Netflix Reveals 2026 Australia-New Zealand Slate

Netflix has revealed its 2026 Australia-New Zealand slate this week.

The lineup includes several high-profile international productions that utilised Australian locations and crews. Victorian filmmaker Patrick Hughes returned home to helm “War Machine,” an action sci-fi feature shot in Bright, Myrtleford, Melbourne and Docklands Studios. The film, set during the final 24 hours of an elite military selection programme, stars Ritchson alongside Dennis Quaid, Stephan James, Jai Courtney, Esai Morales, Blake Richardson, Keiynan Lonsdale and Daniel Webber. Hughes co-wrote the screenplay with James Beaufort. Todd Lieberman and Alexander Young produce for Hidden Pictures, with Patrick Hughes and Greg McLean producing for HUGE FILM and Rich Cook for Range. It premieres March 6.

Theron toplines “Apex,” an action thriller directed by Baltasar Kormákur that filmed in the Blue Mountains and Canberra. The April 24 release, which also stars Taron Egerton and Eric Bana, follows a grieving woman testing her limits in the Australian wilderness who becomes ensnared in a deadly game. Peter Chernin, Jenno Topping and David Ready produce for Chernin Entertainment, Ian Bryce for Ian Bryce Productions, Charlize Theron, A.J. Dix and Beth Kono for Secret Menu, and Kormákur for RVK Studios.

Pugh headlines “East of Eden,” a contemporary reimagining of John Steinbeck’s classic novel shot in New Zealand. The limited series, which explores the multigenerational saga of the Trask family with renewed focus on antihero Cathy Ames, features Christopher Abbott, Mike Faist, Hoon Lee, Tracy Letts, Martha Plimpton, Ciarán Hinds, Joseph Zada and Joe Anders. Zoe Kazan serves as co-showrunner, writer and executive producer alongside co-showrunner Jeb Stuart. Garth Davis and Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre direct and executive produce, with Fifth Season and Anonymous Content producing.

The third and final season of “Heartbreak High” will premiere March 25, following Hartley High’s graduating class as they navigate a revenge prank gone wrong. The Fremantle Australia and NewBe series, created by Hannah Carroll Chapman, stars Ayesha Madon, James Majoos, Chloé Hayden, Asher Yasbincek and Thomas Weatherall.

Netflix also revealed the first look for “My Brilliant Career,” an adaptation of Miles Franklin’s iconic novel filmed in Adelaide. The series stars Philippa Northeast as Sybylla, a young woman in 1901 Australia determined to become a writer despite her family’s plans to marry her off. Liz Doran adapted and wrote the series, which is produced by Jungle Entertainment with Alyssa McClelland and Anne Renton directing.

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Additional Australian productions include “Allen,” a film from Ludo Studio (the makers of “Bluey”) starring T.J. Power, created by Daley Pearson and shot in Brisbane and the Gold Coast; and “Breakers,” the first Netflix series filmed in Western Australia. The latter, from Clerkenwell Films and BBC Studios Australia Productions, stars Antony Starr, D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, Oliver Edis and Annabel Wolfe in a drama about two American backpackers drawn into a mysterious surf community. Mary Nighy and Ng Choon Ping direct from a script by Pete Jackson.

Peter Berg’s “The Mosquito Bowl,” based on Buzz Bissinger’s book about college football stars who enlisted in the Marines following Pearl Harbor, filmed in Brisbane and the Gold Coast. The World War II drama stars Nicholas Galitzine, Bill Skarsgård, Ray Nicholson, Tom Francis, Brent Comer and Dominic Bogart, with Berg and Mark L. Smith writing. Peter Berg produces for Film 44, with Brian Grazer for Imagine Entertainment and Alex Gayner.

In unscripted, “The Golden Ticket” filmed on the Gold Coast with Eureka Productions. The competition series challenges contestants to find golden tickets and navigate games inside a retro-futuristic dreamscape inspired by Roald Dahl’s world.

The animation slate includes “Stranger Things: Tales From ’85,” produced by Sydney-based Flying Bark Productions with the Duffer Brothers executive producing, and “Steps,” a Cinderella reimagining from Netflix Animation Studios produced in Sydney with animation production shared with Vancouver. The latter features voice work from Ali Wong and Stephanie Hsu, with Amy Poehler, Jane Hartwell and Kim Lessing producing.

This is the first slate overseen by Amanda Duthie, Netflix’s newly appointed content director for the territory.

“Throughout my career, I’ve seen that local stories resonate most powerfully when they’re deeply specific, true to a character, a community or a moment in time,” Duthie said. “This 2026 slate brings together stories that differ widely in tone, scale and ambition, from every corner of the region.”

Since 2021, Netflix has invested more than AU$10 million ($7 million) in building capacity across the Australian and New Zealand screen industries through paid placements, training and development initiatives, particularly for emerging and underrepresented practitioners.