from Australia and New Zealand: a romantic comedy, a true-crime dramedy, a crime drama, and a 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.
Videos below may contain content that is not suitable for everyone.
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NATIONAL PREMIERES
Five Blind Dates (AU)
This brand-new romantic comedy series follows Lia Ling (Shuang Hu, The Family Law, Ronny Chieng: International Student), a twenty-something young woman who feels stuck. The traditional Chinese tea shop that she inherited from her beloved grandmother is failing, and her younger sister is getting married. While this is a joyous occasion, what’s awful in Lia’s world is that she’s attending the wedding single and solo.
When Lia has her fortune read, she learns that, in order to save her business, she must go on five dates and find her soulmate. With the fate of her tea shop and her love life intertwined, and the key to both being one of her next five dates, Lia, under pressure from her family, agrees to be set up with five different suitors.
The cast includes Yoson An (New Gold Mountain), Jon Prasida (Kung Fu), Desmond Chiam (The Falcon and the Winter Soldier), Ilai Swindells (Safe Home), Tiffany Wong (Lunch Room), Renee Lim (The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart), Rob Collins (Total Control), and Tzi Ma (Kung Fu).
Five Blind Dates, an Amazon Original, premieres globally on Tuesday, February 13, 2024, exclusively on Prime Video.
Far North (NZ)
Inspired by the true story of New Zealand’s largest meth bust, this drama series follows a Tongan-Australian gang, whose lucrative drug deal with a global cartel goes awry, leaving them stranded with 500kg of meth and a boatload of lies. In their increasingly desperate pursuit of their ultimate payday, they unwittingly involve an ordinary Kiwi couple — pesky 70-year-old Māori diesel mechanic Ed (Temuera Morrison, The Mandalorian, My Life Is Murder) and his aqua-aerobics instructing wife, Heather (Robyn Malcolm, Black Bird, Harrow). Amidst the absurdity, Ed and Heather must navigate treacherous waters, hoping to both thwart the gang and survive the ludicrous ordeal.
Far North, a Sundance Now Original Series, premieres in the US and Canada with two episodes on Thursday, February 15, on Sundance Now, AMC+, and their digital channels, including Sundance Now on Prime Channels and AMC+ on Prime Channels. New episodes will be released each Thursday through the season finale on March 14.
Sunshine Kings (AU)
Set in and around the Melbourne suburb of Sunshine, this crime drama follows three strands. The first concerns Jacob Garang (Walleldin Elnour, Neighbours, Preacher), a young, aspiring South Sudanese-Australian basketball player who becomes one of the police’s prime suspects in the assault of a teen girl. The second follows Eddie (Anthony LaPaglia, Without a Trace, Halifax: Retribution), the new coach of the Sunshine Kings basketball team, who helps them to achieve success but loses their trust due to a racist incident in his past. And the third centers on Zara Skelton (Melanie Lynskey, Yellowjackets, The Last of Us), a lawyer who tries to stop the police from treating the Sudanese as suspects, and eventually helps them to discover the truth.
Sunshine Kings premieres in the US and Canada as a four-episode binge on Monday, February 19, exclusively on Acorn TV and its digital channels, including Acorn TV on Prime Channels.
Heat (AU-UK)
In this drama thriller series, two families’ annual summer holiday in the Victorian highlands of Australia turns into a nightmare when they become trapped in the path of an oncoming bushfire and deep-seeded secrets are revealed.
The series stars Danny Dyer (EastEnders), Darren McMullen (SeaChange), Pia Miranda (Wentworth), and Jane Allsop (Rake), and features Matia Marks (The InBESTigators), Richie Morris (Neighbours), Matteo Annetta (House Husbands), Hunter Hayden, and Olympia Valance (Playing for Keeps).
Heat premieres in the US and Canada as a four-episode binge on Monday, February 26, exclusively on Acorn TV and its digital channels, including Acorn TV on Prime Channels.
NON-PREMIERE PROGRAMS BEING ADDED TO STREAMING SERVICES
Lambs of God (Australia)
Adapted from Marele Day’s novel Lambs of God, this dark, Gothic tale centers on three nuns and a man of the cloth who enters their lives and changes their world forever. Sisters Iphigenia (Essie Davis, Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries, Faraway Downs), Carla (Jessica Barden, The End of the F***ing World, Pieces of Her), and Margarita (Ann Dowd, The Handmaid’s Tale, The Leftovers) — each a generation apart — are the last remaining members of the enclosed order of St Agnes. Basically forgotten by the Catholic Church, the cloistered women live in an isolated, rundown convent on a remote Australian island, where they tend to a flock of sheep that they have named after nuns who have died.
One day, young Father Ignatius (Sam Reid, The Newsreader, Interview with the Vampire) arrives on the island to survey the supposedly abandoned abbey for a new project. Feeling threatened, the nuns take him prisoner, prompting inquiries on the mainland about his absence and lack of communication. Meanwhile, Iphigenia puts in motion a plan to thwart Ignatius as Carla becomes attracted to him. When all is said and done, all of their lives, as well as the convent and island, will have been forever changed.
Costarring Kate Mulvany (Hunters), Daniel Henshall (Mystery Road: Origin), John Bell (Deadline Gallipoli), and Damon Herriman (The Artful Dodger), Lambs of God begins streaming in the US and Canada on Tuesday, February 20, on MHz Choice and its digital channels, including MHz Choice on Prime Channels.
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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 February 2024 premieres of shows from the UK, Canada, Ireland, and countries in Europe and elsewhere, visit The British TV Place, The Euro TV Place, and The Global TV Place.
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