November 2025 on SBS on Demand – highlights include The Sentinels, Noirvember, Californication, Warren’s Vortex, Cancer Killers, Malpractice, Reckless, What It Feels Like for a Girl, Vigil and Liaison.
French WWI superhuman sci-fi
The Sentinels
Australian Premiere Box Set
Saturday, 1 November on SBS On Demand
(Eight episodes)
The Sentinels is a playful historical spy, sci-fi and superhuman fantasy drama adapted from a graphic novel series.
At the outbreak of WWI, a severely wounded soldier named Gabriel Ferraud (Louis Peres) is selected for a top-secret research program headed by the French Army, which aims to create a whole new breed of combatant. After being injected with a mysterious serum, Gabriel is endowed with unprecedented abilities. Now stronger, faster, and more resistant than the average human, he joins an elite unit of augmented soldiers known as the Sentinels. But he is soon confronted with a terrifying reality that could change the course of the war.
Alongside Peres, the cast includes Thibaut Evrard as Djibouti, Kacey Mottet- Klein as De Clermont, Carl Malapa as Armand, Ouassini Embarek as Le Baron, Olivia Ross as Irène, Noam Morgensztern as Mirreau, Pauline Étienne as Marthe, Sergej Onopko as Übermensch and Nastya Golubev as Gisèle.
The series is created by Guillaume Lemans, in collaboration with Xabi Molia and written by Lemans, Molia and Raphaëlle Richet. It is based on the comic book series Les Sentinelles by Xavier Dorison and Enrique Breccia, published by Éditions Delcourt.
The Sentinels will be available to stream on SBS On Demand in French with English subtitles.
Noir dramas (not all of them Nordic)
Noirvember
Genre collection **
Saturday, 1 November 2025 on SBS On Demand
SBS On Demand celebrates Noirvember by spotlighting a collection of drama series and movies in the noir genre from around the world.
Noirvember is not just about the Nordic stories, but of course there are plenty included in the curation for first viewing or re-watching pleasure. Here are four noir dramas to consider …
Nordic Noir – Smilla’s Sense of Snow. Smilla Jaspersen (Filippa Coster-Waldau) lives in a surveillance state facing an impending energy crisis, leading a withdrawn life until she meets a young Inuit boy. The boy’s mysterious death leads her on a search for answers. The series is set in Copenhagen in 2040 when society is monitored through drones and body cams, energy is a privilege, and political tensions run high. The television adaptation of Peter Høeg’s worldwide bestseller also stars Elyas M’Barek and Henry Lloyd-Hughes and is directed by BAFTA winner Amma Asante. (Eight episodes)
Brit Noir – Virdee. Harry Virdee (Staz Nair), a Bradford detective with his personal life in crisis, must hunt down a killer targeting the Asian community. (Six episodes)
Noir Not Nordic – The Turkish Detective. Following three police inspectors, Ayse Farsakoglu (Yasemin Kaye Allen), Cetin Ikmen (Haluk Bilginer) and Mehmet Suleyman (Ethan Kai), as they solve crimes, experiencing euphoric highs and tragic lows in Istanbul. (Eight episodes)
Aussie Noir – True Colours. Detective Toni Alma ( Rarriwuy Hick) searches for a killer in the remote Aboriginal community she once called home. (Four episodes)
Comedy drama binge
Californication S1-7
Arrives across two big box set drops
Saturday, 1 November 2025 for S1-4 on SBS On Demand Saturday, 15 November 2025 S5-7 added on SBS On Demand (84 episodes)
When fast-living novelist Hank Moody (David Duchovny ) left the literary haunts of New York for the pleasure-seeking splendours of LA, he thought he’d have fame, fortune and the love of a good woman. Now his personal life is in shambles, his career is on the brink of self-destruction and he can’t stop yielding to every temptation. Golden Globe winner Duchovny stars in the series that takes viewers on a wild, witty, and sexy ride in the California fast lane.
The series also stars Natascha McElhone as Hank’s ex-girlfriend Karen and Madeleine Martin as their daughter, Evan Handler as Hank’s agent Charlie and Madeline Zima as Mia, a new arrival in Hank’s life.
Across the series there any many guest star and cameo appearances. The cast list includes Pamela Adlon, Tim Minchin, Kathleen Turner, Heather Graham, Zoe Kravitz, Rob Lowe, Rick Springfield, Sarah Wynter, Josh Gad, Amber Heard, Henry Rollins and Peter Fonda.
