Hungry Ghosts
An original SBS series, Hungry Ghosts is a four-part supernatural-drama-horror with touches of humour in the storytelling. When a tomb in Vietnam is accidentally opened on the eve of the , a vengeful spirit is unleashed, bringing the dead with him. As these spirits wreak havoc across Melbourne’s Vietnamese-Australian community, reclaiming lost loves and exacting revenge, young woman May Le (Catherine Văn-Davies) must rediscover her true heritage and accept her destiny to help bring balance to a community still traumatised by war.
Exploring notions of superstition and how displacement and division impact our identity long after the events themselves, this series asks whether we can ever leave the trauma of the past behind or abandon our culture, or whether these form a fundamental part of who we are. With interwoven stories, this suspenseful character-driven drama boasts an outstanding ensemble cast including Ferdinand Hoang (Rake, The Quiet American), Clare Bowen (Nashville), Bryan Brown (Sweet Country), Catherine Văn-Davies (Going Down), Justine Clarke (Dead Lucky) and Ryan Corr (Bloom).
Hungry Ghosts premieres over four nights at 9.30pm from Monday 24 August to Thursday 27 August on SBS. Episodes will be available at each night at the same time as broadcast.
The series will also be available with , and subtitles at SBS On Demand. Watch episode 1 now:
Every Family Has A Secret
In this three-part SBS documentary series, host Noni Hazlehurst meets six Australians who discover the truth about their family’s past, confronting the secrets that have shaped them. One man explores a rumour that his father was a Russian spy while a Perth woman delves into the dark past of the father she never knew. Whether it is the ill deeds of parents or revelations of unexpected family members, Every Family Has a Secret shocks, surprises and delights.
Season 2 of Every Family Has A Secret will be available at SBS On Demand in Arabic and Simplified Chinese from Tuesday 22 September.
Actor Noni Hazlehurst is the compassionate host of ‘Every Family Has A Secret’. Source: SBS
Filthy Rich And Homeless
After sparking a national discussion on the homelessness crisis and inspiring those with the power and means to tackle it, Filthy Rich and Homeless returns for a third season. ER doctor and businessman Dr. Andrew Rochford, Deputy Lord Mayor of Melbourne Arron Wood, restauranteur and entrepreneur Pauline Nguyen, comedian and radio presenter Ciaran Lyons and actress and model Ellie Gonsalves discover what life is like for the nation’s homeless. This season travels to the more hidden crisis in regional centres and smaller towns in NSW.
Season 3 of Filthy Rich and Homeless is now streaming at SBS On Demand in and .
‘Filthy Rich and Homeless’. Source: SBS
Secrets of our Cities
Hosted by the lovable Greig Pickhaver, this documentary series unearths the secrets of an iconic place in each episode – the Gold Coast in Queensland, Footscray and Fitzroy in Victoria, Bondi in NSW and Fremantle and Kalgoorlie in WA. Greig reveals not only their hidden histories but meets the unsung residents who’ve helped shape them over time. An intriguing narrative of global events, migration and transformation, the series cuts to the heart of each location, uncovering its unique place in our society, weaving in personal tales of triumph and tragedy.
Seasons 1 and 2 of Secrets of our Cities are now streaming at SBS On Demand in and .
Host of ‘Secrets of our Cities’, Greig Pickhaver on his travels. Source: SBS
The Hunting
In award-winning Australian drama The Hunting, two high school teachers discover students are sharing explicit photos of their underage friends and peers online. The four-part series follows four teenagers, their families and teachers in the aftermath of the scandal, and tackles themes of misogyny, privacy, sexuality and sexualisation, as well as online exploitation, masculinity and gender. The series explores some of the most pressing issues of our time and offers a vital portrait of modern, multicultural Australia. The superb cast includes Asher Keddie (Offspring, The Cry), Richard Roxburgh (Rake, Hacksaw Ridge), Pamela Rabe (Wentworth) and Yazeed Daher (The Heights, Safe Harbour) and introduces Kavitha Anandasivam and Alex Cusack.
The Hunting is now streaming at SBS On Demand in and .
Nassim (Yazeed Daher) and Dip (Kavitha Anandasivam) in ‘The Hunting’. Source: SBS
War of the Worlds
Astronomers in Europe detect a transmission from another galaxy, which is closely followed by an alien attack that wipes out most of the world’s population. The pockets of survivors are forced to team up, as they wonder who the attackers are and why they’re hell-bent on destroying life on Earth. War of the Worlds’ star-studded cast includes Gabriel Byrne (), Elizabeth McGovern (Downton Abbey), Léa Drucker () and Daisy Edgar-Jones (Normal People). Based loosely on H.G. Wells’ 1898 novel, this contemporary take is written and created by (Misfits, Merlin).
