Road trips, wrestling and '80s nostalgia: January is a wild ride on SBS VICELAND

And the adventure doesn't end there: there's also lost treasure, chart-topping anthems, and all the action of the Dakar Rally 2023.

‘The Last Overland: Singapore to London’. Source: Grammar Productions

The Curse of Oak Island

Rick and Marty Lagina in 'The Curse of Oak Island'. Source: Brendan George Ko

You might think that after years of searching, brothers Rick and Marty Lagina might be flagging. Surely if there was something to be found on Oak Island, they and their band of determined treasure hunters would have found it by now? Quite the opposite, as the opening episode of season 9 shows. There was so much unearthed in season 8 that not all of it made it to the screen – but some of those finds are exactly what got the team very excited about continuing. So the new season opens with a look at those finds – and soon, the words "gold" and "silver" are floating around in discussions, and the experts are giving the brothers plenty of reasons to keep digging. (Fans of treasure hunting should also note: season 2 of Lost Gold of World War II starts Sunday 15 January on SBS VICELAND.) 

The new season of The Curse of Oak Island airs as double episodes at 8.30pm Thursdays from 29 December. Episodes will be available at SBS On Demand after they air. 

Big Fat Quiz of The Year

Big Fat Quiz of the Year 2022 Source: BFQ

Question master Jimmy Carr is joined by a panel of celebrity guests for a quiz that will make you laugh, scratch your head, and say 'was that THIS year? Blimey.' Joining him to battle out who knows what are Richard Ayoade, Katherine Ryan, Maisie Adam, Stephen Merchant, Rose Matafeo and Jonathan Ross.

See Big Fat Quiz of the Year 2022 Sunday 1 January at 7.30pm on SBS and also Saturday 7 January at 8.30pm on SBS VICELAND. It is now streaming at SBS On Demand.

Dakar Rally 2023

There are some wild rides in store in January, and the first dose of adrenaline comes with the Dakar Rally, one of motor sports most rugged challenges, famous for its difficult terrain, spectacle and off-road endurance. This year the action takes place in Saudi Arabia. 

See the Dakar Rally on SBS VICELAND and SBS, 2–15 January. 

80s Month

There were highs, there were lows, big hair and big songs and big personalities… and this month you can dive back into it all. In January, SBS VICELAND is embracing the '80s, from the food to the movies and music.

The Bloody Decade

The series tackles everything from creatues and monsters to special effects. Source: CreatorVC / Ampersand

From The Shining to Nightmare on Elm Street and Gremlins, it was a decade that spawned a swarm of cult horror movies – and to kick things off in '80s month, this eight-episode series looks at a golden decade for the genre, from big theatrical releases to straight-to-video gems. 

See The Bloody Decade Wednesdays 8.30pm from 11 January on SBS VICELAND. Episodes will be available at SBS On Demand after they air.

 

Beverly Hills Cop – and more

Eddie Murphy Source: SBS

Beverley Hills Cop: Axel Foley, the fourth instalment in the franchise, is coming in 2023 so what better time than now to go back to where it all started, with Eddie Murphy in his first outing as Foley, the Detroit street cop who takes matters into his own hands when a murder investigation takes him to Beverly Hills. Or revisit another classic of the decade, The Untouchables, starring Kevin Costner as prohibition era Federal Agent Eliot Ness who sets out to stop Al Capone (Robert De Niro) and his illegal liquor trade. 

See Beverly Hills Cop Wednesday 18 January at 9.25pm on SBS VICELAND, with Beverly Hills Cop 2 following on Wednesday 25 January. See The Untouchables Wednesday 4 January at 8.30pm on SBS VICELAND. All three films will be available at SBS On Demand for 30 days after they air.

 

Adam Eats The 80s

If you live in, or ate in, America in the '80s this is likely to bring back some memories. In this series, host Adam Richman hits the road on a quest to relive the '80s, one bite at a time. He enjoys a feast at a medieval-themed restaurant, meets a collector who still has a complete set of Happy Meal boxes and another who owns more than 20,000 pieces of novelty confectionery, drinks a lager from 1984 and dives into the '80s menus of names such as Pizza Hut, Cinnabon and Panda Express. 

