Classic Australian tv shows
by cass-letton80 | created - 23 Jul 2019 | updated - 23 Jul 2019 | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. A Town Like Alice (1981)
301 min | Drama, Romance, War
Set against the brutal chaos of World War II, a love story begins that will take two lovers through a living nightmare of captivity, across three continents and two decades.
Stars: Helen Morse, Bryan Brown, Gordon Jackson, John Lee
Votes: 1,057
2. Eureka Stockade (1984)
190 min | Drama
A miniseries on the Eureka Rebellion in Australia back in 1854
Stars: Bryan Brown, Bill Hunter, Carol Burns, Amy Madigan
Votes: 64
3. The Shiralee (1987)
Not Rated | 180 min | Drama, Family
Macauley is a swagman who finds himself in charge of his young daughter, Buster. The pair hike across the harsh outback landscape, in an attempt to repair their relationship and find a home.
Stars: Bryan Brown, Noni Hazlehurst, Rebecca Smart, Lewis Fitz-Gerald
Votes: 464
4. The Sullivans (1976–1983)
30 min | Drama
Follows the Sullivan family from Melbourne, Australia during the Second World War.
Stars: Paul Cronin, Steven Tandy, Reg Gorman, Vikki Hammond
Votes: 525
5. Elly & Jools (1990)
25 min | Fantasy, Comedy, Adventure
After their home is robbed for the third time, the Trevaller family relocates from Sydney to the small town of Waterloo Creek, where Jools Trevaller encounters Elly - a Ghost.
Stars: Rebecca Smart, Clayton Williamson, Abigail, Dennis Miller
Votes: 68
6. Heartbreak High (1994–1999)
TV-MA | 50 min | Drama, Romance
A crash course in the turbulence of being a teen is always on the schedule for the students at Hartley High School in this 1990s series set in Sydney.
Stars: Callan Mulvey, Lara Cox, Emma Roche, Ada Nicodemou
Votes: 3,585
7. All Saints (1998–2009)
TV-MA | 60 min | Drama
A drama series centred on the lives of the nurses at All Saints Western General Hospital.
Stars: Judith McGrath, Georgie Parker, Tammy Macintosh, Martin Lynes
Votes: 1,633
8. Water Rats (1996–2001)
TV-14 | 60 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Beneath its surface exists a playground for the murky underworld, pollution hazards, the remnants of huge drug hauls, and a graveyard of bodies from years of suicides, accidents and murders. That's the world of the WATER RATS.
Stars: Brett Partridge, Peter Bensley, Toni Scanlan, Jay Laga'aia
Votes: 1,150
9. Blue Heelers (1994–2006)
TV-14 | 60 min | Action, Crime, Drama
The series primarily focuses on the daily lives of Victorian police officers working at a police station in the fictional small town of Mount Thomas.
Stars: Julie Nihill, John Wood, Martin Sacks, Paul Bishop
Votes: 1,691
10. The Flying Doctors (1986–1992)
50 min | Drama
Follows the lives of a group of medical professions working for the Flying Doctors Service in the remote Australian outback.
Stars: Lenore Smith, Maurie Fields, Robert Grubb, Val Jellay
Votes: 1,039
11. A Country Practice (1981–1993)
60 min | Drama, Romance
The highs and lows of the Wandin Valley residents, from the patients and staff at the rural town's hospital, to the locals and their everyday lives.
Stars: Shane Porteous, Brian Wenzel, Lorrae Desmond, Joyce Jacobs
Votes: 696
12. Snowy River: The McGregor Saga (1994–1996)
TV-PG | 60 min | Drama, Western
Inspired by Banjo Paterson's famous poem, The Man from Snowy River, this series is about cattle rancher Matt McGregor, his family, and their neighbours in the township of Paterson's Ridge in Australia's Snowy Mountains.
Stars: Andrew Clarke, Brett Climo, Guy Pearce, Sheryl Munks
Votes: 971
13. Always Greener (2001–2003)
50 min | Comedy, Drama
Every city-dweller daydreams sometimes about dropping out of the rat-race and moving to the country. Every country-dweller wonders what it might be like to try their luck in the "Big Smoke"... See full summary »
Stars: John Howard, Anne Tenney, Michala Banas, Daniel Bowden
Votes: 331
14. Glitch (2015–2019)
TV-MA | 45 min | Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi
Seven people return from the dead with no memory and attempt to unveil what brought them to the grave in the first place.
Stars: Patrick Brammall, Emma Booth, Sean Keenan, Hannah Monson
Votes: 21,071
15. All the Rivers Run (1983–1990)
400 min | Adventure, Drama, Romance
Orphaned after a shipwreck off the Victorian coast of Australia, the beautiful and spirited Philadelphia Gordon finds both love and adventure aboard a paddle-steamer on the Murray River.
