Finding quality TV shows in this world of infinite streaming can be an arduous task, but there is a certain satisfaction that comes with finding a show that is both well-made and well-acted. Australia is in the business of producing some of the best shows available to stream both inside and outside Oz.
From dark comedies to twisty political thrillers and straight-out drama, Australian-produced TV series show off the immense talent of local actors and show that Aussies don’t muck around when it comes to creating great television.
A word of warning: if you’re not Australian you may, with some of these series, need to pop on subtitles or ask an Aussie friend what certain phrases mean. But, if you’re specifically looking for great Australian content, these are some must-see series that are truly binge-worthy.
‘Frayed’ (2019-) (HBO Max)
When wealthy housewife Simone (award-winning comedian Sarah Kendall, who also wrote the show) learns that her English husband has died with gadgets stuck in every orifice, she is called in to identify his body. “We’d have called you sooner,” the doctor (Rufus Jones) says with embarrassment, “but we couldn’t get the phone out.” That gives you some indication of the dark comedy that is one of the highlights of Frayed.
With her wealthy husband dead and his assets being sold off, Simone is forced to say farewell to her life of luxury and move back to her hometown of Newcastle with her two children Lenny (Frazer Hadfield) and Tess (Maggie Ireland-Jones) to live with her sober mother Jean (Kerry Armstrong) and whiny brother Jim (Ben Mingay).
Away from her lavish UK life, Simone reverts to being plain old Sammy Cooper and is forced to deal with both her quirky family and her serious lack of funds. A bunch of excellent supporting actors round out the cast, including Jim’s straight-talking girlfriend, Bev (Doris Younane), and Simone/Sammy’s coworker Fiona (Diane Morgan, After Life). If you’re a fan of expertly written, absurd black comedy coupled with the outrageous fashions and hairstyles of the 80s — the decade in which the show is set — then Frayed is right up your alley.
‘Please Like Me’ (2013-2016) (Hulu)
Written by and starring comedian Josh Thomas, Please Like Me is not quite a typical Australian comedy. Partly inspired by events in Thomas’ life, the series is both funny and moving, successfully balancing serious themes — mental illness, sexual assault, and suicide — with Josh’s intelligent, ironic humor.
Although Please Like Me is thoroughly Australian, it holds its own against other comedies dealing with serious themes such as Lena Dunham’s Girls and Jill Soloway’s Transparent. Josh’s jokey bravado and antics often conceal real pain hiding just beneath the surface, seen best in his interactions with friends Tom (Thomas Ward), Ella (Emily Barclay), Claire (Caitlin Stasey), Hannah (Hannah Gadsby pre-Nanette), and boyfriends Geoffrey (Wade Briggs) and Arnold (Keegan Joyce). Although it is a few years old now, Please Like Me remains the gold standard for comedy that makes you laugh while simultaneously tugging at your heartstrings.
‘The End’ (2020) (Showtime)
Edie (brilliantly played by Harriet Walter) lost her husband six months ago and doesn’t see the point in living. After a failed suicide attempt, her daughter Kate (Frances O’Connor) relocates Edie to Australia so she can be more closely supervised. Expecting to be living with Kate, Edie is shocked to discover that she has, instead, been relegated to a retirement village. “You’re trying to punish me,” she says to Kate, “Surely the Southern Hemisphere is bad enough.”
Kate – a palliative care doctor who is very familiar with suicide and euthanasia and actively tries to avoid both – has two children, Persephone (Ingrid Torelli), who exhibits strong antisocial tendencies, and Oberon (Morgan Davies) who is transgender and has attempted suicide in the past.
The themes of contemporary medical ethics, issues concerning contemporary queer youth, divorce, and widowhood are all touched upon. It sounds incredibly depressing, but the solid writing and bleakly comedic performances save The End from getting too mired in despair. The End is a show that contemplates the end of life, the desire to end it prematurely, and the natural yearning we have to make the time we spend on Earth count for something.
‘Wolf Like Me’ (2022) (Peacock)
We’ve established that Australians love dark comedy — the darker, the better — and Wolf Like Me is no exception. Much of the show’s screen time is taken up by Mary (Isla Fisher) and Gary (Josh Gad), as they navigate their new romance. That is not a criticism, the pair have incredibly infectious on-screen chemistry. Described as a "genre-bending rom-com," Wolf Like Me is based on the premise that, when it comes to relationships, everyone brings along their own baggage. It turns out that Mary’s baggage is more than Gary bargained for, (no spoilers, but there is a hint in the title).
The series was produced by heavy hitters Jodi Matterson (Nine Perfect Strangers), Bruna Papandrea (Big Little Lies), and Steve Hutensky (The Dry). Six, half-hour episodes feature compelling performances that showcase the actors’ expertise in delivering drama, comedy, fantasy, and slapstick — with some twists and turns thrown in for good measure — making Wolf Like Me the type of show you could easily binge over a weekend, or even a single afternoon.
‘Secret City’ (2016-2019) (Netflix)
With political tensions between China and America rising, Australia is caught in the middle thanks to the maneuverings of a particularly power-hungry figure: no spoilers, you’ll have to watch! Throw in a chase and a gruesome murder, along with a healthy dose of conspiracy and corruption, you have the political thriller Secret City. Intrigued? You should be.
Anna Torv (Mindhunter) is strong in the lead role of journalist Harriet Dunkley who stumbles into the murder, lies, and power plays going on in the nation’s capital, using her fact-finding talents to connect the dots. But don’t expect a quick resolution; Secret City is a slow-burn story. That doesn’t mean it is frustrating to watch. On the contrary, it is so well-structured that it maintains viewers’ interest from start to finish. Think House of Cards but set on an international political stage.
