Australia has already seen a wave of gripping new TV series this year, but there are more to come that are sure to surprise. Whether you’re a sucker for reality television, or after something fresh and provoking, there’s certain to be something worth switching on for in this year’s latest TV lineup.
Seven
800 Words
If reality television isn’t your thing, this one might be for you. Fans of Packed To The Rafters and McLeod’s Daughters will delight in the news that Erik Thomson and Bridie Carter are to star together in new series, 800 Words. The show centres on Thomson’s character George Turner, who after the death of his wife, quits his job as a popular columnist for a Sydney newspaper and takes a sea-change to the fictional seaside town of Weld in New Zealand, taking his teenaged children with him.
X Factor
American rock musician Chris Isaak, British pop singer James Blunt, and Guy Sebastian will be joining Dannii Minogue as judges for the new season of The X Factor. After a two-year absence from the show, Guy Sebastian says he is keen to get back into it, after mentoring Reece Mastin and Samantha Jade to the winning spot. He said, ‘I loved my time as a judge on The X Factor, so I’m really excited to be coming back’.
ABC
The Ex-PM
If you’re lamenting absence of Mad as Hell on your TV screens (scheduled to be back in 2016), do not despair. Shaun Micallef is back in his latest comedy series, The Ex-PM, which is certain to fill any Micallef shaped holes in your weekly TV needs. The six part series, written by Micallef and Sian Davies (Offspring, Mr & Mrs Murder), centres around Australia’s longest serving Prime Minister, Andrew Dugdale, who decides to bring a ghost-writer into his dysfunctional home to pen his memoir.
The Beautiful Life
A contemporary reimagining of Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina, The Beautiful Lie is a six-part series starring Sarah Snook (The Secret River), Rodger Corser (Glitch) and Sophie Lowe (Beautiful Kate). Like Anna Karenina, A Beautiful Life tells the story of three intertwined families embroiled in scandal and adultery across three generations.
Ten
The Bachelorette
After winning Australia’s heart but famously losing Blake Garvey’s in the last season of The Bachelor, Sam Frost is back, and taking a second shot at love in the new first Australian season of The Bachelorette. Hopeful for a better result than last time, Sam has voiced her excitement about the series, ‘I’ve decided to take a leap of faith and try my luck one more time’. We’re with you, Sam!
The Biggest Loser Families
Reality fitness series The Biggest Loser is back for its tenth season this year, with a new host and a new twist. Former contestant and plus size model Fiona Falkiner will be hosting The Biggest Loser Families, due to be aired later this year.
SBS
The Principal
From the director of Red Dog and producer of Rake, SBS’ new four part series, The Principal, centres around the principal of a notoriously problematic high school in Sydney’s south west, where tension runs high between students of Lebanese, Syrian, Polynesian, African, Asian and Anglo backgrounds. Alex Dimitriades plays Matt Bashir, principal at Boxdale Boys High, who’s radical reforms are met with cynicism from his worn-out staff. But just when it seems he is making progress, a 17-year-old student is found dead on school grounds.
Kebab Kings
SBS move into the reality television sphere with their new series, Kebab Kings. With the staff and customers of two Australian Kebab shops as the stars, the series offers a rare insight into the gritty and fascinating behind the scenes of an Australian after-dark institution.
Nine
The Block: Blocktagon
Back for its eleventh season, The Block will return for the second time in 2015, with the show’s format being stripped ‘back to basics’. Filmed in Melbourne, the series will see contestants renovating an octagonal, eight floor brick building, the former Hotel Saville, South Yarra. The episodes have been shortened from 60 minutes to 90 minutes, with fewer episodes than last season and, thankfully for some, this season will see the end of eliminations
Celebrity Apprentice
The Australian series is back for its fourth season, with new advisers Shelley Barrett (CEO and founder of ModelCo), and Kerri-Anne Kennerley. Actor and radio host Sophie Monk, former bachelor Blake Garvey, and, for shock-factor no doubt, businessman Geoffrey Edelstein and his wife Gabi Gecko are amongst the Aussie lineup. Controversially, the line-up also includes radio DJ Mel Greig who was involved in the tragic ‘royal hoax’ prank call. The series will air on Nine in September.
