With the Rio 2016 Olympics dominating screens and the ratings last week and the one to come it’s been clear if you’re not a sports fan there’s not a lot on broadcast TV for you.
But that’s all about to change.
The Olympics Closing Ceremony runs live 9am AEST Monday 22 August, opening the way for every network to roll out their big new shows in the 14 week push to the end of the ratings year. You know, the ones you’ve seen endless promos for over the last month or so.
There’s jostling and already some re-scheduling to see who gets in first, not only to capture first eyes in the hope they’ll stay connected, but also for at least one network desperate times call for desperate measures.
There’s never been a more competitive end to the ratings year, and don’t the commercial networks know it.
ABC & SBS maintain a strong schedule of content for the last third of the year, including The Code S02, Upper Middle Bogan S03 & Please Like Me S04 for ABC, and Luke Nguyen’s Street Food Asia, the documentary series Deep Water, Who Do You Think You Are? Australia S08 for SBS. Rosehaven & Tom Gleeson’s Hard Quiz look to be additional highlights.
Still to come in 2016 (ABC):
Meet the Mavericks S02 – 23 August
Anh’s Brush with Fame – 24 August
Vera S05 – 28 August
The Code S02 – 1 September
Back Roads S02
Glitch S02
Howard on Menzies: The Making of Modern Australia
Ice Wars
Little Lunch Halloween/Christmas specials
Man Up
Nowhere Boys S03
Please Like Me S04
Rosehaven
Stop Laughing… This Is Serious S02
Streets of Your Town
Sylvia’s Italian Table
Tom Gleeson’s Hard Quiz
Upper Middle Bogan S03
Still to come in 2016 (SBS):
Luke Nguyen’s Street Food – 1 September
Who Do You Think You Are? Australia S08 – 13 September
Barack Obama: Inside his Presidency
Deep Water
Fargo S03
First Contact S02
Masters of Sex S04
Peter Kuruvita’s Coastal Kitchen
Shaun Micallef’s Stairway to Heaven S02
Vikings S04
Seven has a chance to continue the primetime domination they’ve experienced all year, and with a raft of new shows dropping next week to try to keep you watching including Zumbo’s Just Desserts, the new Jessica Mauboy vehicle The Secret Daughter, 800 Words S02, Code Black & the show billed as the “new Downton Abbey” The Durrells.
Still to come in 2016:
Zumbo’s Just Desserts – 22 August
800 Words – 23 August
The Durrells – 24 August
Chicago Fire S04 – 23 August
Code Black – 25 August
Around the World with Manu
Cannonball
Islands of Oz with Martin Clunes
Selling Houses Australia S05-S07
Sunday Night Takeaway
The Secret Daughter
It’s Nine who have most to prove after their own string of expensive primetime failures this year. They’re hanging their hopes heavily on The Block S12, already announcing they’re moving to premiere up against Ten’s big new reality show. There’s also drama aplenty including House Husbands S05, House of Bond, and guaranteed controversy with Married At First Sight S03. No word on the return of controversial 2015 series The Verdict for S02 or new factual series Sex Ed.
Still to come in 2016:
The Block S12 – 21 August
House Husbands S05
House of Bond
Hyde & Seek
Married at First Sight S03
Sex Ed (tbc)
The Verdict S02 (tbc)
Unreal Estate
Ten have been circling and maintained an alternative for audiences these last couple of weeks, and are heavily promoting their new schedule, with lots of interest in a number of their new programs, particularly Survivor Australia which has bus & train station ads everywhere. There’s also the new Jessica Marais series The Wrong Girl, The Bachelorette Australia S02, the continuation of Offspring S06 and the return of Gogglebox Australia for S04.
Still to come in 2016:
Survivor Australia – 21 August
Offspring S06 (returns) – 24 August
Gogglebox Australia S04 – 25 August
Todd Sampson’s Bodyhack
Brock
The Bachelorette Australia S02
The Simpsons S28
The Wrong Girl
Foxtel have a number of big US properties returning as the US ratings year kicks back in including The Walking Dead S07 and the premiere of big new HBO drama Westworld. While they’ve clearly missed having the Olympics in their schedule there’s lots of big shows across the Pay TV giant’s many channels.
Still to come in 2016:
Fear The Walking Dead S02 part 2 (FX) – 22 August
Gogglebox Australia S04 (Lifestyle) – 24 August
Real Housewives of Auckland (Arena) – 28 August
A Place to Call Home S04 (showcase) – 11 September
Australia’s Next Top Model S10 (FOX8) – 20 September
Westworld (showcase) – 3 October
Vice Principals (Comedy) – 22 October
The Walking Dead S07 (FX) – 24 October
Great Australian Bake Off S02 (Lifestyle FOOD)
Whose Line Is It Anyway? Australia (Comedy)
The 3 streaming services have a lot in the tank too, with some big titles still to deliver this year. They’ve been the big winners this Olympic period, allowing those who are looking for something not involving a ball/stick/horse/pool/track to settle into some great TV.
Netflix – still to come in 2016:
Narcos S02 – 2 September
Marvel’s Luke Cage – 30 September
Black Mirror S03 – 21 October
Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life – 26 November
Stan – still to come in 2016:
Transparent S03 – 24 September
Younger S03 – 29 September
Ash v Evil Dead S02 – 3 October
Blunt Talk S02 – 3 October
Mozart in the Jungle S03 – 10 December
Sherlock S04 – early 2017
No Activity S02
Presto – still to come in 2016:
Boardwalk Empire (every episode) – 1 September
Sons of Anarchy (every episode ) – 1 September
Witness – 1 September
The Good Wife (every episode) – 1 September
Californicaton (every episode) – 1 September
Lookalikes – 9 September
Rush Hour – 9 September
The Big Bang Theory S08 – 1 October
The Walking Dead S06 – 12 October
True Blood S01-S07 – October TBA
Wentworth S04 – October TBA
The Wire S01-S05 – November TBA
Deadwood S01-S03 – November TBA
Penny Dreadful S03 – November TBA
Bates Motel S02 – December TBA
Ray Donovan S04 – December TBA
