NEW DOCUMENTARIES
Shaun Micallef’s Stairway to Heaven
Undressed
TX: January 2017 on SBS and SBS On Demand
Two complete strangers meet for the very first time, and undress each other. With just 30 minutes to get to know each other, there is no time to lose. A matchmaking social experiment inspired by psychological research suggesting that you can accelerate the process of attraction by answering increasingly intimate questions. Undressed puts the theory to the test with participants representing diversity in cultural background, age, sexuality, disability and religion, challenging preconceptions about race and sexuality. When the time is up, will they decide to continue their date? Produced by Screentime for SBS.
Shaun Micallef’s Stairway to Heaven
TX: January 2017 on SBS
In his youth, comedian and television presenter Shaun Micallef considered joining the Catholic priesthood. Since then Shaun has often wondered if he has missed his one shot at learning the answers to life’s big questions. Having explored Hinduism and the world of Gods, Gurus and the Ganges, Shaun returns and continues his mission to unravel other belief systems. This time he journeys into worlds of extreme faith on three extraordinary spiritual adventures. He visits a spirit healing-psychic surgeon in Brazil, The Mormon Church in Salt Lake City including outcast Polygamists in the Utah Desert, and he explores Armageddon with Born Again Doomsday Preppers from the US to Jerusalem’s Temple Mount. This is his adventure out of suburban Australia on a quest to find the meaning of life itself. With major investment from Screen Australia and the assistance of Screenwest and produced by Artemis International for SBS.
I’m Not Racist But…: Is Australia Racist?
TX: February 2017 on SBS
Australia is one of the most multicultural countries in the world, but has opening our doors to other races and religions made us a tolerant society or a racist one? To find out, this series will carry out the largest comprehensive survey ever undertaken on the issue of racism and discrimination in Australia. In a sequence of ground-breaking social experiments using secret cameras, this confronting and eye-opening documentary will capture a side of Australia rarely seen. Presented by Ray Martin. With major investment from Screen Australia and the assistance of Screenwest and produced by Joined Up Films for SBS.
I’m Not Racist But…: The Truth About Racism:
TX: February 2017 on SBS
There is new science that can detect racial bias in the brain, which may even offer solutions in how to change racism. This is the first documentary to showcase this pioneering science. In a unique social experiment presenter former Queensland Young Australian of the Year, Yassmin Abdel-Magied, and four volunteers will undergo a battery of scientific tests to understand and explore their own prejudice, and you the viewer can test yourself. With major investment from Screen Australia and produced by Mindful Media for SBS.
I’m Not Racist But…: Date My Race
TX: February 2017 on SBS
This eye-opening documentary explores the role that race plays in the world of dating, specifically in the online world, and asks – when looking for love, do racial preferences amount to racism? Presenter Santilla Chingaipe has long suspected her race plays a role in her online dating experience and puts this theory to the test. With a series of unique social experiments she also challenges other Australians with strong racial preferences to reconsider their online dating behaviour. With major investment from Screen Australia and the assistance of Film Victoria and produced by Matchbox Pictures for SBS.
Testing Teachers (working title)
TX: May 2017 on SBS
Can first time teachers make a difference in schools that face the greatest challenges? This emotional documentary series explores high schools in low socioeconomic communities through Teach For Australia, a non-profit organisation that develops some of Australia’s brightest minds to teach in classrooms where they hope to make a difference. Testing Teachers follows six passionate individuals in their first year of teaching in what could be the most challenging year of their lives. With major investment from Screen Australia and the assistance of Screen NSW, Screenwest and Screen Territory and produced by Screentime for SBS.
Hidden History of our Suburbs (working title)
TX: 2017 on SBS
Hidden in our suburbs lies the true face of our immigration nation. How did we get here? What shaped our cities? What secrets lie within them? Presented by Roy & HG’s Greig Pickhaver, the series will uncover the buried stories of hope, new beginnings, success and the tales of hardship, tragedy and despair lurking alongside them in the streets of our suburbs. With major investment from Screenwest and produced by Joined Up Films for SBS.
