The Fall
From Ireland comes this compelling crime drama starring The X-Files’ Gillian Anderson and Jamie Dornan (A Private War). From the outset, we learn that Paul Spector is not the loving husband and father he appears to be, but the serial killer preying on women in Belfast and surrounds. Enter, homicide detective Stella Gibson who works out the string of murders are all linked to the same person. Because we’re in on whodunnit, the series gains in intensity as the drama unfolds, as the cat creeps closer and closer to the mouse.
We Are Who We Are
We’ve been waiting for We Are Who We Are, the first foray into television for film director Luca Guadagnino (Call Me By Your Name). A coming-of-age story, the series centres on shy and introverted Fraser (Jack Dylan Grazer) and the seemingly bold and confident Caitlin (Jordan Kristine Seamón), teenagers who are navigating new friendships, first love and all the usual intensities of adolescence, from their unusual home on an American military base in Italy. Chloë Sevigny and Alice Braga play Sarah and Maggie, Fraser’s military mothers.
With an ensemble cast of teens and adults, the relationship dynamics in this series will capture you; Guadagnino has a way of opening our hearts that feels necessary somehow.
We Are Who We Are premieres exclusively on SBS VICELAND and at SBS On Demand. Watch it on SBS VICELAND Tuesdays at 9.25pm. All eight episodes are also now available .
Box 21
Sweden’s Box 21 is an intense thriller about corruption and revenge based on the bestselling novels of Roslund and Hellström. Lidia, trafficked from Romania, is in hospital with injuries from a brutal beating at the brothel where she’s forced to work; also at the hospital is senior police officer Ewert Grens, who’s chasing a lead in the hope of exposing a dangerous mafia boss. Two stories of reprisal twist together, the line between criminal and victim rapidly blurring. A hostage situation in the hospital’s morgue unfolds as Grens and his colleague, Mariana Hermansson, must untangle a deadly web of secrets and work out the answers held in the elusive Box 21. Dark and pacey, this one’s for fans of absorbing drama, such as An Ordinary Woman, Raven and The Teach.
Addicted Australia
In a television first, a group of ten Australians allow us to follow their heart-wrenching journeys as they confront their addictions head-on in a unique six-month treatment program. From despair they move to hope and possible recovery.
An original SBS documentary series, four-part Addicted Australia premieres at 8.30pm on SBS, Tuesday 10 November. Episodes air weekly, and stream the same day they go to air. Episodes are also available in and . Watch episode 1 now:
Gomorrah
Based on Roberto Saviano’s bestselling tell-all book, Gomorrah is the inside story of the fierce and brutal Neapolitan crime-syndicate, the Camorra, built on a fortune of cocaine, corruption and chemical waste, and dealing in power, blood and money. Those who try to fight their way out of the system are swiftly reminded who’s boss. The film based on Saviano’s book, also titled Gomorrah, won the Grand Jury Prize at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival. Saviano has been living under protection since he courageously exposed the Camorra’s activities.
On Death Row: The Pablo Ibar Story
In June 1994, police discover three bodies in a suburban home in Miami, Florida shot through with bullets and the murders recorded on video. One of the assailants’ faces can be seen in the footage, albeit it’s blurred. Three weeks later, Spaniard Pablo Ibar (Miguel Angel Silvestre) is detained over an armed altercation and a police officer connects him with the recent murders. Despite an absence of conclusive evidence and Ibar’s adamant pronouncement of innocence, he’s tried and sentenced to death. This four-part drama is based on this true story and follows the family’s 25-year fight to prove Ibar’s innocence. True crime lovers, pop this one into your diary.
Based on a true story, four-part drama On Death Row: The Pablo Ibar Story is now streaming :
Commandos
Three years ago, Commander John de Koning (Werner Kolf) led a Dutch Special Forces team on a secret mission in Northern Nigeria to rescue a hostage kidnapped by Boko Haram. He is still traumatised by the mission which ended in not only the terrorists but also civilians including children being killed. All to liberate a man who turned out to be a monstrous paedophile. Now, the man is a politician and de Koning is charged with protecting him on his visit to the Netherlands; when they meet again, de Koning realises his life and the lives of his former platoon are all in grave danger, knowing as they do the secrets of the Minister’s past.
When The Dust Settles
From Denmark, this multi-plot drama follows eight very different characters in the days before and after a terrorist attack that shocks Copenhagen. Starting off as strangers, the stories of the characters are woven together, each affecting the lives of the others as they connect in unexpected ways. SBS viewers may recognise many of the strong cast members, including Karen-Lise Mynster (Aftermath), Jacob Lohmann (Follow The Money, The Rain), Peter Christoffersen (The Bridge) and Henning Jensen (The Killing).
Amsterdam Vice
Set in Amsterdam’s Red Light District in the 1980s, this eight-part crime drama is an original prequel to A.C. Baantjer’s über successful books. Detective Jurre de Cock (Waldemar Torenstra) has just been promoted to the city’s roughest department and alongside new partner Tonnie Montijn (Tygo Gernandt) is investigating a murder case that uncovers plans to stage an attack on the coronation day of Princess Beatrix. Based on historical facts, this character-driven drama balances the hi-octane moments with emotional depth, and an unlikely friendship develops between the detectives. Like the city itself, Amsterdam Vice is gritty, witty and warm-hearted.
The Agent
It’s not often we see drama series from Africa; welcome The Agent – specifically, football agent (and by football, we mean soccer, of course) Blaze Magoba (Khumbulani Kay Sibiya). It’s also not often a drama explores the business end of sport, and with the eye-watering figures involved in this one, there’s a fair bit of lasciviousness and uncouthness on display. Amidst fragile egos and romantic betrayals, our agent is also wrestling with a fatal secret he buried years ago; now, he’s on the brink of either making it big or losing everything.
Set in South Africa and shot both there and in Mozambique, the cast hail from African nations including South Africa, Nigeria, the Ivory Coast and Mauritius, as well as France.
Korean Film Festival Selects
L–R: ‘Mother’, ‘The Great Battle’, ‘Swing Kids’, ‘Train To Busan’. Source: SBS
Audiences can binge the Korean Film Festival Selects collection anytime, anywhere, for free, from 1 to 8 November at .
Korean speakers can follow the link to listen to . Ms Park is Director of the Korean Cultural Centre Australia and Chairwoman of the Korean Film Festival.
