Unit One
Focusing on crime experts who work in the flying squad, this thrilling Danish series will have you eagerly strapping in for the ride. Members of the flying squad are away from home 230 days a year. We follow their fascinating yet frightening work in the underworld, their commitment and affectionate solidarity. Based on real criminal cases from the last decade, there’s something special about these people, who boast one of the highest success rates in the world. Yet how do marriages and families cope with their long absences?
An early 2000s series, the brilliant cast includes Charlotte Fich, Mads Mikkelsen and Lars Brygmann.
Shadowplay
Berlin, summer of 1946, the city’s in chaos – there are no laws, and everyone is either a criminal or a survivor. When American cop Max McLaughlin (Taylor Kitsch, Waco, Friday Night Lights) arrives to help create a police force and take down the Al Capone of Berlin, Dr Werner ‘Englemacher’ Gladow, he is also on a private mission to track down his missing brother, who’s been killing former Nazis in hiding.
From creator Måns Mårlind and co-director Björn Stein (both of and The Bridge pedigree), and also starring German film star Nina Hoss (Barbara) and Michael C. Hall (Dexter), put this eight-part drama series on your watch-list.
Shadowplay premieres on SBS with a double episode from 8.30pm on Thursday 4 March. Single episodes continue airing weekly from 9.30pm from Thursday 11 March. Episodes will stream the same day they go to air. Episodes are also available to stream with and subtitles.
Beforeigners
It’s blended title gives a clue to Beforeigners’ blending of genres. In HBO Europe’s first Norwegian-language drama series, a few years after people from the past inexplicably began appearing in the ocean, Alfhildr – who comes from the Viking Age – is teamed up with burned-out Oslo police officer Lars Haaland as part of the police department’s integration program. While investigating the murder of a woman with Stone Age tattoos, Lars and Alfhildr make some chilling, unexpected discoveries. With touches of historical fiction, crime drama, sci-fi and comedy, this one’s a unique beast. We reckon you’ll love it.
2021 Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras is streaming live!
Live stream the 43rd Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade, this year held at the Sydney Cricket Ground, on SBS from 7.30pm. Bringing the world together to celebrate diversity and inclusion, the Parade is also an opportunity to reflect on the history of activism and protest that started the movement in 1978. Your hosts Joel Creasey, Courtney Act, Narelda Jacobs and Zoë Coombs Marr are reuniting this year. Find everything you need to know about this year’s Mardi Gras Parade .
Stream the full parade of the 2021 Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras or the .
Possessions
When Natalie, a young French woman living in Israel, is accused of murdering her husband on the night of their wedding, Karim, from the French consulate, is charged with helping her. The task is muddied when he finds himself falling for her. What he can’t work out though, is whether Natalie is genuinely vulnerable or incredibly manipulative. Obsessed with the case, Karim delves deep into Natalie’s mysterious past.
From Sirens creator Shachar Magen and Bodyguard director BAFTA-nominated Thomas Vincent, Possessions is a thrilling drama and features Hebrew, French and English languages.
Australia In Colour
We loved season 1 of Australia In Colour. Now, narrator Hugo Weaving guides us through season 2. Presenting our nation’s history, a unique collection of cinematic moments are brought to life for the first time in stunning colour. Reflecting on our country’s character, attitudes, politics and struggle to value our Indigenous and multicultural past, Australia In Colour offers a chance to relive history from a fresh perspective.
Season 2 of Australia In Colour airs weekly on SBS at 8:30pm from Wednesday 10 March. Episodes stream the same time they go to air. Also available to stream with Hindi, Arabic, Korean, Vietnamese and Chinese subtitles.
Laetitia
French crime drama Laetitia is based on a book recounting true events, directed by Oscar winner, The Staircase’s Jean-Xavier de Lestrade. The story reconstructs the hours before 18-year-old Laetitia disappears, her overturned scooter found in front of her house early one morning. While police are certain they’ve arrested the suspect, they still haven’t found Laetitia’s body. The drama follows the repercussions on Laetitia’s family, above all on her twin sister Jessica (Sophie Breyer), but also on the inner workings of the police force, social services and the judicial system, even on the government. Marie Colomb stars as Laetitia.