Filthy Rich and Homeless (working title)
TX: August 2017 on SBS
With the gap between the haves and the have-nots ever widening, and attitudes hardening, we take five wealthy Australians and swap their privileged lives for 10 days and nights immersed in the confronting world of homelessness. Presenter Indira Naidoo and expert Dr Catherine Robinson will be their guides as they discover what life is like for the nation’s growing homeless population. With major investment from Screen Australia and the assistance of Film Victoria, Format created by Love Productions and broadcast by the BBC in the United Kingdom and produced by Blackfella Films for SBS.
The Mosque (working title)
TX: 2017 on SBS
Filmed over an Islamic year, this documentary series goes behind the headlines into the heart of the Muslim community: the Mosque. For a growing number of Australians, the mosque has become a symbol of what separates ‘us’ and ‘them’. With unprecedented access to the oldest working mosque in Australia, and the diverse community it serves, this series explores one of the most hotly debated and polarising issues in Australia today. With major investment from Screen Australia and the assistance of Screen Queensland and produced by Southern Pictures Pty Ltd for SBS.
A Tale of Two Weddings (working title)
TX: 2017 on SBS
The journey to every wedding day brings tears and tension, chaos and compromise. A third of all weddings in Australia now involve a blend of different religions, traditions and cultures. This series follows diverse sets of couples as they try to straddle the gulf between cultures and the gap between their parents’ and families expectations and their own dreams. With major investment from Screen Australia and produced by CJZ for SBS.
Look Me In The Eye
TX: 2017 on SBS
Studies show that eye contact has a uniquely powerful effect on how we connect with other people. Now, in a TV first, former loved ones come together in a compelling new format to see if they can reconcile after years apart – simply by maintaining eye contact. Hosted by Ray Martin, Look Me In The Eye is produced by Endemol Shine for SBS.
Struggle Street
TX: 2017 on SBS
2.5 million people in Australia live below the poverty line. Struggle Street is about giving a voice to the many Australians doing it tough, helping all of us to better understand complex issues of social and economic hardship. Through honest and compassionate accounts of people and communities, the series will give people the opportunity to share their stories of resilience and community spirit with all Australians. With major investment from Screen Australia and the assistance of Film Victoria and produced by Keo Films for SBS.
NEW DRAMA
The Family Law
The Family Law – NEW SEASON
TX: 2017 on SBS
After the Law family’s summer to remember, a wiser, more-mature Benjamin now understands that sometimes, parents just work better apart. Simple, right? Yeah, no. In season two, Benjamin and the Laws are excited to explore fresh careers, fresh ambitions, and even fresh romances. But as we all know, in the baking Queensland sun, nothing ever stays fresh for long. Based on the best-selling memoir of Benjamin Law. With major investment from Screen Australia and Screen Queensland and produced by Matchbox Pictures for SBS.
SAFE HARBOUR – NEW AUSTRALIAN DRAMA
TX: 2017 on SBS
Five years ago, Shaun Ryan bought a second-hand yacht from Darwin and gathered six friends to sail from there to Indonesia to enjoy a relaxed holiday at the same time. The group was just a day’s sail from their destination when an overloaded and broken-down fishing boat full of distressed asylum seekers appeared on the horizon. After much discussion, Shaun makes the captain’s call – the yacht will tow the boat back to Australia where the refugees will be able to seek asylum. In the middle of the night, a foreboding storm approaches. When the Australians wake the next morning they find the fishing boat is no longer attached to their yacht. It’s not until four years later when Shaun steps into a taxi driven by one of the refugees, Ismail, that they learn the truth about what happened. With major investment from Screen Australia and the assistance of Screen Queensland, produced by Matchbox Pictures for SBS.
SUNSHINE – NEW AUSTRALIAN DRAMA
TX: 2017 on SBS
Born in a refugee camp in Kenya, at eight years old Jacob Chagai arrives in Australia with his surviving family members – a distant land where his father can’t find work and has to return to South Sudan. Growing up in Melbourne, Jacob carries the weight of his family’s responsibility on his shoulders, working multiple jobs to make ends meet. But on the basketball court he shines, and if he impresses talent scouts enough to win an American college sporting scholarship then he will be on the coveted golden pathway to the world’s pre- eminent basketball league, the NBA, and be able to change the lives of those he cares about. But just when the doors of the world seem thrown wide open, he is accused of a life-threatening assault, and must fight for his innocence. This riveting and Australian-first four part drama crime series gets up close and personal with the South Sudanese community in Melbourne. Produced by Essential Media for SBS with a major investment from Screen Australia.
