October brings the premieres of four Australian TV titles to the US, and a Kiwi film finds an additional stateside streaming outlet.
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.
(For details about the 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.)
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
Suddenly Royal (AU)
This docuseries explores the lives of four common people who married into royalty: Prince Daniel of Sweden, Queen Mary of Denmark, Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway, and Princess Kate of the United Kingdom.
Consisting of three episodes — “Happily Ever After?,” “Weddings,” and “Worlds Collide” — the program highlights their experiences and challenges while delving into their personal relationships, political dynamics, and cultural shifts. It features archival footage and expert insights, revealing the true impact of entering the royal world and showing what happens when everyday lives intersect with royalty in the modern age.
Suddenly Royal premieres in the US on Saturday, October 4, on the PBS Documentaries Prime Video Channel, the PBS Living Prime Video Channel, and the PBS Masterpiece Prime Video Channel.
NCIS: Sydney: Season 3 (AU-US)
The third season of this “NCIS” spinoff opens with the episode “Gut Instinct,” in which the discovery of two missing U.S. Navy aviators adrift in the Coral Sea leads the team to expose a sinister terrorist plot. NCIS: Sydney: Season 3 premieres in the US on Tuesday, October 14, at 10pm ET/PT, on CBS, with live and on-demand streaming available for Paramount+ Premium plan subscribers. Paramount+ Essential subscribers will be able to stream the new episodes the day after they air.
Ten Pound Poms (AU-UK)
Set in 1956, the first season of this period drama follows a group of Brits who respond to an emigration advertisement that promises a prosperous new life in Australia for just ten British pounds. Expecting to be exchanging rationed Britain for exotic food, white-washed houses, and sun-soaked adventures, the new British migrants, colloquially referred to as “Poms” in Australia and New Zealand, arrive in Sydney to find that life Down Under is a far cry from what they were sold.
The cast includes Michelle Keegan (Fool Me Once), Warren Brown (The Responder), Faye Marsay (Bancroft), Rob Collins (Total Control), Stephen Curry (Pine Gap), Leon Ford (The Letdown), and Emma Hamilton (RFDS Royal Flying Doctor Service), amongst others.
Ten Pound Poms premieres in North America with two episodes on Wednesday, October 29, exclusively on BritBox. One new episode will drop each week through November 26.
Son of a Donkey (AU)
Following the success of their YouTube channel, which spawned the Superwog TV series (aka Superbro outside of Australia, currently streaming on Netflix), brothers Theo and Nathan Saidden star in this new comedy series as their respective Superbro characters, Theo and Johnny. In the show, Theo leaves home, eager to claim his independence and embrace adulthood. But then a road rage incident sends him to court-ordered therapy. While trying to juggle a full-time job and distance himself from his chaotic family, he quickly discovers that adulting is far more challenging than he anticipated.
Son of a Donkey, a Netflix Series, premieres globally on Thursday, October 30, exclusively on Netflix. (You can set a reminder for it now.)
NON-PREMIERE PROGRAMS BEING ADDED TO STREAMING SERVICES
The Rule of Jenny Pen (NZ)
Based on “The Rule of Jenny Pen,” a short story by New Zealand author Owen Marshall, this horror thriller film centers on two individuals: One is Judge Stefan Mortensen (Geoffrey Rush, “Pirates of the Caribbean” films, Genius), an arrogant man who suffers a near-fatal stroke, leaving him partially paralyzed and confined to a retirement home. The other is Dave Crealy (John Lithgow, Conclave, The Old Man), a fellow resident with whom Mortensen clashes.
On the surface, Crealy seems to be a gentle man, but in actuality he is secretly terrorizing the home with a sadistic game called “The Rule of Jenny Pen” while wielding his dementia doll as an instrument of cruelty. When Mortensen’s pleas to the staff go unanswered, he takes it upon himself to put an end to Crealy’s reign of terror.
The Rule of Jenny Pen begins streaming in the US on Tuesday, October 7, on Hulu.
The Author’s Cut: Short Stories by Owen Marshall (includes “The Rule of Jenny Pen”)
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