Time travelling comedy
Warren’s Vortex
Australian Premiere Box Set Drop
Monday, 3 November 2025 on SBS On Demand (Six episodes)
From the makers of Wellington Paranormal comes Warren’s Vortex, a mad new comedy about time travel and fatherhood. Warren is a normal Kiwi dad but there’s something very abnormal about his garden shed. It contains an interdimensional time portal. When his daughter Lucy is pulled into the portal on her 18th birthday, Warren has to jump in after her.
Starring Maaka Pohatu (who played the Sarge character on Wellington Paranormal) and rising star Louise Jiang (Camp Be Better, Sweet Tooth), the show is a romp through alternate realities with a sweet father/daughter relationship at its heart.
In each episode, Warren and Lucy jump to a new, weird reality that the vortex dumps them in before it disappears.
They soon realise that to open it again, they have to fix some sort of problem, solve a mystery or help each other out in some way. But the vortex never seems to take them back to the home they know. Each week it drops them in a reality that seems like home at first, but then it becomes obvious something more sinister and sometimes life-threatening is going on.
Is the vortex testing them? From sentient refrigerators to deadly reality game shows, to estate agent robots to brain-dead phone zombies, Warren and Lucy must navigate increasingly more bizarre versions of the Lower Hutt they came from as they try to return.
Warren’s Vortex was produced and show-run by Paul Yates who produced all four seasons of Wellington Paranormal. Michelle Turner was line producer on both shows and four of the writers also wrote episodes of Wellington Paranormal.
Warren’s Vortex will be available to stream as a box set on SBS On Demand from 3 November, with episodes airing weekly on SBS Viceland, Mondays at 10.05pm.
Powerful two-part documentary
Cancer Killers
Australian Premiere SBS Original Box Set Drop**
Tuesday, 4 November 2025 on SBS On Demand (Two episodes)
With almost one in two Australian adults set to be diagnosed with cancer by the age of 85, [i] two Australian scientists make a groundbreaking discovery that could change the future of cancer treatment forever. But bringing it to the world sends Dr Jennifer MacDiarmid and Dr Himanshu Brahmbhatt on a decades-long rollercoaster of hope, heartbreak and resilience, as they battle against impossible odds to see their vision realised.
Guided by an unshakable belief that they could change the way the world treats cancer and save millions of lives, Drs MacDiarmid and Brahmbhatt set out two decades ago to develop a bold new therapy. Shot over ten years, The Cancer Killers offers a gripping behind-the-scenes look at the relationship between science and business and reveals how difficult it is to take a scientific discovery to market, even when it has the potential to save millions of lives.
The Cancer Killers takes viewers deep inside the extraordinary world of two pioneering Australian scientists, not only in the lab, but in the boardrooms, clinics, and late-night moments where business, science and passion collide.
It’s a story of courage and conviction, of human resilience against impossible odds, where the stakes are life and death, and the finish line is hope itself.
The Cancer Killers is a Rymer Childs production for SBS. Principal production funding from Screen Australia in association with SBS.
The Cancer Killers will be available to stream as a box set on SBS On Demand on 4 November and episodes will air on SBS, Tuesdays at 9.30pm.
All episodes will be available to stream on SBS On Demand with subtitles in Arabic, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese. All episodes will also be available on SBS On Demand with audio description.
[i] Facts and figures | Cancer Council
Medical drama
Malpractice S1-2
S2 Australian Premiere Box Set Drop – 2 Seasons
Thursday, 6 November 2025 on SBS On Demand (Ten episodes)
Malpractice is an anthology drama series following doctors embroiled in medical scandals. Season 1
Dr Lucinda Edwards (Niamh Algar, Playing Nice on SBS On Demand) is a smart, battle-hardened doctor, but we meet her on a nightmare shift that ends in the death of an opioid overdose patient, Edith Owusu. Despite the support of her medical supervisor, Dr Leo Harris (James Purefoy), Edith’s grieving father Sir Anthony Owusu (Brian Bovell ), demands an inquiry into Lucinda’s actions on the fateful night. Leading the medical investigation are Dr Norma Callahan (Helen Behan) and Lucinda’s former colleague, Dr George Adjei (Jordan Kouamé).
