This August, Acorn TV is going worlds apart with Australian outback escapades, Canadian cops and South African serial killers!
Shelter from the winter chills and cosy down with the awesome August line-up of new releases…
Check out our highlights, with the full schedule below!
Darby & Joan
Series 1, Premieres Monday August 8
This Acorn TV original stars Bryan Brown (Sweet Country) and Greta Scacchi (Looking for Alibrandi) and asks the question: can you find yourself in the middle of nowhere?
Retired Australian detective Jack Darby (Brown) is fleeing his past mistakes. English widow Joan Kirk (Scacchi) is attempting to outrun her grief. When lives collide, two strangers embark on an epic outback odyssey together. Set among the army of fellow ‘grey nomads’ and idiosyncratic travellers trekking through the bush, Joan and Jack’s adventure shines a light on isolated, captivating and often unseen areas of regional Australia, and a myriad of fascinating characters moving through a world where everyone seems to be searching for something – or trying to escape it.
It’s a world that is at once beautiful and deadly… Introducing a range of characters and self-contained episodic mysteries, Darby & Joan shows us the destination isn’t important – it’s the journey that matters.
Episode 1 & 2 premiere August 8, with two new episodes weekly.
The Murders
Full Series Binge, Premieres Monday August 1
In this Acorn TV exclusive, Detective Kate Jameson (Jessica Lucas, The Resident) is the daughter of city councillor Rita Gallo (Venus Terzo, Arrow) and the late Anthony Jameson, a much decorated Vancouver police officer who was killed in the line of duty two years ago. With the fight for justice deeply rooted in her, Kate’s only desire is to be a good cop like her father. She’s determined to make her mark in Homicide, the MPD’s most coveted assignment.
But things go horribly awry when Kate breaks the number one rule of policing – never leave your gun unattended. When Kate finds her police vehicle broken into and her gun stolen, she, at the urging of a senior officer, makes an agonising moral calculus and decides not to report it. This lie of omission has tragic consequences when a fellow officer is killed – a direct result of Kate’s stolen firearm. The betrayal of her police duty and personal morals will distress her in her ongoing investigations and become a struggle for a woman raised on the importance of honour, service and integrity. Haunted by her fatal mistake, a driven Kate will seek to make amends through every case – including that of a mysterious killer who seems particularly invested in Detective Jameson.
Cape Town
Full Series Binge, Premieres Monday August 22
Based on the bestselling crime novels of Deon Meyer, in Cape Town, Cape Town Police captain Mat Joubert used to be the best, revered by the force for solving every case. But that was a year ago, before his wife Lara was murdered while working undercover, and Mat’s been on a downward spiral ever since, dogged by his blurred past, uncertain of how he did not keep her alive. Now an out-of-shape chain-smoker, Mat is ambivalent about the crime-ridden world around him. But with a new colonel demanding full physical and mental conditioning for all cops, he must now step up.
Assigned a new partner, Sanctus Snook, a former colleague of Lara’s, Mat immediately and instinctively does not like the sleek ex elite cop and has a hard time believing the teaming up is a coincidence. But when a successful businessman is found killed wearing an Albert Einstein mask, the two unlikely partners have a high-profile murder investigation on their hands. When a second body is found wearing yet another mask, they realise they are tracking a serial killer. Gradually, Mat begins to overcome the ghosts of his past, but as he uncovers each layer of the investigation, he must re-live his wife’s murder to stop the violence.
Full August Schedule
Monday, August 1
Single Handed, Series 2
(6 EPS, 2008)
In this Irish mystery series, Police Sergeant Jack Driscoll (Owen McDonnell) is forced to watch over a troubled teenager staying at a remote youth facility who is charged with the death of elderly recluse Seamus Devlin after his body was discovered dead in a field.
The Murders, Full Series Binge
(8 EPS, 2019)
Detective Kate Jameson (Jessica Lucas) is determined to make her mark in Homicide, the MPD’s most coveted assignment. But things go horribly awry when Kate breaks the number one rule of policing – never leave your gun unattended. When a fellow officer is killed, a direct result of Kate’s stolen firearm, her betrayal of police duty and personal morals haunts her in her ongoing investigations.
Monday, August 8
Darby & Joan, Series 1
(EPS1 & 2 of 8)
EP1: After a shock collision with enigmatic Jack, Joan’s first stop in her (covert and novice) investigation into her husband’s betrayal brings them to a waterside paradise where a group of old friends, free-spirits back in the day, gather to bid farewell to a place that once defined them. But as they attempt to recapture their youthful freedom, a tragic death puts a stop to the party. Was it an accidental drowning, or is there more to the story? Is this idyllic, beachside land so intensely beautiful it’s worth killing for?
EP2: On a sprawling banana plantation, Jack helps his long-time friend and former brother-in-law Declan recover a cache of stolen guns after an assault on the farm that could have seriously injured him. It soon becomes clear that there is more to gun theft than it first seemed, and unravelling the mystery leads to some surprising emotional truths. As Joan begins to get the hang of investigating, she turns her newfound talent to learning more about Jack.
Hustle, Series 3
(6 EPS, 2006)
Strapped for cash after a spell in Las Vegas, the gang of long con artists is back. Albert Stroller (Robert Vaughn) targets a London pub owner who smuggles illegal refugees to work for him. The gang reach him through his son, who sees himself as a British hip-hop talent, and attempts to persuade him to buy his son’s stardom’ undetected. But will they get caught in the police investigation that follows?