See double episodes of Adam Eats The 80s Saturdays 6.35pm from 21 January on SBS VICELAND. Episodes will be available at SBS On Demand after they air.

 

Who Killed The KLF?

It's a tale as intriguing as it is bizarre: The band sometimes known as The KLF (they were also known as the Justified Ancients of Mu Mu and the JAMs among other titles) were one of the biggest acts in the world, a band whose enigmatic output made them both darlings and pariahs of modern music. And then they stopped. Not shying away from personal backstories, unseen archival footage gives us an insight into Bill Drummond and Jimmy Cauty's backgrounds and the burgeoning events that made the KLF so different – the band who completely undermined the music industry in such a daring way.

See Who Killed The KLF? Saturday 21 January 9.25pm on SBS VICELAND and then at SBS On Demand.

Trip Hazard: My Great British Adventure

Rosie Jones is on the road again Source: Red Arrow Studios / Channel 4

Comedian Rosie Jones' Trip Hazard is back for a second season. As she travels to unlikely corners of the UK in search of adventure, excitement and silliness, Rosie is joined by AJ Odudu to explore Moray in Scotland, Guz Khan is along for the ride in Blackpool and Tom Rosenthal journeys to Bradford with her. Plus, Lady Leshurr joins Rosie in Northamptonshire and Fay Ripley is in Pembrokeshire. Oh, and every adventure is narrated by travel Dame Joanna Lumley.

See season 2 of Trip Hazard: My Great British Adventure at 8.30pm Tuesdays from 17 January on SBS VICELAND, with episodes available at SBS On Demand after they air. 

The Last Overland: Singapore to London

This is the sort of road trip most of us can only dream of: 11 days, 23 countries, 2 continents. As this fantastic four-part series begins, we meet 87-year-old Tim Slessor, the British adventurer plotting his last great adventure: recreating his epic 1955 expedition – 'First Overland: London to Singapore' – which a young David Attenborough commissioned for the BBC. Helping Tim is historian and filmmaker Alex Bescoby, and a small support crew from around the world. After months of work all is ready, including 'Oxford' – the very same Land Rover from 1955. Tim's dream is capturing hearts world-over, and in Singapore a huge crowd is waiting to see Tim off. But there's a hitch… Luckily, there's also a solution. Buckle up.

See The Last Overland: Singapore to London Saturdays 8.30pm from 14 January on SBS VICELAND. Episodes will be available at SBS On Demand after they air. 

The Story Of

Discover how some of the past's biggest hits came to be in season 2 of this VICE series. This season dives into Rick Astley's 'Never Gonna Give You up', looking at his rise to fame, sudden retirement and surprising comeback – and takes a look at the origins of the viral RickRoll meme that exploded in the mid-2000s; meets Natasha Bedingfield to reflect on her uplifting hit 'Unwritten'; talks to Shania Twain about the story behind her hit 'Man! I Feel Like a Woman!'; and more. 

See it Saturdays 9.30pm from 28 January on SBS VICELAND. Episodes will be available at SBS On Demand after they air. Season 1 is streaming now at SBS On Demand, diving into music including Shaggy's 'It Wasn't Me' (below), enormous hit 'Blue (Da Ba Dee)' and Vanessa Carlton's 'A Thousand Miles':

Tales from the Territories

'Tales From the Territories' looks at wrestling's island dynasty. Source: VICE

From Dwayne Johnson, Dany Garcia and the creators of Dark Side of the Ring comes an exhilarating new series that brings real-life wrestling legends together to relive their most jaw-dropping stories from in and out of the squared circle. The series dives into the people and stories of the territory-based days of wrestling. Along with stories of the entrepreneurs, unscrupulous bookers and fearless wrestlers who built regional wrestling organisations, there's a look further abroad too: Polynesian Pro Wrestling was formed by High Chief Peter Maivia, grandfather of Dwayne Johnson, and later run by his grandmother Lia, one of the first female wrestling promoters.

See Tales from the Territories Sundays 9.20pm from 29 January on SBS VICELAND. Episodes will be available at SBS On Demand after they air.