Paramount+ Australia today announced a number of renewals and new commissions for its streaming service here in Australia, with several titles still unclear as to whether they are returning or not.

See all the announcements from today’s Upfront presentation below:

Top Gear Australia (Reboot)

Confirming a TV Blackbox exclusive, Paramount+ today announced a new Australian version of Top Gear, the globally acclaimed series known for its adrenaline-fuelled adventures and outrageous challenges, is parking itself on Paramount+ Australia in 2024. 

It wouldn’t be Top Gear without the high-octane antics, so rest assured, they aren’t going anywhere. But in 2024, the mechanics behind Top Gear Australia have given the series an epic tune up, introducing three new hosts.

In the driver’s seat is music composer and car enthusiast, Blair Joscelyne, loveable larrikin Beau Ryan and Jonathan LaPaglia.

The Inspired Unemployed (Impractical) Jokers (Season 2)

Jack Steele and Matt Ford, the comedic duo with a mammoth 3.8 million followers, will again lead the pack as they compete to publicly embarrass each other in the most outrageous ways possible, all captured by hidden cameras.

Joining Jack and Matt are Liam, Dom, and Falcon, adding to the mischief and ensuring plenty of laughs. Those failing at their task receive a humiliating punishment, resulting in sidesplittingly hilarious outcomes and awkwardness at its finest.

More laughs, more cringe, more awkwardness. The Inspired Unemployed are returning for Season 2 of The Inspired Unemployed (Impractical) Jokers in 2024.

Last King of The Cross (Season 2)

In June this year, Paramount+ Australia announced the highly successful Australian series, Last King of The Cross, will be returning for a riveting second season.

The second instalment will delve deeper into the intoxicating and perilous world of Kings Cross, and promises to keep viewers on tenterhooks. The series continues to chart the expansion of John Ibrahim’s empire into the burgeoning queer nightclub scene of the 2000s, a time defined by the ecstasy craze.

As the stakes escalate, a wide range of characters, including John’s two younger brothers, are drawn into the fray.

Fake

Announced in September this year, Paramount+ Australia and Screen Australia have joined forces to announce the greenlighting of a new original drama series called Fake.

Scheduled for a 2024 premiere on Paramount+, the series draws its inspiration from Stephanie Wood’s book of the same name.

“Fake throws us inside the confusing and deluding experience of a relationship built on lies,” said Imogen Banks, founder of Kindling Pictures.

Aussie Shore

Almost 15 years after the original Jersey Shore premiered on MTV in the USA, Australian fans of the show are finally getting a local version of the Shore franchise with official confirmation (originally announced by Paramount US execs in February 2022) that ‘Aussie Shore’ is coming to our screens in 2024.

The popular series has spanned several iterations of the show, including Geordie Shore (England), Warsaw Shore (Poland), Rio Shore (Brazil), Acapulco Shore (Mexico), Buckhead Shore (USA), as well as various specials and spin-off’s from the original series.

Aussie Shore will premiere on Paramount+ in 2024.

Paramount+ have 2 Australian made dramas that will launch on the streaming service this year:

NCIS: Sydney (November 10)

Filmed against the spectacular backdrop of one of the world’s most breathtaking harbour cities, NCIS: Sydney is the first-ever international series from the global NCIS franchise outside of the US, and sees rising international tensions in the Indo-Pacific.

The brilliant and eclectic team of U.S. NCIS Agents and the Australian Federal Police (AFP) are grafted into a multi-national taskforce, to keep naval crimes in check, in the most contested patch of ocean on the planet. 

Watch the official trailer below:

Paper Dolls (December 7)

First announced in April 2023 as headed to Channel 10 and 10 play this year, this series will now premiere first on Paramount+ Australia.

Set in 2000, Paper Dolls follows the meteoric rise and fall of the fictional girl-band INDIGO – a manufactured pop group born out of one of the first reality TV shows. 

Desperate to escape their ordinary reality and with aspirations of pop-stardom, five hopeful women step into the spotlight only to find that their dream of fame is compromised by what it takes to achieve it. 

As INDIGO is unleashed into the world to instant success and stardom, the girls’ connection with each other evolves from competition to confidants.

But their secrets threaten to tear the band apart, especially the machinations of one extra ambitious member who re-enters the music industry for a specific reason – to implode the group and seek vengeance on the record label that wronged her.  

Sports Content

Paramount+ Australia will continue to provide front-row seats to the Matildas and Socceroos, streaming live coverage of Australia’s two national teams on the international stage.

As the Socceroos prepare for a date with the AFC Asian Cup in January 2024, fans will be able to enjoy live broadcasts of all the team’s matches as well as the entire tournament’s matches on Paramount+.

The Subway Socceroos World Cup qualifiers will kick off in November 2023 and continue in March and June 2024, when Australia’s men’s team will once again be chasing a place in football’s biggest tournament.

Meanwhile, the CommBank Matildas are ready for their AFC Olympic qualifiers campaign. If they manage to top their group, they’ll progress to the next stage of qualifiers in February 2024. 

Locally, every match of every round in the Isuzu UTE A-League and Liberty A-League seasons will continue live on Paramount+.

The world’s oldest national football competition will once again captivate football lovers in 2024, with the final rounds of the Emirates FA Cup available exclusively on Paramount+.

New Features

Paramount+ Global also announced plans today to introduce new Premium and Advertising tiers, with the Premium plan is set to launch in Australia on Thursday, 16 November and the Advertising tier will roll out in select international markets including Australia starting in 2024.

The Premium Plan will launch in Australia for $13.99 monthly and $124.99 annually.

The service has also recently announced, just in time for the new A-Leagues season commencing, that they have finally introduced new features for sporting fans including the ability to pause and rewind live games, which has been a standard feature on other similar platforms for some time now.

Awaiting confirmation of renewal or cancellation:

Interestingly there was no mention of the renewal for local series Spreadsheet which premiered back in October 2021, it was announced in August last year that the series had received Screen Australia funding for another season, though this project may have been quietly shelved since then.

*This post updates.