Monday, August 15
Darby & Joan, Series 1
(EPS3 & 4 of 8)
EP3: At a remote, mountain-top campground, and after a devastating revelation about Ian’s past, Jack and Joan take a moment to unwind with a friendly bunch of fellow tourists. When a high-end caravan is stolen, everyone becomes a suspect – and, it turns out, everyone has something to hide. Joan’s frustration with Jack puts her life in danger after the thieves return to steal her motorhome.
EP4: As Jack and Joan prepare for her first southern hemisphere Christmas by the beach, a dive on the reef goes catastrophically wrong and Joan does all she can to save an injured diver. As a young woman’s life hangs in the balance, Joan and Jack discover the accident is really a case of sabotage. As the mystery hits home for Jack, he secretly seeks out Rosemary, a woman from his past, to try to make amends for his mistakes.
Gourmet Detective, Movies 1-4
The Gourmet Detective: A culinary expert with crime-solving skills pairs up with a female detective to figure out how a guest at a distinguished dinner party died.
A Healthy Place to Die: SFPD detective Maggie’s up for vacation and gourmet detective Henry’s speaker at a gourmet conference with a spare suite. Reporter Kathleen is murdered there – body missing. They investigate and banter.
Death Al Dente: When Henry Roth is hired to find the best Italian chef for a new high-end eatery, murder was not on the menu. As the body count climbs, Henry and Maggie find themselves at the heart of another mystery with deadly consequences.
Eat, Drink & Be Buried: Henry oversees the kitchen at David’s birthday gala, bringing along his SFPD detective friend, Maggie. When David’s son is killed. Maggie and Henry team up again to investigate.
Monday, August 22
Darby & Joan, Series 1
(EPS5 & 6 of 8)
EP5: In a small outback town on New Year’s Eve, Joan’s search for answers about Ian is waylaid when the motorhome runs out of fuel. Taking jobs as waiters to secure the only room available at the local pub, Jack and Joan are drawn into the ‘chop chop’ trade: the sale of illegal tobacco. Sparks fly as they investigate until Jack and Joan finally meet on the dancefloor as the clock ticks towards midnight… before a dangerous fire breaks out. Jack and Joan soon realise this is a case of arson and Joan is convinced the police have arrested the wrong suspect. But is she right? Or is this a reaction to Jack’s detective daughter, Liz, presenting Joan with the irrefutable evidence that Ian was a murderer?
EP6: At a small coastal community, Jack reconnects with Elyse, a young woman he doesn’t want Joan to meet – the daughter of Rosemary, the bride Jack left at the altar. A surf lifesaving champion, Elyse believes someone tampered with a drug test, causing her to be banned from her sport just before the all-important National Championships. But who would do that to her? While Jack attempts to clear Elyse’s name, Joan is shaken when she discovers the truth about Jack and Rosemary’s past. Can she really trust Jack?
Cape Town, Full Series Binge
(6 EPS, 2005)
Cape Town Police captain Mat Joubert used to be the best, revered by the force for solving every case. But following the murder of his wife Lara, Mat is on a downward spiral. Now an out-of-shape chain-smoker, Mat is ambivalent about the crime-ridden world around him. But Mat must step up with a new colonel demanding full physical and mental conditioning for all cops.
Monday, August 29
Darby & Joan, Series 1
(EPS7 & 8 of 8)
EP7: En route to a remote bush camping ground, Rebecca’s sudden arrival throws Joan into turmoil as she struggles with how to tell her daughter about the murder charges against Ian. The pursuit of Ian’s last movements is temporarily put on hold when a young, neurodivergent Indigenous boy goes missing and the search becomes a potential abduction investigation. Rebecca is determined to bring her mother back to London and begins to question Joan’s wellbeing after she repeatedly sees an ethereal presence. But is Joan ready to go home?
EP8: When Jack is struck by a hit-and-run driver, it sparks some unexpected truths and the return of a threat from Jack’s past. As Jack recovers, he and Joan track down Ian’s long-lost son who holds the keys to the mystery. The surprise return of some familiar faces helps Joan piece together the truth about her husband. But is she ready to put the past to rest? And will the new threat facing Jack see the end of this journey together?
Emma Fielding Mysteries
(1EP, 2019)
More Bitter Than Death: Emma Fielding is thrust into the midst of a murder mystery while hosting the annual gathering of the Association for the Study of American Archaeology at Kenzer College. When the president of the association is poisoned on the eve of announcing her successor, Emma and FBI pal Jim Conner have no shortage of likely suspects, including Duncan Thatcher, the rather self-important archaeologist who just happens to be Emma’s former fiancé.
The Tunnel, Series 2
(1EP, 2016)
Sabotage: Investigative duo – pragmatic and scrupulous Commander Elise Wassermann (Clémence Poésy) and laconic but brilliant DCI Karl Roebuck (Stephen Dillane) – reunite to investigate the case of a French couple abducted from the Eurotunnel, leaving behind their traumatised young daughter. As Karl and Elise pick their way through the clues amongst a vast field of debris, the case conspires to be a lethal mystery that will change both Karl and Elise’s lives – and see many more lost – before they can unravel the dangerous and corrupted forces at play.