With stellar performances from the entire cast that includes Jacki Weaver (Yellowstone), Danielle Cormack (Wentworth), Alex Dimitriades (The End, The Cry), and Alan Dale (Dynasty), Secret City is compelling viewing simply because you never know whom to trust.
‘Troppo’ (2022) (IMDb TV)
Starring and executive produced by Thomas Jane (The Expanse), Troppo is based on the first of Candice Fox’s best-selling Crimson Lake thrillers. Jane plays ex-cop and American ex-pat Ted Conkaffey who, after being falsely accused of committing a horrendous crime, escapes the fallout by hiding out in the tropics of Far North Queensland. While there he is sucked into a missing person-turned-murder investigation along with convicted murderer Amanda Pharrell (Nicole Chamoun) who has her own dark secrets.
The setting is uniquely Australian, complete with snakes, crocodiles, sugar cane fields, and mangroves; the hazy tropical heat literally oozes from the TV screen. While the plotting may be sluggish at times — like a Far North Queensland summer day — Troppo’s complex storyline and diversity of supporting characters make for a compelling crime drama about second chances.
‘The Cry’ (2018) (Prime/AMC+)
Several things are going on for The Cry, the most important being that audiences never know exactly where the show is headed. This four-part series gives out just enough information to lull you into thinking you know what is happening before veering sharply in another direction.
Glasgow schoolteacher Joanna Lindsey (Jenna Coleman, Victoria, Doctor Who) has an affair with Australian political spin doctor Alistair Robertson (Ewen Leslie, Top of the Lake). When they’re caught by Alistair’s wife, Alexandra (Asher Keddie) and daughter, Chloe (Markella Kavenagh) a disgusted Alexandra returns to Australia with Chloe. A few years later, Alistair and Joanna arrive in Australia with their baby, Noah. Joanna is overwhelmed and sleep-deprived, unable to cope with Noah’s incessant crying (hence the series title). Not long after arriving in Australia, Noah goes missing, unleashing a storm of police and media attention.
The story unfolds through a series of flashbacks and flash-forwards, some of which are easier to follow than others. But bear with it because The Cry is an emotionally devastating psychological thriller full of big twists that start in the second episode and continue until the show’s last minutes.
‘The Newsreader’ (2021) (Hulu + Live TV)
The ’80s are brought back to life in this engrossing period drama centered around life in a Melbourne newsroom. The Newsreader boasts six perfect viewing hours full of nostalgia, romance, and office politics while not shying away from weightier topics like sexual harassment, homophobia, and racism.
Helen Norville (Anna Torv) delivers the "News at Six" alongside 30-year veteran Geoff Walters (Robert Taylor). Enter Dale Jennings (Sam Reid), a stuttering newsroom newbie who aspires to be everything Helen is. Not is all as it seems, though: off-camera Helen is a highly-strung, self-doubting mess. Much of this is caused by her bully of a boss, the ranting underminer Lindsay Cunningham (William McInnes in an outstanding performance).
The Newsroom revisits real-life events from the 1980s that are fused into Australians’ (and much of the world’s) collective memories, including Lindy Chamberlain’s release from prison, the Challenger space disaster, Melbourne’s Russell Street bombing, and the Chernobyl accident. Its brilliant cast, tight writing, and emphasis on understatement make The Newsreader great viewing.
‘Stateless’ (2020) (Netflix)
Stateless is, at its heart, a critique of the troubled history that Australia has had with immigrants trying to enter the country without visas. Co-created by Aussies Cate Blanchett, Tony Ayres, and Elise McCredle, this limited series is based on the experiences of Cornelia Rau, a former flight attendant whose 10-month imprisonment in an immigration detention center sparked an investigation into Australia’s mandatory detention policy.
The story is told through four narratives, including the Afghani asylum seeker Ameer (Fayssal Bazzi) and three Australians: Clare (Asher Keddie), director of the immigration center; Cam (Jai Courtney), a center guard; and the troubled Sofie (Yvonne Strahovski, The Handmaid’s Tale). In the Sofie storyline, Blanchett appears in a minor role as Pat Masters, a singing-and-dancing scammer who is married to the equally dodgy Gordon (Dominic West). While the narrative is not new and relies on tried-and-true prison movie tropes, it is expertly told.
Swinging between satire and the occasional burst of humor in its depictions of bureaucracy at work, Stateless is worth a watch if you want to see a top-notch cast examine the human, real-life ramifications of a country’s flawed immigration policy.
‘Wentworth’ (2013-2021) (Netflix)
Over the course of nine seasons, Wentworth established itself as Australia’s premier prison drama. A reboot of the Australian soap opera Prisoner (known in the UK and America as Prisoner: Cell Block H) that ran from 1979 to 1986, Wentworth upped the stakes in terms of its graphic content and storyline. Season after season, women are pitted against women in the claustrophobic confines of prison, and audiences are continually fed false information as ulterior motives and power plays propel the narrative.
Comparisons have been made between Wentworth and Orange Is the New Black — the two series were released within months of one another — including claims that OITNB copied Wentworth’s storylines. Sure, both series are about women in prison but, beyond that similarity, Wentworth is more subdued, grittier, and does not shy away from the brutal realities of prison life. Clever writing ensures unique plot twists and cutting humor while maintaining the dark atmosphere appropriate for a prison drama.
Sporting a powerful cast that includes Danielle Cormack, Pamela Rabe (Paradise Road), Celia Ireland (Rogue), Nicole da Silva, Tammy Macintosh (Farscape), and Susie Porter, Wentworth might be exhausting viewing at times, but it will keep you watching until the explosive finale.