Netflix has revealed its full slate of 2026 original films and series from Australia and New Zealand.
Leading the way is the third and final season of Gen Z high school drama Heartbreak High, which drops on the streamer on March 2. A soft reboot of the incredibly popular 90s drama, the Sydney-set Heartbreak High has been a massive critical success in Australia, including winning several AACTA Awards, as well as winning an International Emmy in 2023. Returning for the final year at Hartley High is the large ensemble cast that includes Ayesha Madon, James Majoos, Chloé Hayden, Asher Yasbincek, Thomas Weatherall, Will McDonald, Gemma Chua-Tran, Bryn Chapman Parish, Sherry-Lee Watson, Brodie Townsend, Chika Ikogwe, Kartanya Maynard, Aki Munroe, Ioane Sa’ula, Ben Turland, William McKenna and New Zealand national treasure Rachel House.
Coming in 2026, although the release date is still TBC, is the period drama, My Brilliant Career. Based on the book by Miles Franklin, the six-part series is set in rural Australia in 1901, and tells the story of an aspiring writer. The synopsis from Netflix reads, “Sybylla is a shockingly modern young woman with one searing ambition – to be a writer, while her family is determined to marry her off. With an irrepressible taste for fun, Sybylla breaks every convention of 1901 Australia as she searches for a story that will allow her to write her way to independence. For her, the choice between adventure or marriage seems easy, until she falls in love. Will Sybylla marry, or will she risk it all for a creative life?”
The novel My Brilliant Career is considered a key cultural text in Australia, and was previously adapted for the big screen in Gillian Armstrong’s 1979 film that starred Judy Davis, Sam Neill, and Wendy Hughes. Armstrong’s feature is also considered a major element of the Australian New Wave of cinema.
Also coming sometime in 2026, and a series that has the potential to find audiences around the world, is the Western Australian drama Breakers. Toplined by The Boys‘ Anthony Starr, the series tells the story of “two best friends from the U.S. [who] go backpacking in Australia and are soon drawn into a seemingly perfect community of surfers led by a charismatic but mysterious figure.” There aren’t too many details beyond that, but Starr is playing a character called Brando, so one would assume he’s the “charismatic but mysterious figure.” The series was written by Pete Jackson (Somewhere Boy) and directed by Mary Nighy and Ng Choon Ping. The cast of Breakers also includes, D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, Oliver Edis, Annabel Wolfe, Asher Yasbincek, David Howell, Tyroe Muhafidin, Tom Dawson, Sherry-Lee Watson, Lu Miller, Eliza Learmonth and Brodie Townsend.
Aussie actor, and a veteran of U.S. television, T.J. Power returns home to star in the feature film, Allen. The plot for the film is pretty thin at the moment, only that the story revolves around a man named Petey being reunited with his best friend Allen who had been lost for twenty years. Despite the lack of details, the creative team behind the movie includes writers and directors who have worked on popular Aussie shows like Bluey, Thou Shalt Not Steal and The Artful Dodger. Allen doesn’t yet have a release date.
This year will also several films and series that were shot in Australia and New Zealand debut on Netflix. On April 23, Baltasar Kormakur’s feature Apex, starring Charlize Theron, Taron Egerton and Eric Bana, launches on the platform and tells the story about a woman trapped in the Aussie wilderness being hunted by the ultimate predator.
Also shot in Australia and releasing this year is Pete Berg’s upcoming action drama The Mosquito Bowl starring Nicholas Galitzine and Bill Skarsgård, and Patrick Hughes’ action sci-fi drama War Machine starring Alan Ritchson, Dennis Quaid and Jai Courtney.
Netflix’s prestige scripted series East of Eden, starring Florence Pugh, Christopher Abbott, Mike Faist, Hoon Lee, Tracy Letts, Martha Plimpton, Ciarán Hinds, Joseph Zada and Joe Anders, was shot in New Zealand and will drop sometime in 2026.
Netflix’s reveal of its antipodean releases for 2026 follows announcements for Japanese, Korean, Indian, Southeast Asian and Chinese-language films and series.
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