Heartbreak High is back for one last time, My Brilliant Career gets a fresh spin and global heavyweights are heading down under as Netflix maps out its 2026 plans for Australia and New Zealand.
The streamer yesterday unveiled a wide ranging slate spanning scripted series, feature films, unscripted formats and animation, combining homegrown stories with major international productions filmed across the region.
Leading the charge in her first major outing for the streamer is newly appointed Content Director ANZ Amanda Duthie, formerly of Stan, who has taken over from Que Minh Luu and will oversee the local slate from 2026.
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Duthie said the lineup reflects the strength and specificity of stories from across the region.
“Our region plays a unique dual role as both the home of powerful local stories and a production base for ambitious global projects, and those two realities strengthen each other.”
Amanda Duthie, Netflix Content Director ANZ, at the 2026 What’s Next showcase in Sydney yesterday (image – supplied)
Aussie stories, Aussie voices
The 2026 slate kicks off with the return of one of Australia’s most culturally resonant contemporary series. The third and final season of Heartbreak High premieres on Netflix on March 25, following Hartley High’s graduating class as they say goodbye school, hello adulthood. Set and filmed in Sydney, the final chapter is one last wild ride.
From the school corridors of Heartbreak High to a foundational work of Australian literature, Netflix will also debut a first look at My Brilliant Career, a series adaptation of Miles Franklin’s iconic novel. Filmed in South Australia, the series centres on Sybylla (Phillipa Northeast), a shockingly modern young woman with one searing ambition: to be a writer. With an irrepressible taste for fun, the choice between adventure and a safe marriage is easy, until she falls in love. Should Sybylla marry, or should she throw herself to the winds of fate and risk a creative life?
The feature film Allen is a heartwarming tale of friendship and adventure, created by Ludo Studio, the makers of hit animation Bluey and the award-winning live action series, Thou Shall Not Steal. Set against the backdrop of a Queensland coastal town, the film follows Petey, played by T.J. Power, who reunites with his long-lost best friend, Allen, 20 years later.
Breakers, led by Antony Starr, alongside Oliver Edis, Annabel Wolfe and D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, is the first Netflix series to shoot on the coast of Western Australia, and follows the story of two backpacking friends who are drawn into a close-knit surf community. From the makers of Baby Reindeer, the series explores power, loyalty and belonging, with the Busselton beachfront as the backdrop of a fictional town. The cast also includes Heartbreak High alumni Asher Yasbincek, Sherry-Lee Watson and Brodie Townsend.
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Amanda Duthie with the Ludo Studio team, including Daley Pearson, as they spotlight upcoming feature film Allen at Netflix’s 2026 slate event (image – supplied)
Global stories, made in our backyard
Australia and New Zealand continue to be home to global productions that draw on local talent, crews and locations.
War Machine brings large-scale action, with Victorian filmmaker Patrick Hughes returning home to make a high-intensity feature in his home state. Set over the final 24 hours of an elite military selection programme, the film combines relentless momentum with a strong ensemble cast including Alan Ritchson, Dennis Quaid and Jai Courtney.
Set and made in the Australian wilderness, Apex is an adrenaline-pumping thriller starring Charlize Theron and Taron Egerton that follows a grieving woman suddenly ensnared in a deadly game with a ruthless predator.
The Mosquito Bowl is based on the true story of four college football stars who enlist in the Marines following the attack on Pearl Harbor. Led by Nicholas Galitzine and Bill Skarsgård and directed by Peter Berg, the World War II drama was filmed on the Gold Coast, Queensland.
East of Eden brings a different register to the slate, reimagining John Steinbeck’s classic novel through a contemporary lens. Shot in New Zealand, the limited series places renewed focus on character and moral complexity.
The scene inside Netflix’s Sydney showcase as the streamer unveiled its 2026 Australia and New Zealand slate of local stories and global productions (image – supplied)
Wonka: The Golden Ticket, an unscripted series filmed on the Gold Coast by Eureka Productions, showcases another side of what Australia can deliver: technically ambitious, imaginative and built with extraordinary craft. Set inside a retro-futuristic dreamscape, this high-stakes social experiment challenges players physically and mentally as they navigate games, tests and temptations designed to probe their instincts, resilience, and ability to thrive in chaos.
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Stranger Things: Tales From ’85 is a world-extending animated series made by Sydney-based Flying Bark Productions, in which the original characters must fight new monsters and unravel a paranormal mystery terrorising their town.
And finally, Steps, an animated film from Netflix Animation Studios produced in Sydney (sharing animation production with Vancouver), brings a fresh twist to a classic fairytale. Think you know Cinderella’s “evil” stepsisters? Think again! When misunderstood Lilith (Ali Wong) is blamed for hijacking the Royal Ball with a stolen magic wand, she accidentally turns her sister Margot (Stephanie Hsu) into a frog and leaves the kingdom in the hands of a prince-obsessed mean girl. Now Lilith must team up with Cinderella (and a surprisingly dreamy troll) to save the kingdom, repair the fractured fairytale, and prove that even so-called villains deserve a shot at happily-ever-after.
Duthie added that the projects highlight the depth of Australian creativity and the skills developed across these productions.
“The slate offers a snapshot of where Australian storytelling stands today and a glimpse of where it can go next.”
Since 2021, Netflix says it has invested more than AU$10 million into paid placements, training and development initiatives across the Australian and New Zealand screen industries, supporting emerging and underrepresented practitioners.
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