ABC upfronts 2025: Tony Armstrong fronts two new programs

The ABC is definitely staying in the Tony Armstrong business with the popular presenter set to host two new series in 2025.

One is a docuseries called End Game and follows Armstrong as he tries to find “global solutions” to the problem of racism in Australian sport.

Before he was a broadcaster, Armstrong, a Gamilaroi man, had a career in the AFL, playing for Adelaide, Sydney and Collingwood. Armstrong has also spoken out about being the target of racist attacks as an Indigenous man with a public profile.

In 2022, the ABC referred to police a racist email Armstrong received to his work account. At the time, Armstrong posted on social media, “This s**t has gotta stop. One thing is for certain though, this isn’t gunna stop us speaking up or stepping up.”

Armstrong was again the target of racist abuse last month after a Media Watch report criticised him for doing commercial work for NRMA. It prompted ABC news director Justin Stevens to publicly call out the offensive comments.

Stevens said at the time, “Tony Armstrong is one of the ABC’s best and most talented presenters. This week he has again been targeted on social media and in public comments on news websites in a despicable way.”

He added, “This sort of behaviour in the community is often fed by the inflammatory nature of mainstream media coverage. The prominence of stories, tones of headlines and copy, photos run and selection of story angles can foster division and outright hate.”

The second series Armstrong is slated to front is Eat the Invaders, which will be released on January 7. The show will feature him exploring solutions to invasive plants and animals that attack Australia’s biodiversity.

Armstrong is one the ABC’s greatest assets. Despite being a relative newcomer to the media business, joining the public broadcaster in 2020, his fresh energy and natural screen presence made him an immediate favourite among audiences.

He won the 2022 Logie for most popular new talent and followed that up with the most popular presenter gong the following year. This year, he was nominated for the Gold Logie, becoming only the second Indigenous person to ever be nominated, following Mark Coles Smith in 2023.

After three years as part of the onscreen team at ABC News Breakfast, he announced in September that he was leaving the program. During his last appearance on the show, he credited the series with giving him “everything, really”.

But the ABC was always keen to foster and maintain Armstrong’s connection to the broadcaster. He has made for the network series A Dog’s World, Great Australian Stuff, Monday’s Experts and Tony Armstrong’s Extra-Ordinary Things.

End Game and Eat the Invaders were revealed as part of the ABC’s 2025 upfronts presentation.

One of the most watched hosting gigs has been confirmed, with journalist Linton Besser stepping in to present Media Watch after Paul Barry announced his departure earlier this year.

The public broadcaster also announced it would adapt Sally Hepworth’s best-selling novel The Family Next Door into a drama series starring Teresa Palmer. The story is centred on a woman named Isabelle who moves into a tight-knit seaside community where her obsession with solving mysteries casts suspicions on her neighbours.

Another new scripted series is the six-part comedy Optics, from Jenna Owen, Vic Zerbst and Charles Firth, set in the office of a crisis management firm which has promoted two young women to cover up a MeToo scandal, and set them up to fail.

Returning dramas include the Mystery Road: Origins, the fourth instalment in the series which will continue the story of a young Jay Swan, portrayed by Mark Coles Smith. The upcoming season will be set in southwest Western Australia.

Bay of Fires, Austin, Mother and Son and Return to Paradise have all been commissioned for further seasons.

The third and final season of The Newsreader will premiere on February 2.

Under its Fresh Blood collaboration with Screen Australia, three series will debut in 2025 – Going Under, Urvi Went to an All Girls School and Westerners.

In the documentary and factual space, Amanda Keller and comedians including Kate Ritchie and Nazeem Hussain will explore parenting dilemmas alongside sketch comedy.

Keller will host a second ABC series with The Piano, which will see everyday pianists being mentored by Harry Connick Jr and Andrea Lam.

ABC’s nature nerd Dr Ann Jones has scored a new series called Dr Ann Secret Lives, which will get “up close and personal” with reclusive creatures. Miriam Margolyes will host a New Zealand adventure called Miriam Margolyes: Made in NZ.

There are also nature documentaries Orca: Australia’s Megapod and The Kimberley.

Rachel Griffiths will host an arts show called When the War is Over, which explores how art has shaped Australia’s attitude to war while and Portrait Artists of the Year, based on a UK format, will be a competition series involving artists painting famous people.

In children’s TV, Andy Lee is adapting his book series into the animated show Do Not Watch This Show while a new preschool series Knee High Spies combines live action and puppetry.

There will be a recorded version of Bluey’s Big Play, a live show.

On the unscripted side, returning shows include Spicks & Specks, Guy Montgomery’s Spelling Bee, Hard Quiz, Gruen, The Weekly with Charlie Pickering, Gardening Australia, Offsiders, Shaun Micallef’s Eve of Destruction, A Bit to Eat with Alice, The Assembly, Grand Designs Australia, Back Roads, Restoration Australia, Landline, I Was Actually There and Compass.

There are also further seasons of Creative Types of Virginia Trioli, The Art Of with Namila Benson, Take 5 with Zan Rowe and Rage.

On the audio side, Fran Kelly will be returning to Radio National with a daily program at 6pm called the Radio National Hour. Marc Fennell will present a new history program.

Chris Bath was revealed to replace Richard Glover on ABC Radio Sydney Drive. At the upfronts presentation, Glover paid tribute to his colleague Sarah Macdonald who announced today she would not be returning to ABC Radio Sydney Mornings in 2025 after her contract was not renewed.

Glover said the station had received a flood of messages from listeners following the news, all expressing support for Macdonald.