Summer is here and so too is the ABC’s sizzling summer line-up, promising to keep audiences entertained over the holiday period with Christmas specials, premieres and events throughout December and January.
Immerse yourself in festive spirit as the ABC unwraps a bundle of Christmas specials. Kicking off the Yuletide season is The Book Club: 5 of the Best. As the series comes to an end, it’s time to celebrate a year of great reads and look back at eleven years of banter and reviews. Costa and the Gardening Australia team celebrate the festive season with two one-hour specials, and famous Australians discuss what Christmas means to them in Tinsel, Tears and Turkeys: An Aussie Christmas Unwrapped. Join host Sandi Toksvig for the QI Christmas Special.
Doctor Who fans will witness Peter Capaldi’s final magical journey in Doctor Who: Twice Upon A Time and then Rove McManus hosts a special Whovians panel straight afterwards to say goodbye to the Twelfth Doctor and hello to the very first female Doctor, Jodie Whittaker. ABC drama favourite returns with Call the Midwife: Christmas Special (2016), and young ones will be delighted with the Guess How Much I Love You Christmas Special, Peppa Pig Christmas special and a Sesame Street Christmas special.
Charlie Pickering returns with Tom Gleeson, Kitty Flanagan and Adam Briggs to rip open the year that was 2017 in The Yearly with Charlie Pickering. News buffs can get their fix with Summer Drum, hosted weeknights by Adam Spencer and Offsiders: Summer Edition with host Kelli Underwood. Foreign Correspondent continues to air Monday nights at 8.30pm, through Deecmber and January.
Cancel your plans for NYE and spend it with MC Charlie Pickering as he celebrates the final hours of the year with Countdown Live NYE 2017. Presented live (AEDT) from Sydney Opera House and jam packed full of family friendly entertainment, the evening features performances from Jimmy Barnes, Phil Jamieson, Marcia Hines John Paul Young, Montaigne, Casey Donovan, Ngaiire, Kate Ceberano, Isaiah Firebrace, Colin Hay, Mahalia Barnes and Prinnie Stevens, as well as full coverage of the Family Fireworks at 9pm, followed by the world-famous Sydney Midnight Fireworks.
ABC COMEDY will keep you laughing throughout summer, whatever the weather, wherever you are. Binge from bed or the beach with Australian comedy greats in the iview ABC COMEDY Binge. Highlights include A Moody Christmas, Get Krack!n, Rosehaven, The Ex-PM, and When TV Was Awesome. And the laughs continue on ABC COMEDY and iview with The Best of Fresh Blood hosted by Wil Anderson, new seasons of fan favourites Red Dwarf and Episodes, as well as brand new programs Asian Provocateur and Ill Behaviour. ABC COMEDY will also encore A Very Sexy Christmas with Steven Oliver which premieres on the ABC Indigenous Facebook page.
The hits keep coming in January with the world premiere of the complete series of The New Legends of Monkey on the ABC ME app and iview, as well as the return of The Checkout, Catalyst and Shaun Micallef’s Mad As Hell. Celebrate exceptional Australians with the Australian of the Year on January 25th, and on Australia Day follow the Flag Raising and Citizenship Ceremony 2018. Enjoy the new hour-long format of Gardening Australia in its new timeslot Fridays at 7.30pm, followed by a special one hour of Back Roads.
