Paramount+, you’re hearing it more and more these days. The shiny new streaming service is set to launch this month, bringing you even more exclusive content from around the world. So from when it launches to what you can expect, here’s everything you need to know about Paramount+.
When is Paramount+ available and how much does it cost?
ViacomCBS, which is also Channel 10’s parent company, announced Paramount+ will launch in Australia come August 11, after debuting in America earlier this year.
The streaming service will replace Ten All Access, combining their catalogues together for a nice and tidy $8.99 per month. Not behd.
It’s still unclear how Paramount+ will work, in terms of subscription tiers and how many screens the $8.99 will buy you, but we’ll keep you updated.
What kind of Aussie Originals are on Paramount+?
Five Bedrooms
Remember this one? It was on Channel 10 back in 2019, and introduced us to five mates at very different stages of their lives who decide to pool their funds and buy a home. Hence the title.
In season 2, you can expect a new home, a DIY renovation, a DIY renovation injury, two pregnancies, an ex-husband, a workplace bullying complaint, an unexpected tragedy, and love found and love lost.
Watch the Five Bedrooms season 2 trailer here.
Spreadsheet
Spreadsheet has begun production in Melbourne, and stars UK actress Katherine Parkinson who you may recognise from The IT Crowd and Doc Martin.
The series is an eight-part comedy about a divorced, hectic mother-of-two named Laura (Parkinson) who is looking for sex without commitment.
With the help of her best mate Alex (Rowan Witt), she pulls together a spreadsheet: a database of sex options, customised to fit in with the curveballs life throws at her.
What Lauren doesn’t expect is a bunch of needy men, which not even the spreadsheet can control.
Last King of the Cross
Last King of The Cross is based on the best-selling autobiography of John Ibrahim. It is a tale of two brothers, John and Sam, their ascent to power on the streets, and the effects their empires had on their relationship.
6 Festivals
Written and helmed by award-winning director and producer Macario de Souza (Bra Boys, Fighting Fear), 6 Festivals follows three best mates Maxie, Summer, and James, as they bucket-list six music festivals over six months and try to come to terms with a cancer diagnosis.
Yasmin Honeychurch has been cast in the role as Summer, alongside Rory Potter as James, and Rasmus King as Maxie.
The film is set to feature a whole slew of Aussie musicians, with some even cameoing in the film as themselves. These include G Flip, Dune Rats, Alison Wonderland, Bliss n Eso, Peking Duk, PNAU, Example, Hooligan Hefs, The Amity Affliction, JessB, B Wise, and Running Touch.
What about international titles exclusive to Paramount+?
Here’s just a few:
The First Lady
Viola Davis stars as Michelle Obama, that is all.
The Gilded Age
This one was developed by Downton Abbey creator (DING, DING, DING) Julian Fellowes, and is set in 1880s New York City.
Yellowjackets
Described as a, uh, psychological horror story and coming-of-age drama, Yellowjackets is about wildly talented high school soccer players who become the (un)lucky survivors of a plane crash deep in the remote northern wilderness.
Leonardo
A tale about the Leonardo da Vinci, starring Aidan Turner as the man himself.
American Rust
A complicated and compromised chief of police (Jeff Daniels) is forced to decide how far he’s willing to go when the son of the woman he loves (Maura Tierney) is accused of murder.
Two Weeks to Live
Trailer alert.
Not only does this star Maisie Williams from Game of Thrones, it also has Sian Clifford from Fleabag!!!
Coyote
Michael Chiklis stars as as a retired United States Border Patrol agent who finds himself helping people he has always tried to keep out of the United States.
Mayor of Kingstown
Starring Jeremy Renner (AKA Hawkeye), this follows the McLusky family as they attempt to bring order and justice to Kingstown, Michigan.
Anne Boleyn
This series traces the final months of one Anne Boleyn, played by Jodie Turner Smith, as she fights for her daughter’s survival, as well as her innocence.
Spy City
Dominic Cooper (Mamma Mia!) plays an English spy who is sent to Berlin in 1961 to find a traitor in the UK Embassy or among the Allies, shortly before the construction of the Berlin Wall.
