What’s streaming in Australia this October from Netflix, Disney, Prime, Apple, SBS and more

THE DIPLOMAT S2 (Netflix, 31st)

The deliciously watchable political conspiracy thriller The Diplomat returns after its literally explosive cliffhanger ending last year. Centred on a capable but not cutthroat-ambitious American ambassador to the UK (Keri Russell), the series deals with the various dramas of her life and work.

There’s her almost-separated husband Hal, who’s always looking out for his career prospects, there’s a conspiracy involving the British prime minister and, this season, a vice-president played by Allison Janney. Nom nom nom.

RIVALS (Disney+, 18th)

Jilly Cooper’s Rutshire Chronicles book series was notorious for its salaciousness, playing around in the world of the upper-class poshos of a fictional county she based on Gloucestershire.

There were scandalous affairs, children born out of wedlock, gossip and rich people behaving badly while playing polo.

The books were a huge hit — think of them as Jackie Collins but in the Cotswolds. Rivals, published in 1988, was the second book of the series and the one being adapted for TV, starring David Tennant as Lord Baddingham and Alex Hassell as Rupert Campbell-Black. Campbell-Black was said to have been inspired by, among others, Andrew Parker-Bowles, Camilla’s ex.

FOUR YEARS LATER (SBS On Demand, 2nd)

Like so many migrants finding a new home in Australia, they haven’t always arrived together as a family. That was the case for the couple at the centre of this drama, Sridevi and Yash. When Sridevi lands a medical traineeship in Australia, he left behind in India his new bride, Yash.

They spend four years apart and when Yash is finally able to join him, they must confront what they really know about each other and their relationship, as well as how to make a new life here. The series stars Shahana Goswami, Akshay Ajit Singh, Kate Box and Luke Arnold, and was filmed locally and in Mumbai.

DISCLAIMER (Apple TV+, 11th)

The combination of director Alfonso Cuaron, his cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki, the Coen brothers’ frequent cinematographer Bruno Delbonnel, Cate Blanchett, and a premiere at the Venice Film Festival is enough to make any cinephile absolutely giddy.

Cuaron wrote and directed all eight episodes of this miniseries adapted from a novel by Renee Knight. It stars Blanchett as a journalist who discovers she is a character in a novel that threatens to expose her secret. It also stars Kevin Kline, Lesley Manville and Leila George.

THE FRANCHISE (Binge, 7th)

Produced by Armando Iannucci and created by Succession writer Jon Brown with Sam Mendes on board as its set-up director, The Franchise is high satire set behind the scenes of something we’re all too familiar with — the superhero movie.

We’ve all suspected that there would be absurdities, frustrations and creative blockages in making a franchise comic book caper but seeing it confirmed in its full silly glory is so satisfying. When there’s that much money at stake in the budget, everyone has an opinion and very few if any are any good.

The cast includes Himesh Patel, Aya Cash, Billy Magnussen and Daniel Bruhl — lest we forget the latter has been in two Marvel projects.

TERRITORY (Netflix, 24th)

A family feuding over who gets to control their multi-generational wealth and lots of lots of land sounds a little bit been-there-done-that, but Territory weaponises those tropes with an Australian version that also includes Akubra hats and, while unconfirmed, but surely some R.M. Williams boots.

The dramatic escalation in tension among the brood and against their external rivals is sparked when the person primed to take over the family business unexpectedly dies. Now, everyone wants a piece — but preferably all the pieces.

SHRINKING S2 (Apple TV+, 16th)

Ted Lasso’s Brett Goldstein was one of the creators of Shrinking, alongside Bill Lawrence and star Jason Segal. But he hasn’t yet appeared on screen — but he will in season two. There’s some online chatter that he’ll play Roy Kent, his character from Ted Lasso, and thereby linking the two narrative universes, but that seems like wish fulfilment.

Shrinking also doesn’t need the Lasso reflected glory, having carved out its own identity as a quietly funny and warm drama-comedy about a grieving therapist who doesn’t know how to cope with his wife’s death and his family and colleagues, including one played by Harrison Ford.