While George feels this was an unavoidable tragedy, Norma is suspicious of Lucinda’s behaviour and decisions in the lead up to Edith’s death. As the pressure of the investigation intensifies, Lucinda’s relationship with husband Tom (Lorne MacFadyen) starts to fracture, and her confident professional exterior begins to crack. Is Lucinda hiding something? Through the cat and mouse thriller of the medical investigation, Malpractice tells the story of a damaged doctor caught up in a dangerous conspiracy.
Season 2
Tom Hughes plays Dr James Ford, a Psychiatric Registrar in a North Yorkshire hospital. His personal life is a mess, and his colleagues might find him arrogant, but he appears committed to his vulnerable patients. So, when he finds himself torn between a new mother attending a routine postnatal check -up and the sectioning of a floridly psychotic woman during a busy on-call shift, no one could predict the terrible consequences.
The medical investigators are brought in to investigate the actions of Dr Ford and uncover a hospital seemingly at war with itself. To what lengths will James go to preserve his position? Is he a doctor with a God complex or the victim of wider problems? The returning cast from the first season are Helen Behan and Jordan Kouamé and new this season are Selin Hizli (Am I Being Unreasonable? on SBS On Demand) as Dr Sophia Fernandez and Zoë Telford as Dr Kate McAllister.
Deadly funny thriller
Reckless
S2 Australian Premiere Box Set Drop
Wednesday, 12 November 2025 on SBS On Demand (Four episodes)
Get ready for Reckless, the new SBS and NITV Original where guilt, family and dysfunction collide in a wickedly funny, high-stakes thrill ride. Starring Tasma Walton (The Twelve , Mystery Road) and AACTA Award winner Hunter Page-Lochard (The Newsreader, Critical Incident), the four-part series is a bold new First Nations drama. When feuding siblings June (Walton) and Charlie (Page-Lochard) cover up a deadly hit and run in their hometown of Fremantle, their lives spiral wildly out of control. As the lies pile up, so do the consequences and soon, everyone in town has something to lose.
Fast and fearless, Reckless, written by Kodie Bedford (Mystery Road, Return to Paradise) and Stuart Page (Total Control, Cleverman) is a uniquely Australian take on crime and chaos where small-town secrets, family feuds and guilt make for explosive TV.
The outstanding cast includes Jessica De Gouw (The Couple Next Door, The Survivors), Clarence Ryan (Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, Territory, Mystery Road: Origin), Jane Harber (Offspring, Limbo) and Tracy Mann (The Twelve, Top End Bub) as well as Duncan Fellows (Deadloch, The Letdown), Perry Mooney (Population:11, Gold Diggers), Kelton Pell (Mystery Road: Origin, Redfern Now), Matthew Dyktynski (Japanese Story, Offspring), Paul Tassone (The Twelve, Pokerface), Peter Rowsthorn (Kath and Kim, Three Summers), Steve Le Marquand (The Twelve, Mystery Road: Origin) and newcomer Maddie Young.
Directed by Beck Cole (Deadloch, High Country, Wentworth), Reckless is produced by Andy Walker (Deadloch, The Survivors) and executive produced by Kylie Washington (Ghosts Australia, The Office) and Kodie Bedford, with co-executive producers Megan Palinkas (Heartbreak High, The Heights) and Beck Cole, and Fiona McConaghy (Bay of Fires S2, NCIS Sydney) serving as co-producer, Reckless is an adaptation of the Scottish mystery thriller Guilt by Neil Forsyth, produced by Expectation Entertainment and Happy Tramp North for BBC. Produced by BBC Studios Productions Australia for SBS and NITV, with major production investment from Screenwest and the Western Australian Production Attraction Incentive, Screen Australia’s First Nations Department and SBS, NITV, in association with Screen NSW.
Reckless will be available to stream as a box set on SBS On Demand from 12 October and episodes will air weekly on SBS and NITV, Wednesdays at 8.30pm.
All episodes will be available to stream on SBS On Demand with subtitles in Arabic, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese. All episodes will also be available on SBS On Demand with audio description.
Coming-of-age drama
What It Feels Like For A Girl
Australian Premiere Box Set Drop
Friday, 14 November 2025 on SBS On Demand (Eight episodes)
What It Feels Like For A Girl is a wild, anarchic Y2K spin on a coming-of-age drama, inspired by the acclaimed memoir of the same name by the award-winning writer and journalist Paris Lees.
