ABC iview: new shows streaming this week

Your guide to the best new shows to stream from 12 to 18 August 2024 on ABC iview.
​Shaun Micallef's Eve of Destruction Christmas Special. Image: ABC.

ABC iview: new to streaming this week

Play School Science Time â€“ Season 3 (12 August)

Dust off your lab coat, Play School’s Science Time is back for even more awesome experiments! Join Matt and Miah to learn about snot, stars, spaceships, and everything in between.

Australian Story: Nick Cave with Leigh Sales (12 August)

Australian Story: Nick Cave with Leigh Sales. Image: ABC.
Australian Story: Nick Cave with Leigh Sales. Image: ABC.

In a wide-ranging and deeply personal conversation with Leigh Sales, Cave discusses the enduring strength of his Australian roots, what he has learned about grief, his attitude to drugs, his search for meaning in religion and why he continues to make new, often challenging, music well into his 60s with his band the Bad Seeds. Broadcast at 8pm on ABC TV and on ABC iview.

The Secret Lives of Our Urban Birds: Perth (13 August)

Dr. Ann Jones is on her latest birding adventure, this time across Perth. Uncovering the secrets of majestic wedge-tailed eagles to sexy splendid fairy wrens, she learns why people are passionate about their charismatic birds.

Shaun Micallef’s Eve of Destruction (14 August)

Series. One question, two guests and the man everyone agrees is this country’sleast experienced interviewer. Join Shaun Micallef each week as he chats with his famous acquaintances about what’s really important to them. Watch trailer.

Guy Montgomery’s Guy Mont Spelling Bee (14 August)

Guy Montgomery and assistant Aaron Chen star in this fast-paced hilarious new comedy that puts four famous faces through their paces, as they attempt to spell as best they can to be crowned that week’s best speller.

George Clarke’s Amazing Spaces â€“ Season 12 (15 August)

Amazing Spaces is back, with some of the most eccentric, ambitious, and passionate self-builders George Clarke has ever met! And, not to be outdone, George attempts to create an elegant airborne cabin from an old industrial scissor lift! He also heads to Denmark, home of gorgeous and minimalist architecture.

Foreign Correspondent: Paradise in Flames (15 August)

The recent violence in the tourist mecca of New Caledonia caught many outsiders by surprise. But within the South Pacific nation tensions between the French government and indigenous Kanak people have been simmering for decades. Naomi Selvaratnam reports from the French capital Noumea where outbreaks of violence are still occurring.

Compass (18 August)

Series. Compass explores the Australian soul – our beliefs, our ethical dilemmas and the changing face of our spirituality, with new host, popular journalist and broadcaster, Indira Naidoo.

ABC iview: recently added

Foreign Correspondent: Bad Monks (8 August)

In Thailand, Buddhism and the monks that lead the religion are deeply revered and hold a special place in Thai society.  But a series of scandals involving corruption, adultery, drug use and even murder have undermined the religion’s moral authority. The ABC’s South-East Asia Correspondent Lauren Day reports on the ever-growing number of scandals engulfing the religion. She talks to the Thai police who are going undercover to hunt down badly behaving monks and she heads out on patrol with the Monk Police whose aim is to catch wayward monks and drag them into line. 

Tom Gleeson: Joy (7 August)

Australia’s 2019 Gold Logie winner. Chief celebrity interrogator. Host of the highest-rating quiz show on TV. There’s not much Tom Gleeson hasn’t been up to. Now we can watch the great man live on stage. Experience the Joy.

Vera â€“ Season 12 (5 August)

Vera. Image: ABC.
Vera. Image: ABC.

The return of DCI Vera Stanhope, who – with the help of her wit and charm – leads a team of detectives in the pursuit of answers to murder mysteries in Northumberland, UK. Starring Brenda Blethyn, Jon Morrison and Riley Jones.

Four Corners: Canada’s Climate War (29 July)

Mega-fires destroying forests, hungry polar bears invading towns, and fishing villages at risk of disappearing beneath the waves – Canada is facing climate catastrophes. This NOVA documentary takes you to the front line of this climate crisis and follows those trying to save vital ecosystems before it’s too late. It raises tough questions about the green credentials of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who has built his career posing as a fighter for the planet. Can a country combat global warming when it’s one of the world’s largest producers of fossil fuels?  

Paul Dalgarno is author of the novels A Country of Eternal Light (2023) and Poly (2020); the memoir And You May Find Yourself (2015); and the creative non-fiction book Prudish Nation (2023). He was formerly Deputy Editor of The Conversation and joined ScreenHub as Managing Editor in 2022. X: @pauldalgarno. Insta: @dalgarnowrites