War of the Worlds is now streaming at SBS On Demand in and .
‘War of the Worlds’. Source: SBS
Who Gets To Stay In Australia
While more than 40,000 people are rejected each year in their pursuit for permanent residency, every three minutes, someone gains it. In this Australian television first, SBS was granted privileged access inside the Administrative Appeals Tribunal where applicants put forward their appeals before a single judge in a last-ditch attempt to stay in Australia. Capturing deeply emotional life-changing moments, for some applicants, these decisions are a matter of life or death.
Four-part series Who Gets To Stay In Australia is now streaming at SBS On Demand in and .
‘Who Gets To Stay In Australia’. Source: SBS
Years And Years
The world we see through the eyes of Manchester family, the Lyons, from 2019 to 2034 seems all too real to be as dystopian as this six-part series from Russell T. Davies (Queer As Folk) is billed to be. Emma Thompson stars as wealthy businesswoman Vivienne Rook who sets her sights on politics, running on a campaign of being an ordinary person who is here to get things done. But she’s living anything but the life of everyday people, as she skyrockets to power and gets drunk on it. Sound familiar?
Years and Years is now streaming at SBS On Demand in and .
‘Years and Years’. Source: SBS
Date My Race
Presenter and African-Australian journalist Santilla Chingaipe is looking for love. She explores the role race plays in online dating and reveals surprising patterns in racial preferences. This playful look at modern dating will challenge Australians to think about what drives their own romantic attraction and connection. Does having racial preferences when choosing a partner make us racist?
Is Australia Racist?
Hosted by Ray Martin, this documentary asks whether Australia – where ‘collectively we identify with over 300 ancestries’ – is indeed a multicultural success story or a racist country? Exploring just how prevalent and insidious racism is, the documentary analyses the ‘biggest survey ever done into racism and prejudice’ to find out. Hidden cameras also capture revealing everyday encounters across cultures, showing both the best and worst of Australians’ behaviour.
On The Ropes
This four-part Australian drama series is set in Sydney’s western suburbs, and stars Nicole Chamoun as Iraqi-Australian Amirah Al Amir who has idolised her boxing world champion father Sami (Igal Naor) her entire life. Desperate to become an elite boxing trainer herself, Amirah must fight, not only the patriarchal boxing world but her own family, to achieve her dream. Keisha Castle-Hughes stars as boxer Jess, and Jack Thompson as Sami’s long-time promoter Strick.
Untold Australia
SBS’s critically acclaimed documentary series Untold Australia explores the life-changing milestones of everyday Australians. In season 4, we meet six individuals with intellectual and learning disabilities as they learn to love, and be loved, go behind the scenes of the funeral industry, explore how family ties suffer across generations in the battle between old and new values, and follow a transgender woman’s trailblazing mission to change the face of a conservative country town.
Destination Flavour China
Host Adam Liaw embarks on a culinary adventure across China, beginning in his mum’s hometown of Beijing before travelling through the provinces that gave birth to the eight great regional cuisines of China. Adam completes his journey on the island of Hainan, his father’s ancestral home, where there’s a Liaw family reunion and Adam learns more about his own family history. Adam keeps the wisdom of a Chinese proverb at the forefront of his mind on his travels: ‘Preserve the old, but know the new.’
Insight
Thirty episodes of Insight, Australia’s leading forum of ideas, are available in subtitled Simplified Chinese. Each episode is an in-depth debate on a single topic, from growing up mixed race to people who are having affairs to what it means to belong. Explore the topics on offer at SBS On Demand.
The Family Law
There are rules, then there are Laws. Based on Benjamin Law’s best-selling book of the same name, The Family Law is a hilarious and heart-warming series following our favourite almost-functional Asian Australian family. Stars Trystan Go as young Benjamin and Fiona Choi as his mum Jenny.
The full box set of seasons 1–3 of The Family Law is now streaming at SBS On Demand in .
Where Are You Really From?
Chinese Australian comedian Michael Hing gets asked this question all the time; he’s not the only one. Over three seasons, this documentary takes Michael to townships all around Australia to explore their immigrant histories and speak to descendants of the first newcomers who often faced a harsh welcome.
Browse the full selection of programs at SBS On Demand in our and .
More from The Guide
The critics are loving On The Ropes