Stars: Sigrid Thornton, John Waters, Darius Perkins, John Alansu
Votes: 712
16. The Last Outlaw (1980)
380 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
Australia's most famous bushranger, Ned Kelly.
Stars: John Jarratt, Steve Bisley, Elaine Kussack, John Ley
Votes: 138
17. The Man from Snowy River (1982)
PG | 102 min | Adventure, Drama, Romance
In 1880s Australia, after young Jim Craig's father dies, he takes a job at the Harrison cattle ranch, where he is forced to become a man.
Director: George Miller | Stars: Kirk Douglas, Tom Burlinson, Terence Donovan, Tommy Dysart
Votes: 10,031 | Gross: $20.66M
18. The Boy in the Bush (1984)
45 min | Adventure, Drama, History
In the 1880s, Jack Grant, a young Englishman, has been sent by his parents to make a new life in the pioneering colony of Western Australia.
Stars: Kenneth Branagh, Sigrid Thornton, Steve Bisley, Jon Blake
Votes: 33
19. The Lighthorsemen (1987)
PG | 131 min | Drama, History, War
In 1917 when the British forces are bogged down in front of the Turkish and German lines in Palestine they rely on the Australian light horse regiment to break the deadlock.
Director: Simon Wincer | Stars: Peter Phelps, Nick Waters, John Larking, Jack Heywood
Votes: 2,022
20. Return to Snowy River (1988)
PG | 99 min | Adventure, Drama, Western
Young Jim Craig returns to his home in the Australian high country. He finds that things are not as he left them - his girlfriend, Jessica, is being pursued by another man, and her father, Harrison, doesn't want him back into her life.
Director: Geoff Burrowes | Stars: Tom Burlinson, Sigrid Thornton, Brian Dennehy, Nicholas Eadie
Votes: 2,802 | Gross: $13.69M
21. Paradise (1988–1990)
60 min | Western
In 1890 in the town of Paradise, a professional gunfighter is forced to take custody of his sister's four children and retire to a farm and a quiet life. Nevertheless, he is often called upon by residents to defend them from lawlessness.
Stars: Lee Horsley, Jenny Beck, Matthew Newmark, Brian Lando
Votes: 552
22. SeaChange (1998–2019)
TV-14 | 60 min | Comedy, Drama
A big city lawyer is prompted to undergo a 'seachange' with her children and becomes the magistrate at the small coastal town of Pearl Bay, where the family comes to love its people and the quality time with each other.
Stars: John Howard, Sigrid Thornton, Kerry Armstrong, Kevin Harrington
Votes: 1,200
23. The Heartbreak Kid (1993)
97 min | Drama
A first-year teacher in the suburbs of Melbourne starts to have second thoughts about her future when she develops a bond with a teenage student.
Director: Michael Jenkins | Stars: Claudia Karvan, Alex Dimitriades, Steve Bastoni, Nick Lathouris
Votes: 683
24. Snowy (1993)
50 min | Drama
The family lives of those working on Australia's Snowy Mountains dam in the 1950s.
Stars: Lucy Bell, Bernard Curry, Rebecca Gibney, Jochen Horst
Votes: 34
25. Ocean Girl (1994–1997)
TV-Y7 | 25 min | Action, Adventure, Family
Set against the beauty of Far North Queensland, Ocean Girl is the story of Neri, a mysterious young girl from the ocean, who is discovered by the young inhabitants of an underwater research colony.
Stars: Marzena Godecki, David Hoflin, Jeffrey Walker, Alex Pinder
Votes: 1,990
26. Kath & Kim (2002–2007)
TV-MA | 26 min | Comedy
A mother, her daughter, and their respective "hunks of spunk" negotiate life in suburban Australia.
Stars: Jane Turner, Gina Riley, Glenn Robbins, Peter Rowsthorn
Votes: 5,095
27. The Girl from Tomorrow (1991–1992)
23 min | Adventure, Drama, Family
In the year 3000, Alana is kidnapped by evil Silverthorn, after a time travel experiment goes wrong. He takes Alana to the year 1990. With the help of Jenny Kelly and family, Alana must find Silverthorn before the time capsule leaves.
Stars: Katharine Cullen, Melissa Marshall, James Findlay, Andrew Clarke
Votes: 1,312
28. Spellbinder (1995–1997)
TV-Y7 | 24 min | Adventure, Family, Fantasy
When a prank at a school camp goes drastically wrong, 15-year-old Paul Reynolds is blasted into an alternative reality and has to try to find a way home.
Stars: Zbych Trofimiuk, Gosia Piotrowska, Brian Rooney, Michela Noonan
Votes: 2,356
29. Spit MacPhee (1988)
60 min | Drama
The authorities want to take Spit MacPhee (Philip Hancock) away from his grandfather, Fyfe MacPhee (Sir John Mills), and put him in a children's home, but the young whippersnapper has other ideas.
