Back Roads

The history of the Labor Party in government in Australia from 1983 to 1993 under Bob Hawke and Paul Keating. The series is told entirely through the eyes of all the major players in government and the bureaucracy, including Bob Hawke and Paul Keating.

History is taking to the seas and walking in the footsteps of Captain James Cook. 250 years after Cook began his epic exploration of the Pacific, Sam Neill (Jurassic Park, The Piano) journeys in his wake uncovering stories that resonate from those times on both sides of the beach. Sam begins with a disclaimer – he is merely an actor – but the story of Cook, and the impact he has had on the Pacific in the 250 years since his first voyage, has always fascinated him.

The Earth’s continents are instantly recognizable. These iconic landmasses seem permanent and unchanging, yet they are merely the wreckage of a much larger long-lost supercontinent – Pangaea. In this stunning four part series Professor Iain Stewart uncovers the evidence for this ancient past. He reveals how the world around us is full of clues – in the rocks, the landscapes and even the animals. All of which tell us how the land we live on was created.

In Australia, there are over 40,000 men and women currently behind bars. Many of them have done very bad things. They have shattered countless lives, destroyed families and been responsible for unspeakable criminal acts. What did they do? How did they get here? And what are their lives like now?

Long-running travel programme

Constructing Australia

Stephen Tompkinson's adventure begins in dramatic fashion when his maiden flight over South Australia's Flinders Ranges ends in a crash landing at 40 mph. But he presses on to the Barossa Valley, where a serene flight over the vineyards is followed by a far from calm cricket match against local winemakers - the outcome of which sends Stephen packing for Victoria and a spell on the mighty Murray River. Stephen's bid to win Australia’s biggest balloon competition continues. A childhood dream is fulfilled when he walks out onto the pitch of the Melbourne Cricket Ground during an Aussie Rules game - and trumped the following morning when his balloon flies through the ground's goalposts. His balloon truck gets a makeover and the city's Greek festival nearly ends in a diplomatic incident. Then heavy rain prevents him flying over Canberra - and to get back on track he risks a flight to 10,000 feet. Actor Stephen Tompkinson's attempt to win Australia's prestigious Canowindra Balloon Challenge concludes in this final episode. Stephen heads to Sydney, where he samples some of the city's culinary delights with MasterChef's Matt Preston, helps judge a drag competition, and receives some encouragement from the British High Commissioner to Australia. When the day of the race finally arrives, he meets his competitors at Canowindra. The teams have to hit three targets laid out over the countryside, but things start disastrously for Stephen when he misreads the wind and drifts off-course. Can he recover and win the challenge?

Murder Down Under is a True Crime anthology documentary series that sheds light on some of the most iconic murders in Australia’s recent history.

A journey through the Australian landscape and the unique stories of the land, deepening our connection with nature.

British comedian and travel enthusiast Griff Rhys Jones hops on some of Australia's most impressive long distance trains, travelling across the expansive outback and along spectacular coastlines.

40 years after Azaria Chamberlain’s disappearance, Lindy Chamberlain and her children speak exclusively and in detail, about that harrowing night and the devastating years that followed. From the hatred and discrimination the family endured to Lindy’s years in prison, nothing is off limits in this powerful and moving documentary.

Aerial Australia takes viewers on a breathtaking airborne odyssey across this diverse continent unveiling a tapestry of awe-inspiring landscapes that exist alongside the rich heritage of one of the oldest living cultures on Earth.

Coast Australia follows renowned Scottish archaeologist and historian Neil Oliver on his very first trip to Australia, as he and a diverse group of co-hosts gather stories about our spectacular coastline: the history, the people, the archaeology, the geography and the marine life, investigating interesting and little known facts along the way. Oliver’s co-hosts, all experts in their field, are journalist and Australian arts and culture specialist Miriam Corowa, environmentalist Professor Tim Flannery, marine scientist Dr Emma Johnston, anthropologist Dr Xanthe Mallett and television presenter and landscape architect Brendan Moar.

One of Australia's favourite comedians Judith Lucy, is out to discover where women are at in modern Australia and what it means to men - talking to people from all walks of life from all over the country.

Australie : l'Odyssée Sauvage

Armed with his 1913 Bradshaw’s Handbook to the Chief Cities of the World, Michael embarks on six new railway journeys across spectacular Australia.

Follow the work of Gold Coast police officers from the newly created Rapid Action & Patrols Group (RAP). The elite taskforce is responsible for policing everything from bikie gangs and street violence to drug heists and organised crime.

Our waste is growing at double the rate of our population with 52 mega tonnes generated a year. Australia is ranked 5th highest for generating the most municipal waste in the world. In this three-part series, Craig Reucassel is on a mission to see if we, as a nation, can all do a little bit better.

Follows the lives of seven Indigenous students as they leave home to spend a year boarding at one of the oldest and most elite boarding schools in the country, Geelong Grammar. Wrestling with their conflicting identities as students move between boarding life and home life, it creates a historic record of one of Australia's key Indigenous education pathways and a complex portrait of what it is to be an Indigenous child in Australia today.

Join us at Taronga Zoo in Sydney for a new documentary series narrated by Naomi Watts. The series provides a look behind the scenes at what it takes to run one of the world's most famous and magnificent zoos.