Digital Originals backs the next wave of Australian screen talent

SBS, National Indigenous Television (NITV) and Screen Australia have unveiled nine projects shortlisted for the first round of the 2026 Digital Originals initiative, continuing a seven-year partnership that has helped emerging Australian creatives bring distinctive, risk-taking stories to screen and build lasting careers in the industry.

From producing award-winning series to backing creatives that are now some of Australia’s most in-demand writers, directors and producers, Digital Originals is the launchpad for new and diverse voices that will shape the future of Australian storytelling. Latest release, Homebodies (2026), AP Pobjoy’s family drama starring Claudia Karvan and produced by Cyna Strachan, made history earlier this year as the first trans-centred story to win a Logie Award.

First launched in 2019, the initiative backs bold, original scripted storytelling from underrepresented communities across the Australian screen industry, supporting talent both on screen and behind the camera. This includes First Nations, culturally and linguistically diverse, disability, female and gender-diverse, LGBTQIA+ and regional and remote communities.

The nine shortlisted teams will participate in an immersive development workshop hosted by SBS, NITV and Screen Australia, featuring sessions with experienced industry mentors including Rachel Perkins (The Australian Wars), Mithila Gupta (Four Years Later), Clare Atkins (Flower and Flour) and Julie Kalceff (First Day). The workshop will give the creative teams the opportunity to refine their projects, strengthen their storytelling and prepare to pitch to the partners. Up to five projects will be selected for further development funding, with up to three scripted series progressing to production.

This year’s initiative received over 180 applications from across Australia, reflecting the depth of emerging creative talent and the continued appetite for original stories that capture the diversity of Australian experiences.

SBS Head of Scripted and Industry Partnerships Nakul Legha said, “Digital Originals exists to unearth extraordinary talent and bold stories that belong on screen. Seeing our creatives earn global recognition and build brilliant careers is a testament to the power of this initiative. We’re proud to carry thatlegacy forward and thrilled to collaborate with this year’s cohort to bring their vital stories to life.”

NITV Head of Indigenous Commissioning and Production Dena Curtis said, “Digital Originals provides an important pathway for First Nations creatives to develop their craft, build industry connections and bring their stories to screen. Supporting new generations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander storytellers is vital to ensuring our stories are told with cultural authority and reach audiences in meaningful ways. We’re excited to see the strength and diversity of talent in this year’s cohort and help these creatives take the next step in their careers.”

Screen Australia Director of Narrative Content Louise Gough said, “Congratulations to this year’s cohort who reflect the bold, unique voices that have become the hallmark of Digital Originals. We look forward to collaborating with these teams, supporting them to realise their creative visions and bring distinctive new stories to Australian audiences.”

The 2026 Digital Originals shortlisted projects and creative teams are:

• Boychick: An ultra-Orthodox rabbi’s child comes out as transgender just weeks before their Bat Mitzvah, igniting a community crisis. Team: Ben Strum, Carly Brand, Bec Gallo.
• Foul Play: A Muslim theatre wunderkind grapples with the fragments of her marriage on the opening night of her hotly anticipated comeback show. With two mistresses, one missing husband and the critics banking on her failure, the show must go on. Team: Hebah Ali, Mohammad Awad.
• Fourteen Straws and Eighteen Eggs: Five years ago, besties Maddy and Leo froze their eggs and sperm in the wake of a massive breakup and cancer, respectively. Now, single and in their 30s, the pair must confront what parenthood means to them as they struggle to decide what to do with their frozen DNA. Team: Marisa Nanakhorn-Brown, Alberto Di Troia.
• Liars: Upon learning she could save her father’s life as his stem cell donor, a wannabe comedian moves back home resolved to come clean about her life, knowing full well the truth could kill him faster than his illness. Team: Urvi Majumdar, Sheila Jayadev, Nicole Reddy.
• RORRIM: In a secret underground research facility, a burnt-out Aboriginal scientist uses forbidden technology to meet a parallel version of himself in hopes of securing a long-denied promotion. As their lives diverge, his own reflection becomes his most dangerous adversary. Team: Jared Langmaid, Joseph Meldrum.
• Saplings: Two teenage best mates live by the rule “brothers don’t snitch” until a home invasion forces them to choose between loyalty and survival. Team: Hannah Belanszky, Chloe Rickard.
• That F**cker Next Door: Former party girl Grace is struggling to accept she’s disabled when she’s forced into an alliance with her cantankerous neighbour, Ed. With social worker Mabel, the two navigate disability, dementia and grief in this pitch-black comedy about chosen family, defiant joy and learning to love the lives they never wanted. Team: Anthea Williams, Nancy Denis, Huna Amweero, Chidiebube Uba.
• Old Mate: When a gay millennial moves into the duplex beside a terminally ill 85-year-old, they each imagine the worst about each other – some of it correct. But as their neighbourly feud escalates, they are forced to comprehend the depths of each other’s inner-worlds. Team: Samuel Leighton-Dore, Bradley Tennant, Steve Anthopoulos.
• The Empty Cradle: As Karra and Luke await the birth of their first child, a series of horrifying visions turn their dream home into an unimaginable nightmare. As their grip on reality begins to unravel, can they protect the family they’ve always longed for when they no longer trust their own perceptions? Team: Lilla Berry, Matthew De Nieuwe, Pearl Berry.

A launchpad for new voices and Australian stories

Digital Originals has helped underrepresented creatives break into the screen industry, develop their craft and take their stories to Australian and international audiences. Its alumni have gone on to achieve critical industry recognition, while building careers across the wider industry.

Homebodies is a recent example of that impact. In addition to its Logie Award earlier this year, the series premiered in official competition at the 2026 Series Mania Festival in France, receiving a Special Mention in the short-form competition.

Previous Digital Original projects also include the Rockie Award-winning and Series Mania-selected series Moonbird (2025); Appetite (2022), which premiered at the Canneseries TV Festival and received a Rose d’Or nomination; Night Bloomers (2023), winner of the 2024 Australian Writers’ Guild (AWG) Award for Best Web Series; Latecomers (2022), which premiered at Canneseries and won the 2024 AACTA Award for Best Online Drama or Comedy and the 2023 Casting Guild Australia Awards for Achievement in Casting; and A Beginner’s Guide to Grief (2022), which won a 2022 AACTA Award for Best Digital Series.

Alumni have progressed into key creative roles across SBS Original drama productions and the wider industry. Vidya Rajan (Tantrum) recently wrote on SBS Original The Airport Chaplain; Mohini Herse (Appetite) went on to work as the set-up director for Four Years Later; Latecomers producer Liam Heyen and director Madeleine Gottlieb reprised their roles for anthology series Erotic Stories; The Tailings director Stevie Cruz-Martin later directed award-winning series Safe Home; Homecoming Queens‘ Corrie Chen and Michelle Law both went on to create critically acclaimed projects and filmmaker Dylan River directed Robbie Hood.

In the coming months, audiences can look forward to Miss Sultanah and Fish Boi premiering on SBS and NITV, as well as forthcoming productions Mangrove Mansion, Tantrum and Pretty Deadly, which will take viewers from the mangroves of Magandjin to Melbourne’s comedy scene and a supernatural nail salon in Nipaluna.