Distinctive stories, films and food: Lunar New Year across the SBS network

SBS celebrates Lunar New Year 2023 with diverse content in multiple languages across the network, including podcasts, cult films, and documentary, culinary travel and special recipe collections.

Source: SBS / Joy Li

Celebrate the Year of the Rabbit and the Cat wherever you are across the country with a range of programming and activities on offer across the SBS network in the lead-up to and throughout Lunar New Year. 

SBS’s line-up includes documentaries, dramas, movies, food programs and recipes, with a wide range of programs at SBS On Demand, extensive coverage across SBS Radio, and much more. You can also find in-depth articles and more at the Lunar New Year webpage.  

SBS is ringing in the Lunar New Year with a distinctive line-up of programming  from 16 January to 5 February to celebrate diverse cultures, traditions and food, and encourage all Australians to be part of this special time of year observed by more than 1.5 billion people around the world. Welcoming the Year of the Rabbit and Cat, content will be available in more than nine languages including Cantonese, English, Filipino, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Nepali and Vietnamese to showcase the breadth and diversity of celebrations.

Everyone can get involved in the celebrations with SBS, including getting out in the community with SBS’s Guide for 2023 Lunar New Year Celebrations across Australia (in English and Cantonese) and finding out which classic Lunar New Year dish you should try using SBS’s fun Instagram filter.

 

Explore the Lunar New Year programs by channel:

SBS Radio

SBS Radio’s cross-platform audio offerings in-language, across broadcast radio, digital and podcasting,will feature cultural explainers, such as understanding the difference between the Year of the Rabbit and Cat, learning the Korean Sabae bow; intimate storytelling about traditions and folklore, such as the symbolism of the yellow blooms for Vietnamese-Australians and the art of feng shui; talkback radio and interviews with experts; food podcasts; and fun competitions and give-aways.  

Music station SBS PopAsia will run Lunar New Year playlists for Mandopop, V-Pop, Cantopop and K-Pop on Sunday 22 January (at 10am, 12pm, 3pm and 8pm respectively) and other times through the week, while SBS Radio 1 will treat listeners to an early-morning C-pop session from 21 January to 5 February, from 6am to 7am.

SBS on Demand

The Lunar New Year collection at SBS On Demand is bursting with choices, with more than 130 specially selected movies, plus a range of drama series, documentaries and food shows. From the multi-award winning Korean dark comedy Parasite and acclaimed Japanese award-winner Drive My Car (plus newly arrived Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy, also by director Ryusuke Hamaguchito) to martial arts and action adventures including Shadow, Knockout and Sword Master, the movies offer something for everyone. Look out, too, for a brace of new films arriving on 20 January. Or settle in for a series: there's 48 episodes to enjoy in historical drama The Longest Day in Chang'an; the full three seasons of Chinese-Australian comedy The Family Law; and more Australian-made drama in New Gold Mountain and The Unusual Suspects. Look out, too, for new Korean series Cleaning Up, which starts with a double-episode launch on Thursday 19 January, with new episodes then arriving at SBS On Demand weekly. 

SBS

Great Wall Of China: The Hidden Story, Sunday 22 January, 7.30pm

The Great Wall is the spectacular historic embodiment of China stretching thousands of miles across barren deserts and treacherous mountains before finally plunging into the sea. The wall, the symbol of China itself, has been the focus of much of remarkable archaeological activity. As new discoveries on the Great Wall are revealed, our understanding of this amazing structure and its origins, functions and significance - both as a political border, a statement of power and a military defence line - continues to grow.

SBS VICELAND

League of Gods, Wednesday 18 January, 11.30pm

Based on the 16th-century Chinese novel The Investiture of the Gods, the film features a star-studded cast including Jet Li, Tony Leung Ka-Fai, Louis Koo, Fan Bingbing, Huang Xiaomingm and Angelababy. In a long-ago war for the Middle Kingdon, a group set out to find the fabled Sword of Light. Each born with strange powers, the team is confronted with their own respective fears that threaten to endanger the quest. On their risky journey for the Sword, the first challenge is to overcome their fears.

New Year's Day Marathon, Sunday 22 January from noon

Watch a The Family Law S3 marathon from noon, followed by Finnish-Chinese film Master Cheng at 4.35pm, documentary China’s New Silk Road: Yiwu to Madridat 6.35pm and The Donut King, the story of the rise, fall and redemption of a Cambodian refugee turned businessman, at 9.20pm. 

SBS World Movies

Better Days (Mandarin), Sunday January 22, 10.20pm

Source: SBS World Movies

A high school student (played by Zhou Dongyu) bullied by a group of girls and the young street thug who becomes her protector (Jackson Yee) are the prime suspects in the murder of a teenage girl, who was the student's academic rival for the state Gaokao exam.

Better Days will be streaming at SBS On Demand for 30 days after it airs. 

 

The Fortress (Korean), Thursday 26 January, 11.30pm

Directed by Hwang Dong-hyuk, the creator of the Netflix series Squid Game, The Fortress is an epic historical drama based on real-life events. In 1636, King Injo and his retainers seek refuge in a fortress as Qing dynasty forces from China invade Korea. The situation grows desperate as the king's advisers debate what course to take - should they negotiate, or keep fighting? 

The Fortress is also streaming at SBS On Demand.

PLUS

Focus on Jackie Chan, Monday 23 January to Friday 27 January, 9.30pm

SBS showcases five films from the master, kicking off with Drunken Master on Monday 23 January, with Drunken Master II, Jackie Chan's First Strike, Bleeding Steel  and Kung Fu Yoga following across the week. You can also dive into more of his famed films, streaming now at SBS On Demand.

SBS Food

Exploring baked bao in 'Eat China' Source: SBS Food

Enjoy two weeks of special Lunar New Year programming on SBS Food (Channel 33), weekdays from Monday 16 January to Friday 27 January, 4.30pm to 6pm. In new short-form series Please Eat Slowly, airing at various times across the two weeks, chef Victor Liong, owner of Melbourne Chinese restaurant Lee Ho Fook, talks about and makes a series of dishes; and in new 11-part series Eat China, which starts on Tuesday 24 January at 5.30pm, host Clarissa Wei dives into the huge variety of flavours and techniques that make up Chinese food, and travels across China to uncover the country's signature dishes, from bao to rice noodle rolls. Plus there's some of our favourite hosts sharing their travels in Destination Flavour China, Luke Nguyen's Railway Vietnam, and Adam and Poh's Malaysia in Australia. 

And for recipes to fill your Lunar New Year meals and stories highlighting the dishes and traditions of this special time of year, visit the SBS Food website and the Lunar New Year recipe collection. 

 

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