Deutschland 83
TX: February 2017 on SBS
In a divided Germany in 1983, naive 24-year-old East German soldier Martin Rauch is pulled from his benign post as a border guard and given a new assignment: undercover spy for the Stasi Foreign Service in West Germany. Hiding in plain sight as Moritz Stamm in the West German army, Rauch must gather NATO military secrets. As he veers between father figures, love interests, and East and West Germany, nothing is quite what it seems and everyone he encounters is harbouring secrets, both political and personal.
Medici: Masters of Florence
TX: March 2017 on SBS
Dustin Hoffman and Guido Caprino star in this political, family drama set in Florence in the early 15th century. Cosimo de’ Medici finds himself at the helm of his supremely wealthy, banking dynasty family, when his father, Giovanni dies suddenly.
Midnight Sun
TX: April 2017 on SBS
A high-concept thriller from Mårlind & Stein (Bron/Broen), starring French actress Leïla Bekhti (The Prophet, All that Glitters) and Gustaf Hammarsten (Bruno, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo). Kahina Zadi (Leïla Bekhti), a French police officer, travels to Kiruna, a small mining community in remote northern Sweden, to investigate a brutal murder of a French citizen. With the help of Anders Harnesk (Gustaf Hammarsten), a Swedish DA and a member of the Sami, an ancient, mysterious indigenous tribe of Scandinavia, they are faced with new killings and the initial murder turns out to be the tip of the iceberg. Kahina and Anders come to realize that behind the killings is a ten-year-old secret conspiracy involving many of the town’s inhabitants. Kahina finds herself confronting a ruthless serial killer, always one step ahead, a macabre plan, and her own painful past.
Knightfall
TX: April 2017 on SBS
Created by Don Handfield and Richard Rayner, Knightfall chronicles the mysterious but true accounts of the Knights Templar, the elite warriors of the Crusades. It delves into the great secrets protected by the Templars and tells the story of faith, loyalty and brotherhood that help sustain these warriors on the battlefield, and the dark events that would forever sear the infamous date of Friday the 13th into the world’s psyche.
The Night Manager
TX: May 2017 on SBS
A contemporary interpretation of John le Carré’s espionage, The Night Manager brings together love, loss and revenge in a complex story of modern criminality. The series follows former British soldier Jonathan Pine (Tom Hiddleston) who is recruited by intelligence operative Angela Burr (Olivia Colman) to infiltrate the inner circle of international businessman Richard Onslow Roper (Hugh Laurie) and detonate the unholy alliance he has ministered between the intelligence community and the secret arms trade.
Fargo (Season 3)
TX: May 2017 on SBS
The dark and gripping series Fargo will return in 2017 with a brand new season, dripping with its signature black humour and blood. Season three will feature an all-star cast, including Ewan McGregor and Mary Elizabeth Winstead, and will follow a mystery plot set in a modern world, grappling with compelling technological quandaries and their effect on society.
Bosch (Season 3)
Based on Michael Connelly’s internationally best-selling book franchise the US crime drama Bosch will return to SBS for a second season in 2016. Set in Los Angeles, California, Bosch stars Hollywood veteran, Titus Welliver (Sons of Anarchy, The Good Wife) as LAPD homicide detective Hieronymus ‘Harry’ Bosch, a relentless detective who will stop at nothing to bring justice to victims.
ENTERTAINMENT
Dami Im performing at Eurovision semifinal in 2016
Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras
TX: March 2017 on SBS
The 2017 Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras is set to sparkle and shine on SBS beaming all the action and colour from the streets of Sydney into lounge rooms across Australia. Produced by Golden Duck for SBS.
