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The 2026 line-ups of Australia’s commercial and free-to-air broadcasters have been revealed. All the broadcasters have bet big on their areas of expertise – aka ratings winners – with Seven and Nine focusing on sport, game shows and reality, while Ten is leaning further into family entertainment. As always, the ABC is doing the heavy lifting in terms of scripted programs, while SBS has the biggest sporting drawcard of them all: the FIFA World Cup. So what’s new, what’s coming back and what’s not? Here are some of the highlights.
Lila McGuire plays Evonne Goolagong in the highly anticipated three-part biopic.
NEW DRAMA
Reckless (SBS/NITV): Now streaming, the “Freo meets Fargo” crime caper stars Tasma Walton and Hunter Page-Lochard as siblings who accidentally run over an old man. Hijinks ensue.
The Chaplain (SBS): A workplace drama set at Melbourne International Airport. In the middle of it all is chaplain Tobias Wallace, who has an unusual approach to solving the day-to-day crises in the terminals.
Goolagong (ABC): Coming early next year, the three-part series tells the story of the rise of Australian tennis legend Evonne Goolagong Cawley (played by Lila McGuire) from the dirt courts of Barellan to the green grass of Wimbledon’s Centre Court.
Dustfall (ABC): Fresh from The Newsreader and Territory, Anna Torv plays a detective returning to her hometown to investigate a series of drink-spiking assaults.
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Treasure and Dirt (ABC): Adapted from Chris Hammer’s book of the same name, this crime drama stars Michael Dorman and Liv Hewson as detective and local cop investigating the beheading death of a local miner in a dying opal town that is starting to unravel.
Shakedown (ABC): A four-part drama based on the government’s robo-debt scandal, which saw more than half a million people falsely accused of welfare fraud.
RETURNING: Home and Away (Seven)
STATUS UNKNOWN: RFDS (Seven)
CANCELLED: Neighbours (Ten)
Mick Molloy and Glenn Robbins star in a yet-to-be-named comedy show premiering on Seven next year.
NEW COMEDY
Mick Molloy (Seven): The yet-to-be-named show stars Molloy and Glenn Robbins. No real details have been released, only that it will include “funny friends” as guests.
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Bad Company (ABC): Creator and writer Anne Edmonds stars as Margie, the volatile artistic director of a crumbling theatre company. Kitty Flanagan plays the strait-laced corporate executive brought in to clean up the mess.
Dog Park (ABC): Celia Pacquola plays Samantha, an eternal optimist, who meets the down-and-out Roland, played by Leon Ford, at the dog park. Pitched as a feel-good story centred on community, with added dogs.
Ground Up (ABC): A comedy about the troubled formation of Tasmania’s first AFL team, it stars Sam Pang as an AFL administrator sent in to win over the locals. Think The Games and Utopia.
Urzila (ABC): Already a familiar face on our screens, comedian Urzila Carlson writes and stars in this hybrid concept, which is a mix of Carlson’s stand-up and sketch comedy.
Rebecca Gibney is the new host of Millionaire Hot Seat on Ten.Credit: Dominic Lorrimer
NEW GAME SHOWS
Millionaire Hot Seat (Ten): Rebecca Gibney is hosting this half-hour version of the quiz show, which originally aired on Nine as a spin-off of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. The show will air at 7pm weeknights, following Deal or No Deal at 6.30pm.
Caught in the Middle (Seven): Hosted by Shane Jacobson, the new format sees two contestants compete against 100 others, who will appear on a giant screen in the studio.
Night at the Museum (ABC): Filmed at the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery and hosted by Alex Lee, this original format show sees four celebrities compete in games based around objects in the museum’s collection.
RETURNING: The Floor, The Hundred with Andy Lee and Tipping Point Australia (Nine); The Chase Australia and The 1% Club (Seven); Deal or No Deal (Ten); Mastermind Australia (SBS).
NOT RETURNING: Claire Hooper’s House of Games (ABC).
David Genat, known as the Golden God, is the new host of Australian Survivor.
NEW REALITY
The Celebrity Traitors Australia (Ten): After a two-year hiatus, The Traitors is having another crack at the Australian market, with new host Gretel Killeen and a celebrity edition. The UK’s Celebrity Traitors was a viral hit for Ten and they’ll be hoping viewers stick around for the local version.