LAST DAYS OF THE SPACE AGE (Disney+, 2nd)

Never let anyone deride Perth as a sleepy seaside village. In the closing days of the 1970s, there was a convergence of drama that put the WA capital at the centre of the world’s attention. The Miss Universe pageant is in town and the US space station Skylab is about to re-enter the atmosphere not far from away.

Meanwhile, there are rolling power outages thanks to a strike, the contested history of the state’s first governor and suburban families trying to survive the tumultuous social changes of the era. It stars Jesse Spencer, Radha Mitchell, Deborah Mailman and Thomas Weatherall.

HEARTSTOPPER S3 (Netflix, 3rd)

Adapted from graphic novels, Heartstopper really is such a sweet and tender teen love story that makes you think if any of us had even a third of their emotional maturity and awareness at that age, we’d all be better-adjusted adults.

Now in its third season, the series ramps up the hot-and-heavy between Charlie (Joe Locke) and Nick (Kit Connor) as they negotiate sexual exploration. It also shifts focus to Charlie’s disordered eating and mental health, Nick’s post-school future and the challenges faced by their friendship circle and families.

THE OFFICE AUSTRALIA (Prime, 18th)

From the first trailer of The Office, the overwhelming vibe is familiar. The Australian remake of Stephen Merchant and Ricky Gervais’ workplace comedy is the 13th version of the series that has spawned a flock of international copycats, including the well-known American one.

But it is the first with a female lead (Felicity Ward) and there are already some local touches such as an office Melbourne Cup celebration. Despite not yet being released, it’s already divided opinions, but it really is a wait-and-see.

SO LONG, MARIANNE (SBS On Demand, 19th)

The series takes its title from Canadian musician Leonard Cohen’s song, inspired by his then muse Marianne Ihlen who he met on the Greek island of Hydra in 1960. This Norwegian series is an intimate dramatisation of that relationship when two lonely souls find each other far from home and form a connection that leaves a creative legacy.

The majority of the show is filmed on Hydra but the story also crosses through New York, Montreal and Norway and featuring a supporting ensemble of artists, writers and bohemians in those heady 1960s days. Alex Wolff plays Cohen while Thea Sofie Loch Naess takes on Marianne. It also features Anna Torv, Noah Taylor and Peter Stormare.

BEFORE (Apple TV+, 25th)

Billy Crystal is getting the chills on with Before, a 10-episode supernatural psychological thriller about Eli, a child psychiatrist who has recently lost his wife. He then encounters a troubled little tyke who is somehow connected to his past and it’s all just a bit unnerving, especially as the two draw closer and closer.

Creator Sarah Thorp’s most recent work was as a writer on Damien, which you may know as the anti-christ. We’re not saying this creepy kid in Before is the devil’s spawn, but we’re also not not saying that.

THE GOOD GUYS (7plus*, 29th)

Created by Burn Notice’s Matt Nix, The Good Guys is, in many respects, quite bad but it’s also a curious cultural artefact that escaped almost everyone’s notice when it aired in 2010.

The one-season-and-cancelled show starred Colin Hanks as an uptight cop with a boner for rule-following being partnered up with Bradley Whitford’s loose unit has-been detective who has great instincts but is more likely to be vomiting at the scene than forensically gathering clues.

Watching Whitford trying to do a southern accent is a singular experience that provides so much unexpected joy.

ALI WONG: SINGLE LADY (Netflix, 8th)

For those who weren’t lucky enough to see Ali Wong live during her Australian tour , they will be able to catch up with the few-boundaries comic in this streaming special.

Wong has mined her personal life in her previous shows Don Wong, Baby Cobra and Hard Knock Wife, so when she announced her divorce from Justin Hakuta in 2022, you just knew you would get the lowdown eventually. If Single Lady is anything like her Aussie acts, viewers are going to get a full-force Wong spilling on sex, dating and love after separation.

WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS S6 (Binge, 22nd)

It’s a minor miracle for any TV series to make it to a sixth season in 2024, unless you’re an American crime procedural on a broadcast network, or Grey’s Anatomy. It’s even more of a marvel that a series as offbeat and high-concept as What We Do in the Shadows did.

