The Salisbury Poisonings
This incredible four-part series is based on the real-life 2018 assassination attempt on double agent and spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in the UK. Soon after the attack, it was discovered that a lethal nerve agent called Novichok was used, just half a teaspoon of which could kill 20,000 people, sending the local community into turmoil. Local policeman Nick Bailey (Rafe Spall) and Head of Public Health Tracy Daszkiewicz (Anne-Marie Duff) worked exclusively with producers to capture the fear, uncertainty and immense heroism of the community who ultimately rose to the challenge of overcoming a lethal contagion.
The Act
This true crime drama really shows that fact is stranger than fiction. You may have noticed in crime series lately characters having something called Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy, if you google it the story this series is based on is top of the search list. A shocking 2015 crime, it enacts what happens when daughter Gypsy (Joey King) attempts to escape the toxic relationship she has with her overprotective mother, Dee Dee Blanchard. Gypsy’s quest for independence opens a Pandora’s box of secrets, which ultimately leads to murder. Patricia Arquette won the Primetime Emmy for her performance as Dee Dee Blanchard.
The Act airs weekly on SBS VICELAND at 10.20pm from Thursday 17 June, with the full season now streaming at .
Deep Water
The drama unfolds when Detective Tori Lustigman (Yael Stone) relocates from the country to her childhood suburb of Bondi with her teenage son Will, to put the past firmly behind her and start life over. Partnered with Detective Nick Manning (Noah Taylor), they’re assigned to investigate the brutal murder of a young man whose mutilated corpse is found in an apartment. Is this murder a domestic, a robbery gone wrong or something far more sinister?
This 2016 four-part, fictional crime drama set in contemporary Bondi, is inspired by true events of the 1980s and 90s where 80 murders, 30 unsolved cases and thousands of assaults had one thing in common. The victims were all young homosexual men.
Also available:
- Feature-length documentary , presenting first-hand accounts of Sydney’s hate crime murders
- SBS cross-platform online investigation, , and
Laetitia
French crime drama Laetitia is based on a book recounting true events, directed by Oscar winner, The Staircase’s Jean-Xavier de Lestrade. The story reconstructs the hours before 18-year-old Laetitia (Marie Colomb) disappears, her overturned scooter found in front of her house early one morning. While police are certain they’ve arrested the suspect, they still haven’t found Laetitia’s body. The drama follows the repercussions on Laetitia’s family, above all on her twin sister Jessica (Sophie Breyer), but also on the inner workings of the police force, social services and the judicial system, even on the government.
Doc
What would you do if you couldn’t remember the last 12 years of your life? This high-concept series is based on the true story of Italian doctor Pierdante Piccioni. Dr Andrea Fanti (Luca Argentero) is Head of Internal Medicine at Milan’s top hospital. He’s a cold, arrogant man who believes that any emotional connection with his patients will get in the way of a proper diagnosis. He’s a man who lives for medicine, not his patients. Then a grieving parent shoots him in the head. When he wakes from his coma, he has lost the last 12 years of memories (which includes the loss of his son and the breakdown of his marriage). Perhaps this is a chance to start anew with his wife, patients and colleagues. This hit Italian series is also filled with your usual medical procedural drama and is already being looked at for a US remake.
Cacciatore: The Hunter
Cacciatore: The Hunter takes us to Palermo, Sicily in 1993. After decades of conflict between the mafia and the state, two rival bosses continue their bloody battle for dominance. But one young provincial prosecutor, Saverio Barone (Francesco Montanari) has the guts to stand up. When Barone reports his own boss, the Antimafia unit promptly appoints him.
In what became known as the ‘hunting season’, three hundred Mafiosi were taken into custody, with Barone dubbed ‘The Hunter’ for his contribution to the spectacular raids and front-page arrests that took place. Set against the sparkling scenery of Sicily, this is a stylish, beautiful, moody and violent series, bringing the untold story of Mafia hunter Alfonso Sabella to light.
Invisible Heroes
Invisible Heroes takes us to Santiago, Chile in 1973. Augusto Pinochet has just overthrown the president in a bloody military coup, throwing the populace into fear and turmoil. At the time, Tapani Brotherus was working as a Finnish diplomat and enjoying the expat lifestyle with his wife Lysa. But when people literally start climbing the walls into their compound, desperate for help, he ignores all diplomatic protocol and instructions from above, helping ensure safe passage to Europe for over 2,000 Chilean citizens.
This multilingual political thriller from Finland in collaboration with Chile is utterly captivating, highlighting what can happen when individuals choose to act from a moral rather than policy standpoint. Pelle Heikkilä () stars as Tapani, and his real-life wife Sophia Heikkilä plays Lysa.
Atlantic Crossing
Starring Kyle MacLachlan and SBS On Demand favourite Sofia Helin (Saga Noren from ), this period drama takes us to Washington, D.C. in 1940 where Crown Princess Märtha and her children are living at the White House as political refugees from Nazi-occupied Norway. Her presence there influences how President Roosevelt views the unfolding tragedy in Europe. What begins as a friendship turns into affection and turmoil when Märtha courageously speaks out against the Nazis, eventually changing the course of the war.
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