SBS Digital Originals reveals nine shortlisted Australian projects – SBS, NITV and Screen Australia have named nine projects for the first development round of Digital Originals 2026, choosing teams from more than 180 applications across the country.
The shortlist spans family drama, horror, comedy and science fiction. For viewers, it is an early look at the Australian stories that could eventually join the Digital Originals collection on SBS On Demand. Shortlisting is a development step. None of the nine series has a production commitment or screening date.
That distinction matters because the scheme has a selective next stage. All nine teams will attend a development workshop with SBS, NITV and Screen Australia. Industry mentors will help them refine their pitches. Up to five projects will receive further development funding. Up to three scripted series may then progress to production.
The nine Digital Originals 2026 projects
Boychick centres on an ultra-Orthodox rabbi’s child who comes out as transgender only weeks before their Bat Mitzvah, prompting a crisis within the community. The creative team is Ben Strum, Carly Brand and Bec Gallo.
Foul Play follows a Muslim theatre wunderkind whose marriage appears to be unravelling on opening night of her long-awaited comeback show. Two mistresses and a missing husband complicate the performance. Meanwhile, the critics expect her to fail. Hebah Ali and Mohammad Awad are behind the project.
Fourteen Straws and Eighteen Eggs begins five years after friends Maddy and Leo froze their eggs and sperm following a breakup and cancer respectively. Now single and in their 30s, they must decide what parenthood means to them. They must also decide what to do with their frozen DNA. Marisa Nanakhorn-Brown and Alberto Di Troia make up the team.
Liars is about a would-be comedian who discovers she may be able to save her father’s life by donating stem cells. Back home, she considers telling him the truth about her life. His illness makes that honesty difficult. The team comprises Urvi Majumdar, Sheila Jayadev and Nicole Reddy.
Science fiction, friendship and horror
RORRIM takes an Aboriginal scientist into a secret underground research facility. A long-denied promotion prompts him to use forbidden technology. He meets a parallel version of himself, but that reflection becomes his greatest threat. Jared Langmaid and Joseph Meldrum are the creators.
Saplings follows two teenage best mates who live by the rule that brothers do not snitch. A home invasion tests that loyalty and forces them to choose between protecting each other and telling the truth. Hannah Belanszky and Chloe Rickard are attached.
That F**cker Next Door is a dark comedy about Grace, a former party girl struggling to accept that she is disabled, and her cantankerous neighbour Ed. Social worker Mabel joins them as they navigate disability, dementia and grief. Together, they build an unlikely chosen family. Its team is Anthea Williams, Nancy Denis, Huna Amweero and Chidiebube Uba.
Old Mate pairs a gay millennial with the terminally ill 85-year-old living next door. Each assumes the worst of the other, but their neighbourly feud gradually forces them to look beneath those assumptions. Samuel Leighton-Dore, Bradley Tennant and Steve Anthopoulos form the creative team.
The Empty Cradle turns Karra and Luke’s anticipation of their first child into psychological horror. Visions invade their dream home and unsettle their grip on reality. Can they protect the family they have long wanted? Lilla Berry, Matthew Denieuwe and Pearl Berry are behind it.
What happens next
The shortlisted teams will work with mentors including Rachel Perkins (The Australian Wars), Mithila Gupta (Four Years Later), Clare Atkins (Flower and Flour) and Julie Kalceff (First Day). The sessions will sharpen the stories. Then each team can pitch to the commissioning partners.
Digital Originals began in 2019 to support original scripted work from communities underrepresented in the Australian screen industry. It supports First Nations and culturally diverse creatives, along with disabled, female, gender-diverse, LGBTQ+ and regional talent. That support extends on screen and behind the camera. The current shortlist continues a seven-year partnership between SBS, NITV and Screen Australia.
SBS Head of Scripted and Industry Partnerships Nakul Legha said the scheme was designed to find talent and stories that belong on screen.
Digital Originals exists to unearth extraordinary talent and bold stories that belong on screen. Seeing our creatives earn global recognition and build brilliant careers is a testament to the power of this initiative. We’re proud to carry that legacy forward and thrilled to collaborate with this year’s cohort to bring their vital stories to life.
Nakul Legha, SBS Head of Scripted and Industry Partnerships
NITV Head of Indigenous Commissioning and Production Dena Curtis emphasised the pathway for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander storytellers.
Digital Originals provides an important pathway for First Nations creatives to develop their craft, build industry connections and bring their stories to screen. Supporting new generations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander storytellers is vital to ensuring our stories are told with cultural authority and reach audiences in meaningful ways. We’re excited to see the strength and diversity of talent in this year’s cohort and help these creatives take the next step in their careers.
Dena Curtis, NITV Head of Indigenous Commissioning and Production
Screen Australia Director of Narrative Content Louise Gough welcomed the range of voices in the new cohort.
Congratulations to this year’s cohort who reflect the bold, unique voices that have become the hallmark of Digital Originals. We look forward to collaborating with these teams, supporting them to realise their creative visions and bring distinctive new stories to Australian audiences.
Louise Gough, Screen Australia Director of Narrative Content
A record of projects reaching audiences
The latest released Digital Original, AP Pobjoy’s family drama Homebodies, stars Claudia Karvan and was produced by Cyna Strachan. It became the first trans-centred story to win a Logie Award. The series also screened in official competition at France’s 2026 Series Mania festival, where it received a Special Mention in the short-form competition.
Other projects show the breadth of the initiative. Moonbird won a Rockie Award and was selected for Series Mania. Appetite premiered at Canneseries and received a Rose d’Or nomination. Night Bloomers won an Australian Writers’ Guild Award for Best Web Series. Latecomers premiered at Canneseries and later won an AACTA Award for Best Online Drama or Comedy, while A Beginner’s Guide to Grief won an AACTA Award for Best Digital Series.
Digital Originals alumni have also moved into larger Australian productions. Vidya Rajan wrote on SBS drama The Airport Chaplain, while Appetite creator Mohini Herse worked as set-up director on Four Years Later. Latecomers producer Liam Heyen and director Madeleine Gottlieb continued their collaboration on Erotic Stories. Stevie Cruz-Martin later directed Safe Home, Corrie Chen and Michelle Law developed further projects after Homecoming Queens, and Dylan River directed Robbie Hood.
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The pipeline is not limited to the newly announced shortlist. SBS and NITV say Miss Sultanah and Fish Boi will premiere in the coming months. Mangrove Mansion, Tantrum and Pretty Deadly are also forthcoming, taking the collection from the mangroves of Magandjin to Melbourne’s comedy scene and a supernatural nail salon in Nipaluna. Further dates have not been announced in this update.
For earlier coverage, read TV Central’s report on the return of Digital Originals. The Digital Originals collection on SBS On Demand includes projects already available to watch.