Cavendish
Brothers Mark and Andy return to their hometown of Cavendish and discover highlights not found on the tourist brochure. Source: SBS
Double episodes of Cavendish air weekly on SBS VICELAND from Tuesday 16 August at 10.20pm.
Nirvanna the Band the Show
This vastly entertaining series defies categorisation. Prank comedy meets mocumentary meets reality TV as two mates (played by the show's creators, comedians Matt Johnson and Jay McCarroll) set out to get their band booked to perform a gig at a club... despite the fact that they aren't really a band. Anything can happen. Really. Anything. There are many 'how did they get away with that' moments, a parade of pop culture references, and hordes of laughs.
Nude
The year 2026 brings a radical change to France: the 'Transparency Law' requires everyone to live nude. But tensions are heightened when the law's creator, Jean Lanvin, is found murdered... fully dressed. An up-and-coming young detective works the case with her ex-partner, Franck, who's just woken up out of a coma he fell into back in the days when... everyone still wore clothes.
Wellington Paranormal
With their track record of hits in both television and film featuring endearingly odd characters, it’s no wonder wildly talented New Zealanders Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement (What We Do In The Shadows) had a hit with oddball-fuelled Wellington Paranormal. And it seems there's plenty of strange cases to chase, because we now have four seasons of crazy, goofy and gruesome mosters to sort out.
Letterkenny
There must be something in the Canadian water. From the bizarre world of Cavendish we travel inland to the rural Ontario township of Letterkenny. This series is the very definition of weird, the residents all oddballs in their own ways. Co-creators Jared Keeso and Jacob Tierney have grouped together different expressions of manhood, from the not-so-brainy hockey players to the meth-smoking skids to the close-knit hicks. The vernacular is as strange and alluring as the dynamics between the gangs, who love nothing more than to focus on what separates them, and, on the odd occasion, cooperate in high jinks.
All 7 seasons of Letterkenny are streaming . Start here if you want to watch from the very beginning:
Shoresy
More sporty than strange - but it has oddball in its very genes so it has to be mentioned: From the creators of Letterkenny, this six-part spin-off stars co-creator and writer of both shows, Jared Keeso, as Shoresy, who is on a quest to never lose again when he joins a senior triple hockey AAA team in Northern Ontario.
Creamerie
Touted as the "" this dark New Zealand comedy is set in the not too distant future, after a viral plague has swept the earth. In a matter of weeks, it decimated 99% of men. The 1% were sent to The Facility but didn't survive. Creamerie picks up eight years after the near mass extinction. In a new world order designed by women, health care is free, education is free and carbon emissions are down. Trouble arises when a trio of women running a dairy farm, Alex (Ally Xue), Jamie (JJ Fong) and Pip (Perlina Lau), stumble upon the last remaining male human. Can their friendship survive this shocking discovery that upends their world?
Educators
Educators is a cleverly crafted improvised comedy series featuring some of NZ’s most well-known comedians. The series focuses on the teachers of an ordinary suburban high school. The problem with these teachers is that they are all hopelessly inept. They have no grasp of the curriculum, no knowledge of how to follow a timetable, and no idea whether the tasks they set for the students should even be assessed. Issues like parental conflict, exam pressure, turning up late and exhaustion, are continually stressing them out much more than their pupils do. Can these dysfunctional educators survive the day until the bell rings?
The Orville
Star and creator Seth MacFarlane's sci-fi series is a loving tribute to Star Trek - but so much more than that too. Set 400 years into the furture, it's both sci-fi and comedy and also manages to ponder some important questons about relationships, responsibility and how the universe works. There are surprises in every episode, from oddball hilarity to an amazing line up of guest stars. Famous names making an appearance have included Dolly Parton, Bruce Boxleitner, Rob Lowe, Charlize Theron and a brace of Star Trek stars, including Marina Sirtis, Tim Russ and Robert Picardo.
Season 3 of The Orville premiered on SBS VICELAND and is now streaming , along with seasons 1 and 2. You can also enjoy the adventures of Seasons 1 and 2 in the SBS podcast . Start at the beginning:
PLUS
UnXplained with William Shatner
It's not a comedy series but there sure is plenty of wierd and wonderful, as Emmy Award-winning actor William Shatner returns in season 2 of this series, which explores some of the world's most fascinating and inexplicable events and mysteries. This season includes Atlantis, the moon and mummies, plus plagues and Bigfoot.
Season 2 of UnXplained with William Shatner starts Sunday 14 August at 8.30pm on SBS VICELAND. Season 1 is streaming now :