Full list of summer programs and TX dates for
ABC, ABC COMEDY, ABC ME, ABC KIDS, ABC NEWS and ABC iview:
ABC
- The Best of Sammy J’s Democratic Party (Premiere)
Airs Wednesday 13 December at 9pm - The Book Club: 5 of the Best 2017 (Special)
Airs Tuesday 19 December at 8:30pm - Plumpton High Babies: Ten Years On (Premiere)
Airs Tuesday 19 December at 9:30pm - The Yearly with Charlie Pickering (Special)
Airs Wednesday 20 December at 8.30pm - QI Christmas Special (Special)
Airs Wednesday 20 December at 8:00pm - Gardening Australia: Christmas Family Special (Special)
Airs Friday 22 December at 7:30pm - Tinsel, Tears and Turkey: An Aussie Christmas Unwrapped (Special)
Wednesday 20th December at 21.30 - Doctor Who: Twice Upon A Time (Special)
Airs Tuesday 26 December at 7.30pm plus iview straight after the UK 04.30am AEST - Call the Midwife: Christmas Special (Special)
Airs Wednesday 27 December at 7.30pm - Gardening Australia: New Year’s Family Special (Special)
Airs Friday 29 December at 7:30pm - NYE Countdown Live 2017 (Special)
Airs Sunday 31 December at 8:30pm - The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo (Special)
Airs Monday 1 January at 8:30pm - Australian of the Year (Special)
Airs Thursday 25 January at 7.30pm - Gardening Australia (new hour long format) (Premiere)
Airs from Friday 26 January at 7:30pm - Flag Raising and Citizenship Ceremony 2018 (Special)
Airs Friday 26 January at 9.00am - Back Roads Australia Day Special (Special)
Airs Friday 26 January at 8.30pm - The Checkout Season 6 (Premiere)
Airs Tuesday 30 January at 8pm - Shaun Micallef’s Mad As Hell Season 8 (Premiere)
Airs from Wednesday 31 January at 8:30pm
ABC COMEDY
- A Very Sexy Christmas with Stephen Oliver (Encore)
Airs Tuesday 12 December at 8.30pm on ABC Indigenous Facebook Live
Encores: Sunday 24 December at 9.20pm on ABC COMEDY - Whovians Christmas Special (Special)
Airs Tuesday 26 December at 8.30pm - Red Dwarf Season 12 (Premiere)
Airs Tuesday 26 December at 9.15pm - Asian Provocateur (Premiere)
Airs Wednesday 27 December at 9:30pm - Episodes Season 5 (final season) (Premiere)
Airs Friday 5 January at 9.50pm - Ill Behaviour Season 1 (Premiere)
Airs Monday 8 January at 9:30pm - Red Dwarf New Series
Airs Thursday 26 January at 9.40pm - The Best of Fresh Blood (Premiere)
Airs Thursday 18 January at 9.30pm
ABC NEWS
- Summer Drum
Airs Monday 1 January at 5.30pm on ABC TV / 6.30pm on ABC NEWS - Offsiders: Summer Edition
Airs Sun 7 January at 10.00am on ABC TV / 11.30am on ABC NEWS
ABC ME
ABC ME BEST FEST from 8 Dec
ABC ME app and iview
- My Year 12 Life: Life After The ATAR (Premiere)
Airs Thursday 14 December at 7.30pm - Puss In Boots Season 1 (Premiere)
Airs Friday 15 December at 5.35pm - Matilda and the Ramsay Bunch Season 3 (Premiere)
Airs Monday 18 December at 3.40pm - Hank Zipzer’s Christmas Catastrophe (Premiere)
Thursday 14 December at 5.55pm - Raising Expectations
Airs Tuesday 26 December at 7.00pm - The Next Step Season 4 (Premiere)
Airs Sunday 31 December at 6.35pm - All Hail King Julien Season 1 (Premiere)
Airs daily at 7:20am from Monday 1 January
ABC KIDS
- Guess How Much I Love You: Christmas to the Moon and Back (Premiere)
Airs Sunday 17 December at 5.35pm - Sesame Street Christmas (Premiere)
Airs Friday 22 December at 9.30am - Peppa Pig Christmas (Premiere)
Airs Monday 18 December at 5.40pm
ABC iview
ABC COMEDY BINGE OF AUSTRALIAN COMEDY
Now showing – LONG FORM
- A Moody Christmas
- Almost Midnight
- Comedy Up Late S4 & S5
- Fresh Blood: Fancy Boy
- Fresh Blood: Wham Bam Thank you Ma’am
- Get Krack!n S1
- Growing Up Gracefully
- The Katering Show S1 & S2
- Lost in Pronunciation
- Ronny Chieng: International Student
- Rosehaven S1 & S2
- The Edge of the Bush
- The Ex-PM S1 & S2
- The Letdown
- The Melbourne International Comedy Festival Debate
- The Melbourne International Comedy Festival Gala
- The Melbourne International Comedy Festival Superstars
- Upper Middle Bogan S1-3
- The Warriors
Now showing – SHORT FORM
- Aussie Rangers
- #CelesteChallengeAccepted
- DAFUQ
- All new Fresh Blood
- Goober
- Kiki and Kitty
- Other People’s Problems
- The Chinaboy Show
- Virgin Bush
- When TV Was Awesome S1 & S2
