Doing this would cause the ABC to lose its already “small audience”. Better to keep separate channels.
Indigenous stories for Aussie kids premiering next month on ABC
Award-winning Little J & Big Cuz returns for series 2 on ABC Kids at 8.05am
Ten-part live action series from the Pilbara Thalu premieres on ABC ME at 4pm
As the mid-year school holidays kick in around the country, the ABC is thrilled to unveil an exciting collection of Indigenous programs and initiatives. From July 6, young Indigenous voices and stories will be seen and heard across ABC Kids, ABC ME and the Kids listen app, and in an Australian first, all ABC television and audio services for children will start the day with a traditional Acknowledgement of Country.
From the adventurous animation series Little J & Big Cuz to bespoke interstitials provided by the Melbourne Indigenous Transition School, there is something for Aussie kids of all ages across the ABC.
Libbie Doherty, ABC Children’s Head of Production said, “We are so very proud to present this exceptional body of work from Indigenous film makers across Australia. It’s bold and bright and tells an important story for all Australian children. This collection marks an important moment across all ABC Children’s TV and Audio Services where we start every day with an Acknowledgement of Country. We proudly present on ABC ME the hugely entertaining and highly original drama series Thalu , made in Western Australia’s Pilbara region, as well as the return of ABC Kids favourite Little J & Big Cuz which also includes in-language versions of a number of episodes. We also have an additional collection of fabulous supporting material from non-Indigenous teams such as Are You Tougher Than Your Ancestors? episodes The Big Match and The Original Ghan.”
Little J & Big Cuz Series 2
Premieres on ABC Kids at 8.05am, Monday 6 July.
Little J & Big Cuz is a Logie Award-winning animated children’s series featuring the voices of Miranda Tapsell and Deborah Mailman. Little J, he’s five and Big Cuz, she’s nine. They’re a couple of Indigenous Australian kids living with their Nanna and Old Dog. Little J and Big Cuz are busy with the ups and downs of playground and classroom.
There’s always something surprising going on whether it’s at school, in the backyard… or beyond. The gaps in Nanna’s ramshackle fence lead to Saltwater, Desert and Freshwater Country. With the help of Nanna and their teacher Ms Chen, Little J and Big Cuz are finding out all about culture, community and country.
Episodes of Little J & Big Cuz series 2 have been translated into Indigenous Languages, accompanied with English subtitles, to aid kids and families who are interested in learning a variety of languages including Noongar, Warlpiri, Palawa Kani, Torres Strait Creole, Djambarrpuyngu and Gija.
Thalu
Premieres on ABC ME at 4pm, Monday 6 July.
They’re young, funny and deadly and they’re on a mission to save the world!
With their country under threat from a huge dust cloud and the mysterious Takers that lurk within, a group of Indigenous kids have to make their way to the Thalu, a place of great power, in order to stop the cloud before it destroys everything in its path. Along the way they encounter friends and foes alike as they search for eight sacred stones and a special key that will unlock the power of the Thalu and, they hope, stop the Takers in their tracks.
Shot on location in and around Roebourne in Western Australia’s Pilbara region, the series celebrates its people and culture. Thalu fuses traditional Ngarluma stories with the heroes’ journeys and offers lots of laughs for kids. Cast with local children, each character has been rewritten and renamed with input from the young cast member to reflect their personality, sense of humour, and of course, culture.
Thalu features an impressive Indigenous support cast including Elaine Crombie, Derik Lynch, Hunter-Page Lochard, Aaron McGrath, Tricia Morton-Thomas, Gabriel Willie and Trevor Jamieson.
Are You Tougher Than Your Ancestors?
Available to watch now via the ABC ME app and on ABC iview
- Cameleers - The Original “Ghan” Trains episode: Ezekiel and Nathaniel guide a camel train through Australia’s harsh desert country following the route taken in the early 1900s by teenage Afghan Aboriginal cameleer, William Satour.
- Kadli - The Big Match episode: In 1823, 13-year-old Kadli was chosen as the best player of the match during a kaurna game of Parntu. Can modern day footballers Ray Ray and Jaikye match his skills to win the best and fairest title?
Play School: Hand in Hand
Watch here
In this special clip, Rachael and Luke talk about racism and how we can all play a part in stopping it.
Play School welcomes opportunities to discuss the importance of respect and kindness, and to encourage fair and equal treatment for everyone.
Indigenous Stories Collection
ABC iview will feature an online collection of stories from across the country, that celebrate the rich culture and language of Australia’s First Nations’ peoples. The collection will include Planet MITS, Grace Beside Me, Ready For This, Dream With Me, Move It Mob Style, Bushwhacked Bugs, What’s For Dinner, Shame, Advice to My 12-Year-Old Self, Create and Stacked!
ABC ME will premiere new interstitials from the Melbourne Indigenous Transition School (MITS) alongside METV content from What It’s Like Being Aboriginal, What’s For Dinner and Dream With Me.
The second season of Hardball has received production funding from Screen Australia.
In the new season, Mikey and the gang try to win the state doubles handball tournament, before they reach the end of primary school and experience all the change that comes with it. Series 2 sees the return of directors Darren Ashton and Fadia Abboud, creators and writers Matt Zeremes and Guy Edmonds, along with producer Joe Weatherstone and executive producers Catherine Nebauer, Bernadette O’Mahony, Jan Stradling and Mary-Ellen Mullane. Also joining the creative team are writers Amy Stewart (Drop Dead Weird) and Nazeem Hussain (Orange is the New Brown). This project is commissioned by the ABC and financed with support from Screen NSW, and distributed by the Australian Children’s Television Foundation.
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As mentioned on May 6.