Eurovision 2017
TX: May 2017 on SBS
After Dami Im’s spectacular performance wowing Europe to take out second place, Australia returns to the Eurovision Song Contest in 2017! In May, SBS will once again bring the nation full coverage of the world’s biggest song competition and most colourful celebration of diversity, culture and inclusion, straight from Kyiv, Ukraine, as we send a new artist to compete for Australia for the third consecutive year. Produced by Blink TV for SBS
NEW FOOD SHOWS
Destination Flavour Singapore
The Chefs Line
TX: 2017 on SBS
For years SBS has explored all the flavours, people and stories behind the dishes of different cuisines from around the world. This is a brand new high stakes event series showcasing a different cuisine each week. The Chef’s Line will celebrate the heritage, history and diversity that drives Australia’s restaurant culture. Each week four passionate home cooks will be given the chance to compete, learn and laugh as they take on the line of top class restaurant. Audiences will see the passion and the personality that goes into every bite of their dishes and witness of the competition and camaraderie of these talented cooks and chefs. Featuring Food Safari’s Maeve O’Meara, along with Sydney chef Dan Hong (Mr Wong, Ms G’s), renowned Indigenous chef Mark Olive (Black Olive), and leading food writer Melissa Leong. Produced by Eureka for SBS.
Destination Flavour Singapore
TX: January 2017 on SBS
In the new series of Destination Flavour, Adam Liaw visits the Asian food mecca of Singapore, going on a journey of food discovery like no other. From specialty hawker stalls to some of the finest five-star restaurants on the planet, Adam leaves no stone unturned in his quest to share with us the very best flavours the country has to offer. But for Adam this journey is also personal, as he discovers not only long-held secrets about his family ancestry in Singapore, and also takes on one of the biggest challenges of his career. In the final episode, the Australian High Commissioner and the cream of Singapore’s food scene gather at one of the city’s finest waterside hotels, to sample his five-course fine dining menu which must interpret the essence of the Singapore that he’s experienced. Can Adam impress what are certain to be tough judges? Produced by SBS.
Gourmet Farmer – NEW SEASON
TX: 2017 on SBS
Change is afoot on Fat Pig Farm as Matthew Evans is about to go full circle – from reviewing restaurants to building his own. The stakes have never been higher with the new challenge of Fat Pig Kitchen. Over the past three series, viewers have had the vicarious experience of living on a farm and cooking the produce it delivers. But a restaurant on Fat Pig Farm will give them a chance to actually visit and live the dream, if only for a few hours at a time. But first, Matthew needs to sell his original Puggle Farm, home to family and animals for over seven years. The money is desperately needed to fulfil Matthew’s vision. When completed, the restaurant will be a true paddock-to-plate experience, not just a catchphrase – the restaurant is situated in a paddock! No white linen tablecloths and posh silverware in this place, you’ll park your gumboots at the door and pull up a rustic timber chair. But only for entrée – you’ll be needing your boots again for a tour of the farm and to meet the pigs between courses. Once the restaurant opens, Matthew Evans will have gone full circle – from critic, to possibly criticised. Food critic turned farmer turned restaurateur. How hard can it be? Produced by Essential Media for SBS.
Shane Delia’s Recipe for Life
TX: 2017 on SBS
This new eight part series features Shane Delia in a completely different light to his previous series. A far more personal story set entirely in Melbourne. We follow the busy life of this celebrity chef and family man, as he oversees his acclaimed restaurant Maha and creates a new cutting edge cocktail bar, beds down his fledgling high end kebab chain, Biggie Smalls, launches a new food truck, while catering for some of Melbourne’s most high profile events. Shane will also continue in his role as ambassador for the Sons of the West men’s health program, and he’s also keen to take his passion for nutrition into schools. All while raising two kids in a healthy and loving environment with the love of his life, wife Maha. Produced by Essential Media for SBS.
