August brings the premieres of two new series, one each from Australia and New Zealand, and the launch of a new Aussie film to the US.
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
My Brilliant Career (AU)
Based on Miles Franklin’s beloved Australian novel of the same name, this period drama is the first television adaptation and the second filmed adaptation of the work, following the 1979 award-winning feature starring Judy Davis and the late Sam Neill.
The series follows Sybylla (Philippa Northeast, Territory, The Newsreader), a shockingly modern young woman with one searing ambition: to be a writer. With an irrepressible taste for fun, she breaks every convention of 1900 Australia as she searches for a story that will allow her to write her way to independence. Her family, though, is determined to marry her off. For Sybylla, the choice of adventure or marriage seems easy… until she falls in love.
Costars include Christopher Chung (Slow Horses, Blitz), Anna Chancellor (My Lady Jane, Outrageous), Genevieve O’Reilly (Andor, The Dry), Kate Mulvany (Hunters, Elvis), Jake Dunn (What It Feels Like For a Girl, Ballad of Renegade Nell), Alexander England (Black Snow, The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart), Sherry-Lee Watson (Thou Shalt Not Steal, Heartbreak High), and Miah Madden (Paper Dolls, The Clearing).
My Brilliant Career, a Netflix Series, premieres globally on Thursday, August 13, exclusively on Netflix. (You can set a reminder for it now.)
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My Brilliant Career by Miles Franklin
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Blue Murder Motel: Season 1 (NZ)
This new murder mystery series follows Vanessa “Vinny” Coleman (Michala Banas, Neighbours, McLeod’s Daughters) and Peter “Cole” Coleman (Brett Tucker, The Residence, Station 19), a married couple who left their cop careers in Australia behind, in favor of running a motel in the sunny, beachside town of Mōwai Bay in New Zealand. But their plans for an easier life go sideways when a dead body is discovered in Unit 3, just one week after opening. Vanessa and Peter may be retired, but their detectives’ instincts get fired up in no time, as they are drawn back into investigation mode. As the town’s friendly charm begins to crack, hidden secrets and unresolved grudges are revealed.
The series costars include Jayden Daniels (Shortland Street), Stephanie Tauevihi (The Panthers), and Jamie McDermott (Westside), and features guest stars Maaka Pohatu (Happiness), Craig Hall (A Place to Call Home), Sara Wiseman (A Place to Call Home), and Miriama Smith (The Gone), amongst others.
Blue Murder Motel: Season 1, an Acorn TV Original Series, premieres in the US on Monday, August 24, exclusively on Acorn TV and its digital channels, including Acorn TV on Prime Video. New episodes will drop weekly through October 12.
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Penny Lane Is Dead (AU)
Set in 1986 Australia on a hot summer night, this horror movie revolves around 17-year-old Penny Lane (Bailey Spalding, Scrublands, North Shore) and her friends, who are celebrating graduating and getting into college at her family’s beach house. But when Penny’s jealous and troubled cousin, Kat (Sophia Wright-Mendelsohn, Year Of), decides a cruel prank is in order, what begins as a thoughtless spiked cupcake game spirals into a night of bloodshed and revenge.
Costarring Alexandra Jensen (Talk to Me) and Ben O’Toole (Hacksaw Ridge), Penny Lane Is Dead, a Shudder Original Film, premieres in the US, Canada, UK, and Ireland on Friday, August 28, exclusively on Shudder, AMC+, and their digital channels, including Shudder on Prime Video and AMC+ on Prime Video, where available.
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