2.6 Seconds: Death in the Outback premieres on SBS and NITV in November – The four-part documentary about the fatal police shooting of Kumanjayi Walker will begin on Tuesday, 10 November 2026, at 8:30pm on SBS and NITV. The series continues on 11, 17 and 18 November, with all four episodes also coming to SBS On Demand.
The dates give Australian audiences a clear first viewing plan for a series that has already travelled internationally. TV Central reported in September that Netflix had acquired global rights ahead of the documentary’s Toronto International Film Festival premiere, with a Netflix release expected in early 2027. The immediate Australian broadcast and streaming window is SBS, NITV and SBS On Demand.
Rather than recounting the case through headlines alone, director and producer Darren Dale has assembled previously unseen police body-worn footage, community-shot material and firsthand accounts from family members, witnesses and officers. The series follows the decisions leading up to the shooting, the criminal trial and its continuing impact on Yuendumu.
What is 2.6 Seconds: Death in the Outback about?
Kumanjayi Walker, a 19-year-old Warlpiri Luritja man, was shot during an attempted arrest inside his grandmother’s home in the remote Northern Territory community of Yuendumu in November 2019. Three shots were fired, and Walker later died in police custody. NT police officer Zachary Rolfe was charged with murder and was subsequently acquitted by a jury.
The documentary examines those events and their aftermath through the experiences of people directly involved. It also addresses the broader questions of policing, race and justice raised by the case. SBS says the fourth episode culminates in a revelation, but has not disclosed that detail in advance.
Dale described the question that guided the production:
What happened in those 2.6 seconds made headlines across Australia. We wanted to take audiences inside the story, close to the people and the decisions that brought us to that moment. The unseen footage and firsthand accounts give this series an extraordinary immediacy. It’s an unflinching examination of what happened and what followed, driven by a question that stayed with me throughout: did it have to end this way?
Darren Dale, director and producer, Blackfella Films
The filmmakers say Walker’s family granted permission for the documentary to use his original name. They acknowledge the cultural protocols that ordinarily apply when referring to a deceased Aboriginal person.
Watch the 2.6 Seconds trailer
The official trailer offers a first look at the footage and interviews used in the series.
When can Australians watch the four episodes?
2.6 Seconds: Death in the Outback airs at 8:30pm on SBS and NITV on Tuesday 10 November, Wednesday 11 November, Tuesday 17 November and Wednesday 18 November. Episodes one and two become available free on SBS On Demand from 10 November. The remaining episodes are added on 17 and 18 November, respectively.
SBS says the full series will carry subtitles in Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Arabic, Vietnamese and Korean. Audio description will also be available for people who are blind or have low vision.
SBS and NITV’s companion coverage
Two editions of The Point On Country will follow the documentary on its Tuesday nights. Yuendumu – 7 Years On airs on 10 November at 9:30pm, with Samara Nangala Fernandez Brown reflecting on the community before Walker’s death and the years since. Yuendumu – Trust and Justice follows on 17 November at 9:30pm. It centres on Warlpiri Elder Uncle Ned Jampijinpa Hargraves and the community’s relationship with police.
A Living Black special, Andrew Boe – Finding Accountability, will see Karla Grant speak with the documentary’s writer and executive producer. Boe also acted as counsel for Walker’s family at the coronial inquest. SBS has not specified an air date for that special.
On Wednesday 18 November at 9:30pm, NITV’s Dan Bourchier will host Bridging The Justice Divide, a forum about the relationship between Indigenous communities, police and the justice system. It will be simulcast on SBS and NITV and stream on SBS On Demand.
SBS On Demand also has a Justice Collection of related programs. In the four-part companion vodcast We Were There, Alexis Moran will talk with journalists who reported on the case as it unfolded; its episodes are scheduled daily from 17 to 20 November. SBS plans further explainers and viewing information across its multilingual services.
Who made the documentary?
2.6 Seconds: Death in the Outback is Dale’s directorial debut. Blackfella Films produced the series in association with PAW Media as an SBS and NITV co-commission. Andrew Boe wrote it and is an executive producer alongside Jacob Hickey. Samara Nangala Fernandez Brown and Rachael Nungarrayi Hocking are associate producers.
The production received major investment from Screen Australia’s First Nations Department in association with SBS and support from Screen NSW. All3Media International is also associated with the project.
For related TV Central reporting, read our earlier story on the documentary’s international acquisition. For free Australian streaming and related programs, visit SBS On Demand.