A Week of Aliens and Elves

A Queensland alien comedy from the Bluey studio, a new Rings of Power season and Rose Byrne on Stan lead a crowded week in Australia and Aotearoa.

By Catherine Crowe November 7, 2026 6 min read

Photo: Prime Video

The week of 9 November belongs to two homegrown stories and one very long-running fantasy. Brisbane’s Ludo Studio, the company behind Bluey, releases its first live-action feature on Netflix on Thursday. Middle-earth returns to Prime Video a day earlier with four episodes at once, and Stan closes the week with a Karin Slaughter adaptation that lands the same day as in the United States.

Picks are grouped by day. Unless a note says otherwise, the global services (Netflix, Prime Video, Apple TV) carry the same title in both Australia and New Zealand.

Tuesday 10 November

2.6 Seconds: Death in the Outback (SBS, NITV and SBS On Demand). A four-part documentary series on the fatal shooting of 19-year-old Kumanjayi Walker during an attempted arrest at his grandmother’s home in Yuendumu, and on the murder charge against police officer Zachary Rolfe, who was acquitted by a jury. It draws on police body-worn footage, community-shot vision and interviews with family members and officers. Blackfella Films’ Darren Dale produces and directs; Andrew Boe writes. It premieres at 8:30pm on SBS and NITV, with further episodes on 11, 17 and 18 November; SBS On Demand streams the first two free from the 10th.
Availability: Australia only.

Jamie Dornan and Jack Kesy in 12 12 12 — In pictures 2

A scene from season three of the ABC comedy Austin — In pictures 2

Wednesday 11 November

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, season three (Prime Video). Five years after the fall of Eregion, Sauron’s armies are on the march and the free peoples of Middle-earth have to unite to stop him. Morfydd Clark, Charlie Vickers, Robert Aramayo and Daniel Weyman return, and Simon Pegg voices the Balrog. Episodes one to four drop together, then two more on 18 November and the final two on 25 November. The Remote broke down the season three trailer in October.
Availability: Australia and New Zealand.

Austin, season three (ABC TV and ABC iview). Michael Theo’s Austin proposes on impulse at Julian and Ingrid’s divorce party, and both families decamp to his fiancée Hayley’s family homestead for a wedding that may not survive the weekend. Ben Miller and Sally Phillips are back; Justine Clarke, Stephen Curry, Gia Carides and Roy Billing join. It starts at 9pm, and the first two seasons are already on iview.
Availability: Australia only.

Rivals, season two, part two (Disney+). The Jilly Cooper adaptation resumes with six new hour-long episodes, three of them on the first night, with David Tennant, Alex Hassell and Aidan Turner returning and Rachael Stirling and Santiago Cabrera among the new arrivals. Disney is releasing it on Disney+ in the UK and internationally.
Availability: Australia and New Zealand.

Avedon (Netflix). Ron Howard’s documentary on the photographer Richard Avedon, built from his personal archive, new interviews and footage from behind the lens.
Availability: Australia and New Zealand.

Thursday 12 November

Allen (Netflix). The lead pick this week, and a Queensland production through and through. T.J. Power plays Petey, who lost his alien best friend as a boy; 20 years later Allen comes back with a secret that could change the world, and Petey has to grow up fast to help. Charlotte Nicdao, Josh Helman, Emily Barclay and Benedict Hardie co-star. Daley Pearson created the film and directs with Jeffrey Walker. Families who have worked through Bluey and the other Australian favourites have an obvious next stop.
Availability: Australia and New Zealand.

The Empress, season three (Netflix). The final season of the period drama about Empress Elisabeth. A traumatised Franz returns from the Sardinian War, and Elisabeth, worn down by his infidelity and the court, leaves Vienna for a remote island, where she meets Count Andrássy. Devrim Lingnau Islamoğlu and Philip Froissant lead.
Availability: Australia and New Zealand.

Friday 13 November

The Good Daughter (Stan). Rose Byrne and Meghann Fahy play sisters still piecing together a violent attack from their shared past, until a new one in their small town puts Fahy’s lawyer, Charlotte, first on the scene. Karin Slaughter adapts her own novel as showrunner, Steph Green directs, and Made Up Stories produces with Fifth Season. Brendan Gleeson and Olivia Williams co-star. All six episodes arrive the same day as in the United States.
Availability: Australia (Stan is Australian only).

12 12 12 (Apple TV). Anthony Mackie plays a disgraced FBI agent and Jamie Dornan a career criminal circling a raid on a bank vault under Zurich. Every episode cuts between the 12 months of planning, the 12 hours of the job and the 12 days after. Two episodes open the eight-part season, then one a week to 25 December.
Availability: Australia and New Zealand.

Heartland (Netflix). Jessica Chastain plays Misty Jones, a former country star who leaves seclusion to search for her missing niece and finds Nashville’s darker side. Garrett Hedlund, Ross Lynch, Jennifer Nettles and John Hawkes co-star for writer and director Shana Feste.
Availability: Australia and New Zealand.

Murder in Galicia (Netflix). A three-part Spanish drama based on a real case. When Irene is brutally attacked in an apparent robbery, a Civil Guard sergeant, played by Tristán Ulloa, becomes convinced her husband is responsible.
Availability: Australia and New Zealand.

Sunday 15 November

The Chosen, season six (Prime Video). Jonathan Roumie returns as Jesus, with Shahar Isaac as Peter and Elizabeth Tabish as Mary Magdalene. Three episodes arrive on launch day, then one a week to 6 December; the finale is held for a cinema release in 2027.
Availability: Australia and New Zealand.

Elsewhere

Binge, HBO Max, TVNZ+, ThreeNow and Neon had not published a premiere for this week on their own press pages when this guide was compiled. For more on how HBO Max works in Australia, see our explainer, and last fortnight’s guide covers the earlier arrivals.