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CBBC will also screen the first season of Hardball.
Teenage Boss - Season 2
From Monday 31 August at 6:30pm Weekdays
Hosted by star mathematics teacher, Eddie Woo, this series will see a range of teenagers from diverse families be put in charge of the monthly budget to teach them and their parents valuable lessons about financial responsibility and planning. Under Eddie Woo’s mentorship, we’ll follow the teenager through the ups, downs, fun and fear of the real- world financial challenges their parents have to face every day, but they’ll be taking on for the first time.
As we arrive at the front door of Teenage Boss series 2 – our new group of teens know what’s inEddie Woo’s suitcase, but are still shocked by how much money they’ve just been put in charge of!
Fifteen brave families of diverse backgrounds once again open their doors and agree to a life- changing experiment. The teenager of the house is put in charge of the family’s spending money for a whole month!! Under the watchful eye of star Maths teacher and mentor, Eddie Woo, our teens (aged 11-14 years) want to show their parents they can be responsible with money, and hopefully make a saving by the end of the challenge. The savings goal depends on the cost of their dream purchase with Jayden (11 years) keen on buying a professional camera; Molly (12 years old) has her eye on a pair of cowboy boots; Emelie (13 years) wants a customised sewing table for her sustainable clothing business; while Prabh (14 years) would love a deposit on a rowing ergo machine to assist with training at home.
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ABC increases support for students learning at home due to COVID-19
The ABC has expanded its free education content to support students learning at home due to COVID-19 restrictions and school closures in Victoria and elsewhere.
From today, education content on ABC ME will be expanded to 5.5 hours each weekday – helping students and teachers in remote learning from 9.30am to 3pm AEST each school day. Additional educational programming from 9.30-10am will support children in their first years of school, with programs such as Numberblocks, Wallykazam!, Learn A Word, Art With Mati and Dada and I’m A Creepy Crawly.
From 10am to midday, ABC ME will feature curriculum-aligned educational programs for primary and secondary students, including BTN, ScienceXplosion, Ecomaths, This Place, Citizen Code, Back In Time For Dinner: Education Shorts and the upcoming new series of Teenage Boss with inspiring maths teacher Eddie Woo, from 31 August.
From midday to 3pm, ABC ME will present programs with ties to Maths, Science, History and Health & Personal Development, such as Are you Tougher than Your Ancestors, Science Max, Barney’s Barrier Reef, Odd Squad and Horrible Histories.
The ABC’s expanded education schedule also features mini lessons presented by Australian schoolteachers, on specific learning areas from the English, Maths and Science curriculum. The 10-minute lessons are co-designed with teachers and produced with the support of Australian schools, Victoria’s Department of Education and Training and the NSW Department of Education.
Upcoming ABC Education programming will also feature the new ocean education and marine life series Deep Dive Into Australia’s Ocean Odyssey, to be broadcast during National Science Week from 15-23 August.
Other highlights of ABC Education content for students and teachers include:
- A new digibook about the cultural history of Kakadu National Park, introducing students to the landscapes and traditional owners of the World Heritage site.
- In My Blood It Runs educational resources aligned with the acclaimed documentary, exploring the rights and experiences of Australian children.
- A new digibook exploring the East Australian Current and the impact of global warming on this source of one of our most diverse and abundant ecosystems.
- Education videos, interactives and activities matched to the curriculum, exploring popular topics such as convicts, counting and Australian animals.
The ABC will offer additional online support to students, teachers and parents through its portal ABC Education, which features more than 4000 free videos, interactive resources and games mapped to the Australian curriculum – across subjects such as English, maths, science, history, geography, media Literacy, financial literacy and the arts and technologies, including STEM.
Sign up to the ABC Education weekly newsletter for engaging online resources, competitions, news and events to help teachers and parents.
Pre-schoolers are also in safe hands with trusted content on ABC Kids, ABC Kids listen and the ABC Early Education website. Special collections of learning content and family activities are also available on the ABC Kids app and ABC Kids Community Facebook page, which engages and inspires ongoing conversations with families, carers and educators.
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Utter rubbish. Theyre handing their audience over to 10Shake.
Why is it rubbish?I thinks decent a public broadcaster Is providing extra educational material for those who are stuck at home. Surely you wouldn’t be against that?
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They have the educational material provided by their teachers. Kids aren’t going to watch these programs by choice at home when 10Shake will be offering Nickelodeon content and 9Go offering Cartoon Network content.
Still its better then what the other networks are offering. I personally think its great ABC are doing this. The main networks wouldn’t bother.
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Bold move for the ABC, handing their audience over to a TV channel that… hasn’t launched yet
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It’ll be on air in the next 7 weeks.
We love to pick every post apart dont we.
Well when you critique the ABC for doing something innovative, and no other network is, and your comparing to a channel that hasn’t even launched, and 7 weeks is far away too. Your post does beg to be picked apart. 
(in a light way of course) I’m not attacking you personally and if that’s what you got from that, that’s your own issue. You haven’t really offered any point of difference into why the ABC shouldn’t be doing this.
Exactly, i don’t see the issue. If it helps with some educational material to supplement what they are learning through online (given that school is back to online in Victoria) , then there isn’t an issue well at least in the slightest from my perspective or those teachers as well.
…and if we’re being realistic, how much of the intended target demographic of 10 Shake would be aware that the channel is about to launch? I’d probably say very little if any!
The ABC should be commended for adding additional educational programming to the lineup of ABC ME - a channel who’s target demographic shouldn’t be at home watching TV (unless of course they’re home schooled students on a short break from their lessons, but that is likely to be a small section of the overall population) during normal times anyway.
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