It’s a new millennium – Madonna, Moloko and Basement Jaxx top the charts, and there’s a whole world to explore. But teenager Byron (Ellis Howard) is stuck in a small working-class town that hasn’t been the same since the coal mine shut in the 80s. Sick of mam, sick of dad, sick of being beaten up for “talkin’ like a poof”. Sick of everyone shuffling about like the living dead, going on about kitchens they’re too skint to do up and marriages they’re too scared to leave. Byron needs to get away and doesn’t care how.
Life explodes in a rush when Byron escapes to Nottingham’s kinetic underworld and discovers the East Midlands’ premier podium-dancer-cum-hellraiser, the mesmerising Lady Die (Laquarn Lewis).
Byron is adopted into Lady Die’s hilarious and chaotic family of trouble-makers – “The Fallen Divas”. Between them, they beg, steal and skank their way on a rollercoaster ride of hedonism at the heart of the UK’s early 2000s club scene. The party can’t last, though, and when Byron is seduced by bad-boy Liam (Jake Dunn), a shocking encounter occurs that will change life forever.
The series also features Laura Haddock, Hannah Jones, Alam Lynch, Adam Ali, Alex Thomas-Smith, Emma Shipp, Hannah Walters and Michael Socha.
What It Feels Like For A Girl is launching in Transgender Awareness Week – 13 to 19 November 2025.
What It Feels Like For A Girl will be available to stream as a box set on SBS On Demand from 14 November and episodes will air weekly on SBS Viceland, Fridays at 11.00pm.
Great British thriller
Vigil S2
Stream Free Box Set Drop
Thursday, 20 November 2025 on SBS On Demand (Eight episodes)
When a British Air Force weapons test goes disastrously wrong, DCI Amy Silva ( Suranne Jones) is called in to investigate. With seven military personnel dead, two from Britain’s allies in the Middle East, Amy finds herself caught in the crosshairs of a fraught international incident. The Air Force think they have the guilty party in custody and push for Amy and DI Kirsten Longacre (Rose Leslie) to close the case. But Amy isn’t convinced.
The second season cast includes Romola Garai (Suffragette on SBS On Demand) and Dougray Scott (Sherlock & Daughter on SBS On Demand).
Vigil S1 is available now on SBS On Demand,
Vigil S2 will be available to stream as a box set on SBS On Demand from 20 November and episodes will air weekly on SBS, Thursdays at 9.30pm.
French thriller
Liaison
Stream Free Box Set Drop
Sunday, 23 November 2025 on SBS On Demand (Six episodes)
Starring César Award winner Vincent Cassel and BAFTA Award winner Eva Green, Liaison is a high-stakes, contemporary thriller exploring how the mistakes of the past have the potential to destroy the future, combining action with an unpredictable, multilayered plot where espionage and political intrigue play out against a story of passionate and enduring love.
The action hurtles from the Élysée Palace in Paris to the Home Office in London, and to Brussels’ European Quarter from the ravaged suburbs of Damascus to a refugee camp in Belgium, as one woman must uncover whether she can save her country from catastrophe without losing herself in the process.
When a series of suspected cyber-attacks target London and the Thames barrier is breached, it causes the capital to flood. Alison Rowdy (Green), private secretary to the Minister for Security at the Home Office, is leading the government’s response when another attack hits the rail network and a suspect emerges in Gabriel Delage (Cassel), an operative hired by a French company to locate two Syrian hackers and retrieve the vital information they hold.
Gabriel also happens to have been Alison’s lover 20 years ago, which is further complicated by the fact that Alison’s fiancé, Albert (Daniel Francis) — a barrister —is unaware of their history and has been tasked with revoking Gabriel’s diplomatic immunity and arresting him on UK soil.
In an elaborate game of chess, Gabriel and Alison race against the clock and across borders to uncover the conspiracy, but not without their past intruding on the present as Alison’s loyalties are tested — to her fiancé, to her country and to herself.
The series also stars Peter Mullan, César Award winner Gérard Lanvin, Stanislas Merhar, Irène Jacob, Laëtitia Eido, Eriq Ebouaney, BAFTA rising star Bukky Bakray and Emmy Award winner Thierry Frémont.
Liaison was produced with a mix of English and French dialogue and the series will be available to stream on SBS On Demand with English subtitles.
November 2025 on SBS on Demand
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November 2025 on SBS on Demand