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Australian Survivor: Redemption (Ten): The show is the same, but the host has been changed, with David Genat – aka the Golden God – now at the helm. Will viewers loyal to axed host Jonathan LaPaglia tune in? Ten is hoping so.
My Reno Rules (Seven): Hosted by Dr Chris Brown, with financial fairy godfather Adrian Portelli – the serial Block bidder and buyer – this series sees two homes in Melbourne’s Bulleen given a multimillion-dollar renovation and then given away to two viewers in the grand finale.
SAS: Australia v England (Seven): Seven Australian celebrities, including Olympic swimmer Emily Seebohm and Ryan Moloney, aka Toadie from Neighbours, compete against seven UK celebrities in the Moroccan desert. Ant Middleton is not returning to host.
Shark! (Nine): Six celebrities, including retired Olympic swimmer Ariarne Titmus and The Block host Scott Cam, are taken to the Bahamas to participate in “escalating” challenges with sharks, including an open-water swim. The show has already been cancelled in the UK after one series.
RETURNING: Muster Dogs (ABC); The Golden Bachelor, The Block and Married At First Sight (Nine); I’m A Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here!, MasterChef Australia, Taskmaster Australia and The Amazing Race (Ten); My Kitchen Rules and Farmer Wants a Wife (Seven); Alone Australia (SBS).
STATUS UNKNOWN: Big Brother and Talkin’ About Your Gen (Ten).
John Safran is returning to the screen with a one-off special titled Shut Your Big Fat Mouth.
NEW ENTERTAINMENT AND DOCUMENTARY
Once in a Lifetime (Seven): Chris Brown returns to his veterinarian roots and takes celebrities on “global wildlife journeys” where they will act as his “untrained and unqualified veterinary assistants”.
1 Euro House (Nine): The Block’s judges Shaynna Blaze and Darren Palmer renovate a rundown property in the Italian village of Castronovo.
Class Clowns (ABC): A new comedy competition series that sees a group of comedians split into three houses and then paired off to complete tasks. Judging them on their efforts is Julia Morris.
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Race Around the World (ABC): A reboot of the ’90s hit, which sends 10 people around the world for 100 days, during which they must produce 10 films in 10 countries. Can magic strike twice?
Shaun Micallef’s Going for Broke (ABC): The popular comedian turns his attention to Australia’s obsession with gambling, in which he travels the country asking if we are risking our future.
Always Was Tonight (ABC): Tony Armstrong hosts this satirical show that promises to “decolonise” the news, one headline at a time.
John Safran: Shut Your Big Fat Mouth (SBS): The provocative comedian tackles the free speech debate in this one-off special, which promises to annoy both sides of the culture wars.
RETURNING: Sam Pang Tonight, Have You Been Paying Attention, The Cheap Seats (Ten); Muster Dogs: Where Are They Now, Gruen, Guy Montgomery’s Guy Mont Spelling Bee, Hard Quiz, Hard Quiz Kids, Spicks and Specks, The Weekly, Grand Designs Transformations, I Was Actually There, Kitchen Cabinet, The Assembly, The Piano, Restoration Australia (ABC); The Jury, The Hospital: In the Deep End, Shaun Micallef’s Origin Odyssey, Our Medicine, Who Do You Think You Are? and The Cook Up (SBS).
Nine’s Olympic and Paralympic Games Milano Cortina 2026 team (from left): Leila McKinnon, Todd Woodbridge, Ally Langdon, James Bracey, Dylan Alcott, Sylvia Jeffreys and Ellie Cole.
SPORT
The 2026 Winter Olympics (Nine): The Milano Cortina Winter Olympics start in February, followed by the Paralympics in March. Ally Langdon and James Bracey will lead the broadcast from Livigno, with assistance from Leila McKinnon and Todd Woodbridge.
Glasgow Commonwealth Games (Seven): Running from July 23 to August 2, the Games originally meant for regional Victoria before the Andrews government called the whole thing off will broadcast across Seven and 7Plus.
FIFA World Cup (SBS): All 104 games from the tournament in Canada, the United States and Mexico will be screened from the June 11 kick-off, with 48 nations competing.
We’d love to hear your thoughts about next year’s free-to-air line-ups. What will you be watching? What won’t you be watching? Please tell us in the comments below.
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