Food Safari: Earth
TX: 2017 on SBS
Maeve O’Meara returns with Food Safari Earth, a glorious fresh exploration of all the bounty of the earth. Filmed across the four seasons and with access to commercial and home gardens, Food Safari Earth will explore vegetables at their absolute best, some with the dew fresh from picking. From the early history of man, vegetables, fruits and grains have been the major part of our diet; meat, whether hunted or herded, being a special occasion ingredient. There is no doubt Food Safari Earth captures the zeitgeist. Worldwide there is a move towards meatless meals to explore more vegetable-based eating for environmental, religious, health benefits and simply for the pure taste. Many chefs believe nothing surpasses the sheer flavour rush of vegetables in season, fresh herbs and intensely flavoured fruit. Produced by Kismet Productions for SBS.
Food Safari: Water
TX: 2017 on SBS
Maeve O’Meara returns for another series in 2017 with Food Safari Water, a glorious exploration of seafood across the many cuisines and cultures of the world on our doorstep. From ancient Greece and Egypt through Rome and medieval days to modern times, seafood from salt and fresh water is increasingly sought out for taste and health reasons. We introduce some of Australia’s top chefs who have become masters of getting the most out of seafood – whether raw or cooked – plus some home cooks from across many cuisines. Produced by Kismet Productions for SBS.
7.30pm WEEKNIGHT DOCUMENTARIES
The Supervet
TX: Continues in 2017 on SBS
This series follows Professor Noel Fitzpatrick, known as the ‘bionic vet’, and the team at Fitzpatrick Referrals in the heart of Surrey in England, as he performs cutting-edge surgeries on some of the country’s cutest and most in need pets. The series captures the highs and lows of a working veterinary practice, and explores the power of unconditional love between people and their pets. Each episode, Professor Noel Fitzpatrick meets with patients and their fluffy companions to see what he can do to improve the lives of these pets, and as a result, their owners too. Whether it’s utilising regenerative medicine or putting pins in to straighten a paw, the techniques used by Professor Fitzpatrick demonstrate his forward thinking and innovative approach to what he does.
Trust Me, I’m a Doctor
TX: January 2017 on SBS
Dr Michael Mosley, ‘the 5:2 diet guy’, returns to SBS with a brand new series of Michael Mosley: Trust Me, I’m a Doctor as he and his medical team tackle these questions and more, offering uncomplicated, trustworthy advice on important health issues and concerns. From simple health tips like how to cure cramps, to the more baffling topics such as secrets to help keep the mind sharp throughout ageing, Dr Mosley and his team bring definitive answers to questions on an array of health topics.
24 Hours in Emergency (Season 8)
TX: 2017 on SBS
The RTS award-winning documentary series returns for another series following patients treated in the same 24 hour period at St George’s in south west London. The hospital has one of the most advanced and busiest A&E departments in the world. It’s a place where stories of life, love and loss unfold every day.
Great Railway Journeys with Michael Portillo (Season 5)
TX: 2017 on SBS
Michael Portillo embarks on a new series of railway journeys across Europe. Armed with his 1913 Bradshaw’s Guide, he will travel from station to station, visiting the towns and villages described by the Guide, following the suggested itineraries, staying in the recommended hotels, exploring the sights, sampling local traditions while telling the story of what was happening in continental Europe in 1913. From Rotterdam to Utrecht, to Transylvania to the Black Sea, join Michael as he discovers the history, people and culture behind these famous train journeys.
Chris Tarrant: Extreme Railways (Season 3)
TX: 2017 on SBS
Chris Tarrant returns for more train journeys through some of the world’s most challenging terrain. He heads to the Arctic for a trip along the Alaska Railroad, but as he arrives in the port of Seward, it’s not a great start as there are no trains running, so he ends up hitching a ride with a track inspector’s car. He continues his journey on a freight train heading for Anchorage, Alaska’s biggest city, and finally heads north on the Aurora passenger train to the town of Healy. Along the way he checks out the tiny village of Eklutna, which has great importance for the indigenous inhabitants, and goes for an intrepid fishing trip on a thawing frozen lake.
SPORT ON SBS CYCLING
Paris-Roubaix
TX: April 2017
SBS will have live coverage of the 114th edition of the Paris-Roubaix Championships in France. Famous for its challenging and treacherous cobblestone sections, the Paris-Roubaix is regarded as the toughest of the Classics on the European cycling calendar. Joining the competition will be Aussie Matthew Hayman, who won the biggest one-day race in World Cycling in 2016 will also compete.
