The number of international television programs available in the United States is growing like crazy, and not just from British TV and Euro TV imports. More and more shows from Australia and New Zealand have been making their way north of the equator.
To help stateside fans get their Aussie and Kiwi TV fix, we’ve put together this guide on where you can find a show from Down Under to watch any time of day or night.
As an affiliate of Amazon and other cos, affiliate links on this blog allow us to earn income from qualifying actions (at no extra cost to you).
SUBSCRIPTION VIDEO-ON-DEMAND (SVOD) PLATFORMS
Acorn TV — Acorn TV offers programs from Australia and New Zealand, the UK, Canada, and Ireland, as well as original-language, English-subtitled shows from Europe. Of its current curated content, nearly 30 titles are from Down Under — many of which are exclusive to Acorn TV. Some of the most popular titles are these:
If you aren’t a subscriber, you can still access some of Acorn TV’s Aussie and Kiwi TV shows, including the ones below, via pay-per-view (PPV) on Amazon Video.
Folks who are new to Acorn TV get a free 7-day trial, after which the subscription price is $4.99/month or $49.99/year for on-demand streaming. Amazon Prime members can add an Acorn TV subscription through Amazon Channels and watch Acorn’s shows through the Amazon Video interface.
_________
Amazon Prime & Instant Video — Amazon Video offers quite a number of Aussie and Kiwi titles, many of which are available at no extra charge to Amazon Prime members. Prime Video titles from Down Under include:
Non-Prime shows can be purchased on a per-episode or per-season basis, such as…
Amazon Prime costs $10.99/month or $99/year and comes with free 2-day and same-day shipping, Prime Video, Prime Music, Prime Reading, and loads of other benefits. A subscription to just Prime Video costs $8.99/month.
_________
Hulu — Hulu currently has 20 shows from Australia and New Zealand, including crime dramas, drama dramas, and comedies, including…
Hulu’s Limited Commercials subscription plan costs $7.99/month and the No Commercials plan costs $11.99/month. Both plans include shows in HD and access on mobile devices and through media streaming gadgets and game consoles.
_________
Netflix — Netflix, the largest SVOD platform in the US and around the world, has roughly 53 million domestic subscribers out of nearly 110 million globally (as of October 2017) and the largest number of shows from Australia and New Zealand of any programmer in this country. (It would be quite surprising if it didn’t.)
A few programs (like Glitch, Tales by Light, and Wanted) are Netflix Original series, some are exclusive, and many are fan favorites, such as:
The most recent subscription price increase was in October 2017, when the two screens + HD streaming plan (Netflix’s most popular) went up to $10.99/month. The family plan (four screens + HD & Ultra HD 4K where available) was raised to $13.99/month. However, the basic plan (one screen, no HD) has remained at $7.99/month.
_________
Additional SVOD Streaming Services
Fullscreen — The content on Fullscreen is geared to the “Internet Generation.” It currently has one title from Down Under: the dramedy series SLiDE, which is also available at Fullscreen on Amazon. The subscription price is $5.99/month after the free 7-day trial.
HBO NOW — Whereas the HBO GO VOD service comes as part of a subscription to the premium cable channel, HBO NOW is a separate, internet-only SVOD service that costs $15/month. Both, though, give you access to all of HBO’s available content, including its sole show from Australia: the comedy series Ja’mie: Private School Girl.
Shudder — Shudder offers horror, supernatural, and thriller movies and TV shows in the US, Canada, UK, and Ireland. At the moment, it is streaming the Aussie horror thriller Wolf Creek on its website and Shudder channel on Amazon in the US.
A subscription to Shudder in the US costs $4.99/month or $47.88/year.
__________________
FREE AD-SUPPORTED STREAMING SERVICES
EndemolShineInternational — This Roku channel lets you stream a few factual, reality, and competition series from Australia.
FilmRise — The four shows below are available on this Roku channel (and on Amazon Prime Video without commercials). Note that these titles are not available on the FilmRise website.
Popcornflix — PopcornFlix content includes factual programs from Down Under. The exception is the true-crime drama series Underbelly: War on the Streets, which is only available on the Popcornflix Roku channel, not the website.
Shout Factory TV — Shout Factory TV features classic and contemporary pop culture favorites, which you can stream for free (with ads) on its website. To watch shows with no commercials, you’ll need a subscription, available through Amazon Channels for $2.99/month after the 7-day free trial. Of its shows, Shout Factory TV has one from Down Under: the original Wilfred comedy series.
Tubi TV — Tubi TV, available on the web and Roku, has the second-largest number of shows from Down Under after Netflix, including a bunch of titles that are only streaming on this free service in the US, such as…
__________________
LINEAR TV CHANNELS
Public TV stations — Many of the 300+ PBS member stations, as well as independent public TV stations, air shows from Australia and New Zealand — most, if not all, of which are purchased by stations with funds from viewer donations. Many of these programs have their US broadcast premieres on public TV stations in select markets, including the ones below, which have become fan favorites.
_________
HBO — For Down Under content on HBO, see HBO NOW above.
SundanceTV — SundanceTV has premiered these series from Down Under since 2013: sci-fi-fantasy drama Cleverman, comedy Rosehaven, and crime drama-mystery Top of the Lake.
__________________
DIGITAL DOWNLOADS
You can buy digital downloads of shows from Australia and New Zealand on iTunes. Right now iTunes is the only place in the US where you can purchase the hit Aussie comedy series Kath & Kim.
To see which Down Under titles are available on iTunes, see the “Aussie TV Shows in the US” and “Kiwi TV Shows in the US” pages.
__________________