Pros and Cons
We’re back in Copenhagen to reconnoitre with Erik (Lars Ranthe) and Nina (Lene Maria Christensen). In season 1, they were lured away from a quiet family life in the ’burbs back to their life as con artists. Speaking of family, their daughter Esther and her boyfriend Patrick fled to Bolivia with all the money from the heist they undertook in season 1. Now, when Esther and Patrick are robbed and abandoned in the jungle, Erik and Nina are forced to turn to their old partner Jacqueline (Lotte Andersen) for help, leading them to their biggest job yet, taking them from the polished floors of the beauty industry through to the corridors of political power. We love this Danish romp.
Season 2 of Pros and Cons is now streaming . Season 1 is also available for catch-up. Here is episode 1 of season 2:
Partisan
From Sweden, this thrilling drama takes us to the idyllic Jordnära, a gated community that runs a thriving organic farm distributing vegetables. Enter Johnny, the farm’s new truck driver. When Johnny gets to know Nicole and Maria, foster kids who are spending their summer at Jordnära, he begins to suspect trafficking is taking place. The more his concern for the girls grows, the more focus they take from his job. But who is Johnny and what is his true agenda? Stars Chernobyl’s Fares Fares as Johnny and Sofia Karemyr and Ylvali Rurling as Nicole and Maria.
Rise Up
With the Black Lives Matter and MeToo movements gaining momentum, this documentary series examines uprisings in recent history where the people demanded to be heard. In its six episodes, the UK/USA co-production looks at the British miners’ strike, the anti-Apartheid movement in South Africa, the Arab Spring uprisings in the Middle East and north Africa, the Women’s march in the USA, the Yellow Vest movement in France and the fall of the Berlin Wall in Germany.
“When society is broken and demands for justice go unmet, the people don’t give up, they don’t shut up, they rise up. These are their stories.”
Rise Up airs on SBS VICELAND from Tuesday 23 March at 10:30pm. All six episodes are now streaming at .
The Sleepers
Marie (Tatiana Pauhofová) and her political dissident husband Viktor (Martin Mysicka) fled Communist Czechoslovakia 12 years ago. Now it is 1989, change is in the air and they take advantage of an amnesty to return home. But soon after they arrive, they’re hit by a car: when Marie wakes, her husband has disappeared, and nobody seems to know anything about him. Where is Viktor? A production of HBO Europe, this sleek Czech spy thriller is one for fans of The Bureau and lovers of all things espionage.
Spring Tide
When Olivia Rönning (Julia Ragnarsson) is assigned a 25-year-old cold case as part of her Police Academy training, she discovers her now deceased father worked on it originally to no avail. Olivia decides to track down Tom Stilton (Kjell Bergqvist), the lead investigator at the time, and finds him homeless and not interested in reliving past failures. But he soon finds motivation to reconnect with Olivia, and their odd friendship brings them closer to solving the so-called Beach Case, leading to unimaginable consequences for Olivia.
This Swedish-language crime drama is a co-production between Sweden, Germany and Belgium. Add it to your Nordic Noir watch-list.
Plus! Måns Mårlind Guest Curates
In an SBS On Demand exclusive, Shadowplay co-creator/co-director Måns Mårlind will be curating a collection of TV series for Australians to experience on the platform. The collection will showcase a wide variety of European dramas personally recommended by Måns, from and to . The complete collection, , is available to view from Thursday 4 March.
Courtney Act Guest Curates
To celebrate this year’s history-making parade, Courtney Act, one of the hosts, will also be curating a hand-picked collection of TV shows, these celebrating the spirit of Mardi Gras. Courtney says of the collection, “There’s some fun ones, there’s some sad ones, lots of diversity, lots of messages of acceptance – much like Mardi Gras itself.” From acclaimed drama to hilarious game show , there’s something for everyone in this fantastic collection.