Tour de France
TX: July 2017
All the drama and triumph of the world’s most famous cycling race returns for its 27th year on SBS.
SBS’s live multiplatform coverage will be led by SBS’s cycling host Mike Tomalaris, with reporting by David McKenzie and Matthew Keenan, Robbie McEwan, Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwen in the commentary team.
La Vuelta
TX: August 2017
The 2017 Vuelta a España is a three-week Grand Tour cycling stage race that is scheduled to take place in Spain between 19 August and 10 September 2017 for its 72nd edition. Leaving from the French city of Nîmes on Saturday, 19 August, this is to be the third time in history the Vuelta starts on foreign soil.
FOOTBALL
SBS Football hosts Craig Foster, Lucy Zelic and David Zdrilic
In 2017, SBS will continue to deliver premium international football matches with the 2016/17 and 2017/18 UEFA Champions League. Audiences will also get to cheer the green and gold with Socceroos world cup qualifiers, and of course, to wrap it all up for football lovers, SBS’s flagship football program The World Game, with SBS football experts Craig Foster, David Zdrilic and Lucy Zelic.
Premier League
TX: Continues in 2017
The Premier League continues on the home of international football on SBS in 2017. SBS’s live coverage of the Premier League is hosted by SBS’s Lucy Zelic, SBS chief football analyst and former Crystal Palace player, Craig Foster plus former Premier League star, Michael Bridges. SBS will continue to show one live match each week across SBS and SBS HD, along with weekly highlights on The World Game, Mondays at 11.00pm on SBS and SBS HD.
UEFA Champions League
TX: Continues in 2017
The UEFA Champions League is the most prestigious football competition in Europe. SBS has been the proud broadcast partner of the UEFA Champions League since its inception in 1992 and in 2017, and will continue to show one live match on Wednesdays and a weekly one hour highlights show on Thursday nights that will cover all the matches from every round.
2017 FIFA Confederations Cup
TX: June 2017
As a prelude to the 2018 FIFA World Cup, SBS will show matches from the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup, which will be held in Russia. Kicking off on 17 June, SBS will show all Socceroos’ matches plus the semis and the final.
MOTOR RACING 2017 Dakar Rally TX: January 2017
2017 With the addition of Paraguay, the Dakar will visit the 29th country in its history, the 5th on the South American continent. Then the rally will head for its longest stay so far in Bolivia and more specifically the capital city of La Paz. Argentina, which has been a part of every edition since 2009, will be the theatre for the final battle decided in Buenos Aires. Australian winner of the 2016 Motorbike Class, Toby Price, will seek to defend his title.
BASKETBALL
National Basketball League (NBL) TX: Continues in 2017
SBS continues its coverage of the National Basketball League (NBL) 2016-17 season. SBS has the exclusive free- to-air television broadcast rights, showing one game each Sunday, live and free on SBS, SBS HD, as well as streamed online.
NEWS AND CURRENT AFFAIRS
SBS World News presenters Janice Petersen and Anton Enus
World News Australia
TX: Weeknights at 6.30pm and 10.30pm, and weekends at 6.30pm
SBS World News is Australia’s trusted nightly source of global and national news that matters. Presented each weeknight by anchors Anton Enus and Janice Petersen, and finance editor Ricardo Goncalves, and on weekends by Lee Lin Chin.
Insight
TX: 8.30pm Tuesdays, returns February 2017
Insight is Australia’s leading forum for debate and powerful first person stories. Each week on Tuesday nights, host Jenny Brockie brings together surprising and unpredictable guests: people with first-hand experience of the issue as well as experts and those with strong opinions.
Dateline
TX: 9.30pm Tuesdays, returns February 2017
Dateline has a proud history of bringing to life a world of daring stories. The award-winning current affairs program showcases the unexpected, from every corner of the globe. Commissioned in 1984, Dateline is Australia’s longest-running international current affairs program. Dateline has made global headlines with their reports, providing powerful, thought-provoking stories from around the world. The program has won multiple national and international awards.