The start of summer brings a brand new Kiwi-Danish crime thriller and three new seasons of Aussie TV series to the US, plus the local broadcast premiere of an Australian documentary.
For updates about shows from Australia and New Zealand added to US channels and streaming services throughout the month, see the Down Under TV Viewing Guide.
NATIONAL PREMIERES
Straight Forward (New Zealand-Denmark)
In this dark and edgy crime thriller, notorious crime boss Ravn (Mark Mitchinson, Dear Murderer) murders con woman Silvia’s (Cecilie Stenspil, The Protectors) father in cold blood, prompting her to rob Ravn of millions of krone in revenge. But then things go sideways, and Silvia is forced to flee from Denmark to New Zealand with her mother (Vibeke Hastrup, Unit One) and daughter (Marie Boda, Heartless) to start a new life — if she can stay ahead of her pursuers and stay alive.
Filmed in Queenstown, New Zealand, and Copenhagen, Denmark, and shown in English and Danish (with English subtitles), Straight Forward, an Acorn TV Original series, premieres in the US on Monday, June 10, exclusively on Acorn TV and the Acorn TV channel on Amazon.
Rosehaven: Season 3 (Australia)
Real-life best friends and series creators and stars Luke McGregor (Utopia) and Celia Pacquola (Offspring) are back as fictional best friends-turned-real estate colleagues Daniel McCallum and Emma Dawes in the latest season of this award-winning comedy series set in Tasmania.
The eight new episodes find Daniel and Emma facing big changes in their personal lives, not to mention a real estate opportunity that threatens to divide the whole town. They also make off with a pig.
Featuring Kris McQuade (Mystery Road) and Katie Robertson (Ms Fisher’s Modern Murder Mysteries), Rosehaven: Season 3 premieres in the US at midnight ET on Thursday, June 20, exclusively on SundanceTV.
The Casketeers: Season 2 (New Zealand)
Happy dance, happy dance! One of my favorite Down Under TV shows of 2018 will be back with its new season in June!
A feel-good series if ever there was one, The Casketeers follows Francis and Kaiora Tipene, the Māori owner-operators of the Tipene Funerals home, and their staff as they take the greatest of care and respect in handling every funeral detail for grieving Polynesian families. Season 2 finds Francis and his sidekick, Scottie, revealing their weight loss, and the Tipenes’ funeral home — and family — expanding.
Here’s a clip from the first season.
As hilarious as it is touching, The Casketeers: Season 2, a Netflix Original series, premieres in the US on Friday, June 21, exclusively on Netflix.
Instant Hotel: Season 2 (Australia)
This reality-competition program returns with four new pairs of home hoteliers, who check in, check out, and rate each other’s properties — based on the house, location, nearby attractions, value for money, and quality of a night’s sleep — as they compete for the title of Australia’s Best Instant Hotel.
Instant Hotel: Season 2, a Netflix Original series, premieres in the US on Friday, June 28, exclusively on Netflix.
LOCAL PREMIERES
Outback Rabbis (Australia)
Insightful and hilarious, this hour-long documentary follows two Rabbis — one from Melbourne, the other from Cairns, both members of the Chabad ultra-Orthodox Hasidic sect — as they and their wives embark on a road trip like no other. In their RV-turned-synagogue on wheels, they leave the comfort of Jewish life in the city behind and head into the Aussie bush looking for “lost Jews.” Their journey into the heart of Australia is filled with surprising and emotional encounters with Aussie outback characters, as well as discoveries about community and understanding — with Jewish wit, music, and culture sprinkled throughout.
Outback Rabbis is confirmed for airing on or after Sunday, June 30, on the public TV stations listed below. Check your local listings or contact the station that serves your area for air dates and times. To request the program, contact your station’s Viewer Services department or American Public Television.
| STATE | CITY | STATION |
|---|---|---|
| ARIZONA | Tucson |  |
| CALIFORNIA | Eureka |  |
| DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA | Washington, DC |  |
| FLORIDA | Miami |  |
| GEORGIA | Albany, Athens, Augusta, Chatsworth, Cochran, Columbus, Dawson, Macon, Pelham, Savannah, Waycross, Wrens |  |
| IDAHO | Boise, Coeur d’Alene, Moscow, Pocatello, Twin Falls |  |
| KENTUCKY | Ashland, Bowling Green, Concinnati/Covington, Elizabethtown, Hazard, Lexington, Louisville, Madisonville, Morehead, Murray, Owensboro, Owenton, Paducah, Pikeville, Somerset |  |
| MARYLAND | Annapolis, Baltimore, Frederick, Hagerstown, Oakland, Salisbury |  |
| MISSOURI | Kansas City |  |
| NEBRASKA | Alliance, Bassett, Hastings, Lexington, Lincoln, Norfolk, North Platte, Omaha |  |
| NEW YORK | Buffalo |  |
| OHIO | Akron, Alliance, Youngstown |  |
| OKLAHOMA | Tulsa |  |
| WYOMING | Casper-Riverton, Lander |  |
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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 Viewing Guide Archives to find out.
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For details about the June premieres of shows from the UK, Canada, and Ireland, visit The British TV Place. For those about the debuts of original-language, English-subtitled programs from Europe, visit The Euro TV Place.
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