Best of 2019: Australia's favourite shows

2019 saw a bounty of brilliant new TV series from home and abroad. If you haven’t seen them, don't miss your chance to catch up on the shows that captivated Australians this year, streaming at SBS On Demand.

SBS On Demand

The shows that captivated Australians in 2019. Source: SBS On Demand

The Hunting

Starring Asher Keddie and Richard Roxburgh, The Hunting follows the lives of four teenagers, their teachers and families in the aftermath of a nude teen photo scandal. Tackling themes of misogyny, online exploitation, sexuality and sexualisation, the series offers a vital portrait of modern, multicultural Australia.

Richard Roxburgh won the  for his role in The Hunting,and writers Niki Aken and Matthew Cormack picked up the , for episode 3 titled #shittyboys.  , The Hunting is now set to screen in six other countries. 

The Hunting box set is now streaming at .

Struggle Street

Season 3 of this thought-provoking documentary series was released this year. Locals of the New South Wales Riverina region share the complex issues facing them and many Australians today, including addiction, poverty and drought-induced stress. Season 2, from 2017, is also streaming at SBS On Demand.

Struggle Street seasons 2 and 3 are streaming at .

Filthy Rich and Homeless

This series asks five high-profile Australians to experience life as one of the nation’s growing number of homeless. Season 2 is filmed on the streets of our most expensive city, Sydney, and in the live episode, participants Cameron Daddo, Skye Leckie, Benjamin Law, Alex Greenwich and Alli Simpson reflect on their experience.

 

Filthy Rich and Homeless seasons 1 and 2 are streaming at .  

Australia In Colour

Narrated by Hugo Weaving, this documentary is a unique collection of moments of our nation’s history brought to life for the first time in colour. Reflecting on Australia’s character, attitudes and politics, and the struggle to value our Indigenous and multicultural past, it offers a fresh perspective on our history.

Australia In Colour is available to stream in full at .

Years and Years

Starring Emma Thompson, this audacious drama follows an ordinary Manchester family and catapults them from life in 2019 to 2034. In this fictitious depiction, Britain is rocked by political, economic and technological advances while the family experiences what they hope for and fear in the future. Audiences have found Russell T. Davies’ show .  

Years and Years is available to stream at .

On Becoming In Central Florida

Kirsten Dunst shines in this dark comedy as Krystal Stubbs, a minimum-wage water park employee. She lies, schemes and cons her way up the ranks of the cultish pyramid scheme, FAM, that drove her family to ruin. In this creepy view of suburban America, .

On Becoming A God in Central Florida is available to stream at .




Riviera

‘Behind every great fortune is a great crime.’ Julia Stiles plays Georgina, newly married into the wealthy Clios family. When her husband (Anthony LaPaglia) is killed in a yacht explosion, she begins piecing together the mysterious circumstances surrounding his untimely death and uncovers family secrets that involve money laundering and one very dangerous set of people.

Both seasons of Riviera are now streaming at

Harlots

With an impressive cast of stars, including Samantha Morton, Lesley Manville and Liv Tyler, this female-centric drama is set in cosmopolitan 18-century London, and centres on the heady and highly competitive world of the city’s most valuable commercial activity – sex.

All three seasons of Harlots are now streaming at .




Wisting

This thrilling Norway­–USA collaboration brings together homicide detective William Wisting (Sven Nordin) and FBI special agent Maggie Griffin (Carrie-Anne Moss) to solve the case of a suspected American serial killer on the loose. Wisting’s journalist daughter is also put into grave danger after publishing a news story related to the investigation. This is one bingeworthy series.  

Watch Wisting at .

The Son

Jumping across his life experience in the Wild West, The Son follows Eli McCullough (Pierce Brosnan) who will stop at nothing to secure his legacy at the time of the nascent oil industry of 1917. He employs deceit, fraud and murder – weapons he wields with the effortless skill of the Comanche warrior he once was.

Seasons 1 and 2 of The Son are now streaming at .




Blood

Set in rural Ireland, this psychological thriller follows Cat (Carolina Main) who returns to her childhood home following her mother’s death from a fall at the bottom of the garden. The simmering tension of this family saga deepens when Cat begins to suspect her father (Adrian Dunbar) is involved in the apparent accident.

Watch Blood at .

Project Blue Book

Project Blue Book was the name the US Air Force gave to its clandestine operation, investigating UFOs and related phenomena, which ran throughout the fifties and sixties, one of America’s most mysterious periods. Game of Thrones’ Aidan Gillen plays Dr. J. Allen Hynek, the college professor hired to spearhead Project Blue Book. Real-life case files are brought to life in this series. To call it fascinating would be an understatement.

As we await the arrival of season 2, catch season 1 of Project Blue Book at .




Below The Surface

The first season of this Danish thriller throws us right into the mess of three heavily armed men taking hostages in a metro train, sending us below the surface with what becomes a terrorist threat. Commander of Denmark’s Terror Task Force Philip Nørgaard (Johannes Lassen) is back after a well-earned break in season 2. This time, on which innocent passengers find themselves in the company of the suspected kidnappers, the woman kidnapped, and Nørgaard and his team out for their blood.

Below The Surface seasons 1 and 2 are now streaming at .

Pagan Peak

This German hit draws inspiration from the genius premise of The Bridge. German Ellie Stocker (Julia Jenstch) and Austrian Gedeon Winter (Nicholas Ofczarek) are sent to investigate a murder that took place on the countries’ border. Gruesomely staged, the victim’s body is found propped up on a mountain pass in the Alps, reminiscent of a pagan ritual. Soon, more such crime scenes are discovered. Are these deaths part of a bigger, more sinister plan? The wintry backdrop is almost a character in itself in this thrilling series.

Pagan Peak is now streaming at .

The Handmaid’s Tale

This hugely popular adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s 1985 novel barely needs an introduction. Season 3 follows June’s resistance to Gilead’s dystopian regime and her determined strike back against overwhelming odds. Season 4 is in our future. Stay tuned!

The Handmaid’s Tale season 3 is now streaming at .

Debrief after every episode with .  




Moscow Noir

Young Swedish investment banker Tom Blixen (Adam Pålsson) has the world at his feet. It’s Moscow, 1999 – the height of the Wild East – and he’s feeling invincible. But when Tom takes a huge gamble, he’s thrust into a battle between the big boys: not only millionaires and oligarchs, but their private armies, too.

Moscow Noir is available to stream at .




Bullets

Finland brings us this thrilling series. When intelligence agent Mari (Krista Kosonen) goes undercover, she befriends an asylum seeker, who also seems to be going under cover – she’s actually Madina (Sibel Kekilli), one of the world’s most wanted terrorists, who until now has been presumed dead. Mari sets out to befriend Madina, and discover her true intentions in Helsinki.

Bullets is available to stream at .




Mary Kills People

With three seasons until its belt, this popular Canadian show focuses on the secret life of Dr Mary Harris (Caroline Dhavernas). An ER doctor and single mother to a teenage daughter, Mary operates a side hustle with her colleague Des (Richard Short) helping terminally ill patients end their lives. Working outside the law, they risk discovery after the death of a superstar footballer comes to light. To say Mary’s life is complicated is putting things mildly.  

Three seasons of Mary Kills People are available as a box set at .

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8 min read
Published 5 December 2019 3:13pm
Updated 12 December 2019 9:04am
By SBS Guide
Source: SBS


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