Take a break from the pressures of the ever-changing landscape of the global pandemic, geopolitical events and looming interest rate rises by immersing yourself in a well-made Australian TV series.
During the pandemic, a “streaming boom” occurred in Australia. More television content is available to us than ever before. 80 per cent of Aussies now watch at least one streaming service, with the average household paying up to $55 a month on subscriptions (Healey, 2021).
Homegrown productions have done surprisingly well, at one point making history by taking the top three spots at the local box office (Janssen, 2021).
There’s a long list of shows to stream on your device, each vying for your time and attention. But if you’re specifically looking for Australian TV shows, there’s a great selection to choose from.
The line-up of TV shows made in Australia during the pandemic has been eclectic – spanning masterful drama, witty black comedies, engaging documentaries and more (IMDb, 2022).
To give you an idea of what’s good recently based on what’s trending and our own top picks, we’ve listed 10 top-notch Australian-made TV shows available to stream right now on the following platforms:
| Australian TV Show | Streaming Platform | Genre | IMDB Rating | Classification Title | Info |
| Mr Inbetween | Foxtel | Comedy | 8.6/10 | MA15+ | Dark comedy about an Aussie bloke who works as a criminal for hire. |
| Muster Dogs | ABC iView | Documentary | 8.5/10 | PG | For dog lovers – five Graziers from around Australia are given five kelpies from the same litter to train them into champion muster dogs. |
| Fisk | ABC iView | Comedy | 7.8/10 | M | Fast-paced comedy about Helen Tudor-Fisk, a contracts lawyer who, due to life circumstances, has to take a job at a suburban law firm. |
| Jack Irish | ABC iView | Crime | 7.8/10 | M | A criminal lawyer turned private investigator is framed for murder of a missing person he is investigating. |
| Love Me | Foxtel, Binge | Romance | 7.8/10 | MA15+ | Explores modern love of three couples at different stages of life. |
| Bump | Stan | Drama | 7.7/10 | MA15+ | Oly, an ambitious and high-achieving teenage girl has an unexpected pregnancy which complicates the lives of two families. |
| Wakefield | ABC iView | Mystery | 7.6/10 | M | Gifted psychiatric nurse Nik Katira questions the line between reality and madness as his own sanity suddenly starts to slip. |
| The Tourist | Stan | Thriller | 7.1/10 | MA15+ | A man wakes up in the Australian outback with no memory and must use the few clues he has to discover his identity before his past catches up with him. |
| The Unusual Suspects | SBS on Demand | Comedy | 6.8/10 | MA15+ | A group of women from different walks of life come together to ensure that justice is served after the theft of a multi-million-dollar necklace. |
| New Gold Mountain | SBS on Demand | Western | 6.2/10 | MA15+
| Historic TV show made locally in Ballarat set in 1857 focusing on the relationship between Chinese and European diggers when a murdered European woman is discovered to have links to the Chinese community. |
References
Healey, B. (2021, September 20). 80% of Australian households now subscribe to at least one streaming service, as the Digital Entertainment Boom Continues. Business Insider Australia. Retrieved March 31, 2022, from https://www.businessinsider.com.au/80-australian-households-streaming-service
Janssen, E. (2021, February 12). Australian films make history by taking the top three spots at the National Box Office. Australian films make history by taking the top three spots at the national box office. Retrieved March 31, 2022, from https://www.flicks.com.au/news/for-the-first-time-ever-australian-movies-take-the-top-three-spots-at-the-national-box-office/?refresh
IMDb: Ratings, Reviews, and Where to Watch the Best Movies & TV Shows. Retrieved March 31, 2022, from https://www.imdb.com/