The spin-off series from the 2014 Kiwi movie has really staked out its own existence with its story of oldy-worldy European vampires trying to survive the 21st century in Staten Island, New York along with Colin Robinson the energy sucker and Guillermo, a familiar/servant who turns out to be a descendent of Van Helsing.

It’s riotously funny and weird, and its cast including Matt Berry are mesmerising. This is the final season.

LONELY PLANET (Netflix, 11th)

Two very attractive people, the heat of Morocco and the sensual possibilities of a bourgeoning romance are the promised seductions of Lonely Planet.

The movie stars Laura Dern as a novelist who visits a writers retreat where she meets Owen, a younger man who is there with his girlfriend. Owen and his original paramour don’t seem to be getting on so well, and soon after, he and Dern’s novelist spark and enter into what Netflix is calling an “intoxicating, life-altering affair”.

MATLOCK (Paramount+, 18th)

Without The Simpsons, probably no one under the age of 40 would know Matlock. Even with The Simpsons, probably no one under the age of 25 does, given how deliberately obtuse that generation seems to be towards any culture that happened before they were born.

The original series ran from 1986 to 1995 and featured Andy Griffith as defence lawyer who plays detective to save his clients. This reboot stars Kathy Bates as Madeline Matlock and features a personal subplot involving an undercover investigation.

THOU SHALT NOT STEAL (Stan, 17th)

Heartbreak High stars Sherry-Lee Watson and Will McDonald team up with acclaimed filmmaker Dylan River on this miniseries about Robyn, an Aboriginal girl trying to unearth the truth about a family secret.

Robyn escapes from juvenile detention when she hears her grandfather needs to see her, and she meets Gidge, an awkward teen. Together, their quest involves fleeing from a mad sex worker whose taxi Robyn stole, and Gidge’s preacher dad.

River is one of Australia’s most exciting young filmmakers who has an incredible eye for a stunning visual, and he previously made the wonderful web series Robbie Hood, and the series also stars Miranda Otto and Noah Taylor.

SOMEBODY SOMEWHERE S3 (Binge, 28th)

This series starring Bridget Everett has flown under the radar over its first two seasons and now this third one will be the final one. There’s immense compassion in this series about a fortysomething woman “coming-of-age” still or maybe it’s again, as she tries to cope with the loss of her sister.

Everett is better known as a big personality comic so to see her in this quieter, more contemplative role is a revelation. Set in a small, unassuming town of no consequence, Somebody Somewhere confronts its audience with questions of whether life ever turns out how you expect.

MENENDEZ BROTHERS (Netflix, 7th)

If you’re not Menendez-ed out after Ryan Murphy’s Monsters drama, Netflix has got that IV drip refilled. The brothers Menendez weren’t happy about their characterisation in the fictionalised version of their story but that doesn’t stop them working with the streamer on a documentary which has been billed as “the true story in their own words”.

Erik and Lyle participated in new audio interviews from prison, where they are serving life sentences without parole for the vicious 1989 killings of their parents.

NCIS: ORIGINS (Paramount+, 15th)

Ever wondered where Special Agent Jethro Gibbs and his love of boat building came from? There were plenty of flashbacks and hints across the character’s 19 seasons on the show but NCIS is a mega-franchise so they will never leave anything on the table when there’s yet another potential spin-off in the mix.

If NCIS can make a show about the American armed forces having a foothold outside their jurisdiction in Sydney, there’s nothing they won’t try.

So, there will indeed be an origin story for Gibbs, a man his fans already know plenty about. The series will explore the formative years of the character, starting in 1991 when he was the probie on a team led by his old mentor Mike Franks. If you’re doing the maths, that’s only 12 years earlier than when the character first appeared on JAG. Oh yes, NCIS has been around forever.

SONS OF ANARCHY (7plus, 16th)

Sure, there would’ve been Sons of Anarchy fans who just loved to hear the rev of the motorcycle and watched hypermasculine dudes scowl and do violence to each other. For as long as there have been outlaw motorcycle clubs, there have been people fascinated by them.

Perhaps it’s the flagrant anti-establishment attitude to authorities, or the supposed camaraderie of the groups, and Sons of Anarchy explores those concepts and more, certainly with more nuance than tabloid news stories that can verge on glorification.

*7plus is owned by Seven West Media, the publisher of The Nightly