The 10 Best Shows on Free-to-air TV in January 2019

Ten Best Shows on Free-to-Air TV

The entertainment world we now live in is one of extreme choice, and it’s a pretty nice problem to have. While our parents grew up with four or five TV channels to keep them entertained, we’re now in an era where there’s dozens of satellite and cable channels, multiple streaming services with their own original content, and numerous free sources of video entertainment across the internet available at the tap of a screen, from YouTube to Crackle.

And it’s that breadth of available entertainment that’s made the old-fashioned “appointment TV” concept a thing of the past. The five free-to-air networks have all had to adapt to the new world of on-demand video (which they’ve done via their catch-up services). They need to please a viewer base which isn’t glued to one channel all night like the previous generation might have been.

So, let’s have a look at ten shows that you don’t need a subscription to watch, all available on free-to-air TV or their respective catch-up services. The best part being, of course, that it costs you absolutely nothing to check them out and see for yourself whether your new favourite show has been sitting there waiting for you. Here’s what to watch in January 2019.

The 10 Best Shows on Free-to-air TV

#1 Married at First Sight (Nine & 9Now)

Australia’s most talked about social experiement is coming back for its sixth season. Promising an even more explosive season, Married At First Sight sees ten brides and ten grooms from across Australia, each with their own remarkable stories, facing more challenges and romantic hurdles than ever before. Don’t miss the premiere on Monday, January 28 at 7:30PM on Nine and 9Now.

#2 Rosehaven (ABC & iView)

Home to help his mom with her business, Daniel is surprised to run into his best friend from the mainland, Emma, whose marriage has just ended. While she basks in the anonymity of her newfound life in Rosehaven, Daniel is forced to confront ghosts of his adolescent past. Soon enough, their friendship and sanity is tested by the charming yet deeply eccentric townsfolk. The multi-award-winning ABC and SundanceTV (USA) comedy series is back for a third season starting with a double episode starting January 27.

#3 Little Women (ABC & iView)

Based on Louisa May Alcott’s universally beloved novel, Little Women is a new three-part adaptation from the award-winning creator of Call the Midwife, Heidi Thomas, and directed by Vanessa Caswill. Set against the backdrop of a country divided, the story follows the four March sisters: Meg (Willa Fitzgerald), Jo (Maya Hawke), Beth (Annes Elwy), and Amy (Kathryn Newton) on their journey from childhood to adulthood while their father (Dylan Baker) is away at war. Premieres January 5 at 7:30PM on ABC and iView.

#4 KFC Big Bash League (Seven & 7Plus)

The Big Bash League is an Australian professional Twenty20 cricket league, which was established in 2011 by Cricket Australia. The Big Bash League replaced the previous competition, the KFC Twenty20 Big Bash, and features eight city-based franchises instead of the six state teams which had participated previously. The competition has been sponsored by fast food chicken outlet KFC since its inception. It is one of the two T20 league in Cricket along with Indian Premier League to be in the Top 10 of The Most Attended Sport Leagues in the world. Catch all the action on Seven and 7Plus.

#5 Young Sheldon (Nine & 9Now)

It’s 1989 and 9-year-old Sheldon Cooper has skipped four grades to start high school along with his less-intellectual older brother. As he struggles to be understood by his family, classmates and neighbours, his mother arms him with the best tool she can come up with: reminding bullies his dad is the football coach and his brother is on the team. His twin sister doesn’t share his exceptional mind, but she has a much clearer vision of what life has in store for the young genius. Jim Parsons, who plays the adult version of Sheldon on “The Big Bang Theory,” narrates. Watch now on Nine and 9Now.

#6 Vikings (SBS & SBS On Demand)

Battle, betrayal, and bloodshed – Vikings season five drops first on SBS with more drama, nail-biting suspense, and Viking spirit than ever before. Don’t miss new episodes every Thursday on SBS and SBS On Demand.

#7 Jamie and the Nonnas (Ten & TenPlay)

One of the world’s most beloved TV Chefs, Jamie Oliver, is jumping on a scooter and driving straight into your Wednesday nights as he brings you Italy’s most delicious secrets in Jamie And The Nonnas – and we couldn’t be more excited! Jamie’s heading to Italy to get to the heart of Italian cooking, with the mission of trying to unlock the great secrets of traditional Italian fare. Jamie turns to a source more powerful than the mafia for information: the Nonnas. So that means all your favourite Italian foods (and dishes that you may not have heard of but will probably become your next favourite meal) are being cooked by the very best of the best – and we get to find out how! Start watching on Ten and TenPlay.

#8 The Good Place (ABC & iView)

Double episodes of this smart new comedy following Eleanor Shellstrop (Kristen Bell, Veronica Mars), an ordinary woman who enters the afterlife and, thanks to an error, is sent to the Good Place instead of the Bad Place, where she belongs. Catch new episodes from January 14 at 9:30PM.

#9 Das Boot (SBS On Demand)

Das Boot is a 2018 German television series produced for the TV channel Sky and a sequel to Das Boot. As the original film’s plot ends in December 1941, the series’ setting takes place nine months later, in 1942. The storyline is split into two narratives, one based on land, the other set around the submarine. Available on SBS On Demand.

#10 I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! (Ten and TenPlay)

Twelve celebrities are left to fend for themselves in the Australian jungle. In order to win food for themselves and fellow camp mates, the celebrities must compete in trials that test them both physically and mentally. Starts January 13 on Ten and TenPlay.