Stars: John Mills, Philip Hancock, John Bach, Elspeth Ballantyne
Votes: 21
30. Mystery at Castle House (1982)
80 min | Adventure, Crime, Family
A trio of kids have many exciting adventures while exploring a spooky mansion in the hope of finding their missing friends.
Director: Peter Maxwell | Stars: Simone Buchanan, Jeremy Shadlow, Scott Nicholas, Aileen Britton
Votes: 70
31. High Country (1984 TV Movie)
93 min | Drama
Following the death of his wife, mountain cattleman, Ben Lomax leaves the high country but is forced to return when he learns his prize stallion is to be run in a race that will break him.
Director: Bill Hughes | Stars: John Waters, Tom Oliver, Terry Serio, Simone Buchanan
Votes: 21
32. The Flying Doctors (1985)
267 min | Drama, Romance
Follows the lives of those in the Australian outback flying-doctor service.
Stars: Andrew McFarlane, Lorna Patterson, Keith Eden, Vikki Hammond
Votes: 177
33. Hey Dad..! (1987–1994)
23 min | Comedy
This is Australia's longest-running comedy series, following the hilarious adventures of top architect Martin Kelly, who gives up his business to raise his three children. And the kid next door, Nudge.
Stars: Julie McGregor, Robert Hughes, Sarah Monahan, Christopher Truswell
Votes: 391
34. Brides of Christ (1991)
Drama
Diane, a young woman growing up in Australia in the mid 1960s, walks away from her fiancé to join a convent after being sure she has a calling to the faith. The Catholic Church and its ... See full summary »
Stars: Brenda Fricker, Sandy Gore, Josephine Byrnes, Lisa Hensley
Votes: 701
35. Packed to the Rafters (2008–2013)
TV-14 | 60 min | Comedy, Drama, Family
Meet Dave and Julie Rafter: just your average Australians with three adult children. On the eve of their 25th wedding anniversary it seems that they're about to have their house to themselves at long last.
Stars: Rebecca Gibney, Erik Thomson, Michael Caton, George Houvardas
Votes: 2,520
36. All Together Now (1991–1993)
25 min | Comedy
One-time Rock'n'Roll star Bobby Rivers discovers he has 15-year-old twins when his former lover dies in a plane crash. They and Tracy, the woman who looked after them when their mother was travelling the world, move in with him.
Stars: Jon English, Steven Jacobs, Jane Hall, Bruno Lucia
Votes: 250
37. Stingers (1998–2004)
60 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Stingers reveals the shadowy and ambiguous world of undercover cops - people with covert lives and constantly changing identities. They are the police who defeat crime from within the criminal world.
Stars: Peter Phelps, Kate Kendall, Anita Hegh, Ian Stenlake
Votes: 612
38. McLeod's Daughters (2001–2009)
TV-14 | 45 min | Drama, Romance
Estranged sisters Claire and Tess are reunited after 20 years when they inherit their family's cattle station, "Drover's Run", in the outback of South Australia, following their father's death.
Stars: Aaron Jeffery, Rachael Carpani, Simmone Mackinnon, Bridie Carter
Votes: 6,661
39. Upper Middle Bogan (2013–2016)
TV-14 | 30 min | Comedy
Middle class woman, Bess Denyar, discovers she's adopted. She's shocked to find her birth parents head up a drag racing team in the outer suburbs.
Stars: Annie Maynard, Patrick Brammall, Robyn Malcolm, Michala Banas
Votes: 2,598
40. Rush (2008–2011)
TV-MA | 45 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
They are trained to be smarter, tactically superior and technologically advantaged - Melbourne's answer for a cutting edge trend in policing worldwide.
Stars: Rodger Corser, Callan Mulvey, Nicole da Silva, Ashley Zukerman
Votes: 1,999
41. Pizza (2000–2019)
Comedy
The show focuses on the activities of Pauly and his fellow co-workers as they deliver pizzas for "Fat Pizza", the Sydney-based pizzeria of Bobo Gigliotti, whose slogan is "they're big and they're cheesy".
Stars: Paul Fenech, John Boxer, Annalise Braakensiek, Paul Nakad
Votes: 628
42. Puberty Blues (2012–2014)
Unrated | 45 min | Comedy, Drama
Teen best friends Debbie and Sue grow up and find love and freedom on the beaches of Sydney's Sutherland Shire during the tumultuous 1970s.
Stars: Brenna Harding, Ashleigh Cummings, Sean Keenan, Charlotte Best
Votes: 2,246
43. The Secret Life of Us (2001–2006)
60 min | Drama
This iconic Australian series follows eight people living in St Kilda, Melbourne who are all looking for the same thing - love, sex, romance, success - and anything else that's worth going after.
Stars: Deborah Mailman, David Tredinnick, Samuel Johnson, Sibylla Budd
Votes: 1,479
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