Monsterland
If the title doesn’t give it away, this series includes fallen angels, strange beasts, and werewolves – oh my!
The Luminaries
Based on the Man Booker prize-winning novel by Eleanor Catton, this show is a tale of love, murder, magic, and revenge set in New Zealand in the 1860s.
The Harper House
An adult animated comedy series about Debbie Harper (Rhea Seehorn), the overly confident head of her household who struggles to keep things together when she loses her job and has to move from the rich side of town to the poor side.
Guilty Party
Kate Beckinsale (Underworld) stars as Beth Baker, a discredited journo who tries to salvage her career by latching on to a story about a young mother sentenced to life in prison for maiming and murdering her husband, crimes she claims she didn’t commit.
The Man Who Fell to Earth
David Bowie starred in the film version, based on Walter Tevis’ 1963 novel. In this series version, Chiwetel Ejiofor (take your pick) plays an alien who arrives on Earth at a turning point in human evolution and must confront his own past to determine our future.
Lioness
Based on a real-life CIA program, Lioness follows a young Marine recruited to befriend the daughter of a terrorist to bring the organisation to its knees. What could go wrong!?
Halo
After one million, trillion, gazillion years, the Halo series based on the beloved video game franchise is finally happening. Thank you, Paramount+.
The Offer
You might know this show as one of the many Armie Hammer dropped out of after, well… you know.
The Offer tells the behind the scenes story of the making of The Godfather.
Hammer was supposed to play Al Ruddy, who produced the film back in 1972.
Y: 1883
This is an origin story about the Dutton family from Yellowstone – that absolutely huge show about the family of ranchers. Very American.
Flatbush Misdemeanours
American comedians Dan Perlman and Kevin Iso play fictionalised versions of themselves, as they struggle to thrive in Flatbush, Brooklyn. It’s basically a show about two millennials climbing the ladder to nowhere, with some little wins along the way.
Sign me up, Paramount+.
Ripley
Matt Damon played the creepy Ripley in the 1999 film opposite Jude Law and Gwyneth Paltrow. This version stars Andrew Scott from Fleabag, AKA Hot Priest.
Again – sign me up, Paramount+.
There’s also the highly-anticipated iCarly revival, action flick Infinite (Mark Wahlberg), as well as the brand new Kamp Koral: SpongeBob’s Under Years and Rugrats for the kids.
Plus, a whole slew of content from Showtime, Nickelodeon, Nick Jr., MTV, Comedy Central, and the Smithsonian Channel.
But wait, I’m not done yet because Paramount+ will also premiere Dexter: New Blood, the continuation of the hit series.
Consisting of ten new episodes, Dexter: New Blood picks up a decade after that 2013 finale. Michael C. Hall returns as the titular character who now lives in the fictional Upstate New York small town of Iron Lake under the assumed name Jimmy Lindsay.
Dexter may be embracing his wholesome new life, but in the wake of some unexpected events in this close-knit community, his Dark Passenger beckons.
What else?!
Look, Paramount+ will launch with over 20,000 episodes of hit TV shows and blockbuster movies, so I can’t list them all. I’d be here, forever! But here are a few.
*drumroll*
- Why Women Kill
- Transformers
- South Park
- The Godfather
- Anchorman
- A Quiet Place
- Indiana Jones
- Clueless
- Pulp Fiction
- Mission Impossible
- Harry Potter
- Batman
- Lord of the Rings
- Austin Powers
- The Bite
- Everyone Is Doing Great
- Geordie Shore
- Jersey Shore
- The Good Fight
- Charmed
- Nancy Drew
What’s the go with the A-League and W-League on Paramount+?
As Mumbrella reported back in May, Paramount+ subscribers will have full access to all games, ending the A-Leagues’s 15-year affiliation with Foxtel and Fox Sports.
The Australian Professional League said football fans and members of clubs will be handed a special deal to access the games, but it’s currently unclear what exactly this means.
Paramount+ will also broadcast the UEFA Champions League, so it’s a good time to be a football fan.
Paramount+ launches August 11, 2021 in Australia. Subscribe to its newsletter right here.
