SBS is ringing in the Lunar New Year with a distinctive line-up of programming across the SBS Network from 16 January to 5 February to celebrate diverse cultures, traditions and food, and encourage all Australians to be part of this special time of year observed by over 1.5 billion people around the world. Welcoming the Year of the Rabbit and Cat, content will be available in more than nine languages including Cantonese, English, Filipino, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Nepali and Vietnamese to showcase the breadth and diversity of celebrations.
SBS is delighted to celebrate Lunar New Year across our expansive network and highlight the richness of cultures, languages and traditions that makes up contemporary Australia. It's a very significant celebration and SBS is proud to invite all Australians to take part, said SBS Managing Director, James Taylor.
SBS will also be on the ground at Lunar New Year events in every state and territory in partnership with community festivals - including with Multicultural NSW to light up the sails of the Sydney Opera House.
Highlights of SBS's curated Lunar New Year content will include:
SBS Radio's cross-platform audio offerings in-language across broadcast radio, digital and podcasting will feature cultural explainers, such as understanding the difference between the Year of the Rabbit and Cat (link); learning the Korean Sabae bow (link); intimate storytelling about traditions and folklore, such as the symbolism of the yellow blooms for Vietnamese-Australians (link);the art of feng shui (link); talkback radio and interviews with experts; food podcasts; and fun competitions and give-aways.
Music station SBS PopAsia will run Lunar New Year playlists for Mandopop, V-Pop, Cantopop and K-Pop on Sunday 22 January (at 10am, 12pm, 3pm and 8pm respectively) and other times through the week, while SBS Radio 1 will treat listeners to an early-morning C-pop session from 21 January to 5 February from 6am to 7am.
SBS On Demand will offer an expanded collection of movies and TV shows covering Asian drama, comedy and action with subtitles available in English. This includes the Ip Man seriesstarring Hong Kong actor and martial artist Donnie Yen; the Australian premiere of Korean comedy drama series Cleaning Up season 1; Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy by director Ryusuke Hamaguchi of Drive My Car; and the classic Japanese horror movie JU-ON (The Grudge). SBS World Movies will offer a season of Jackie Chan cult classics including Drunken Master and Kung Fu Yoga; as well as recent releases like The Fortress inKorean, directed by Hwang Dong-hyuk, the creator of the Netflix series Squid Game.
SBS main channel will feature the documentary The Great Wall of China: The Hidden Story, showing how the Great Wall was constructed and why it was built in the 16th century, while SBS VICELAND will run a diverse Lunar New Year line-up of drama series, movies and documentaries on Sunday 22 January, starting with The Family Law season 3 and ending with Detective Chinatown season 1.
SBS Food will feature Destination Flavour host Adam Liaw travelling to China to explore its history and his own family history, as well as foodie favourites Luke Nguyen s Railway Vietnam and Adam & Poh's Malaysia in Australia. SBS Food online will feature recipes across diverse and delicious Asian cuisines by renowned creators including Victor Liong, Chef and Owner of Chinese restaurant Lee Ho Fook.
SBS Voices will run a specially-commissioned memoir piece by Korean-Australian Naeun Kim alongside a special Lunar New Year comedy roast by Kevin Jin.
SBS Learn has launched teacher resources helping primary and secondary school students to celebrate the Year of the Rabbit and Cat. These include curriculum-aligned activities, downloadable worksheets, and a fantastic art activity by illustrator, author and educator Freda Chiu, and illustrator and muralist Christina Huynh. SBS Learn is also running a summer book competition for teachers to win Lunar New Year-inspired books for their classrooms. Entries close 22 January. Visit sbs.com.au/learn
Everyone can get involved in the celebrations with SBS, including out in the community with SBS's Guide for 2023 Lunar New Year Celebrations across Australia (English, Cantonese) and discovering which classic Lunar New Year dish you should try using SBS's fun Instagram filter.
For all our distinctive Lunar New Year content, visit our website here.
Full program:
SBS On Demand premieres
Available now
Blush
Ermo
JU-ON 2 (The Grudge 2)
The Heart
Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy
Wrath of Silence
Weekly from Thursday 19 January
Cleaning Up Series 1
Available from 20 January
B for Busy
Kung Fu Yoga
Paradox
Railroad Tigers
Three
Vanguard
SBS
Tokyo Vice, Wednesday 18 January, 9.25pm
The Great Wall of China: The Hidden Story, Sunday 22 January, 7.35pm
Tokyo Vice, Wednesday 25 January, 9.30pm
SBS VICELAND
League of Gods, Wednesday 18 January, 11.25pm
The Family Law Season 3 Marathon, Sunday 22 January, 12pm
Master Cheng (A Spice For Life), Sunday 22 January, 4.30pm
China's New Silk Road, Yiwu to Madrid, Sunday 22 January, 6.35pm
The Donut King, Sunday 22 January, 9:20pm
SBS World Movies
Better Days, Sunday 22 January, 10.20pm
Focus On: Jackie Chan - Drunken Master (Cantonese), Monday 23 January, 9.30pm
The Late Night Ride (Vietnamese), Monday 23 January, 11.35pm
Focus On: Jackie Chan Drunken Master II (Cantonese), Tuesday 24 January, 9.30pm
Ninja: Shadow Of A Tear (Japanese/English), Tuesday 24 January, 11.25pm
Focus On: Jackie Chan Jackie Chan's First Strike (Cantonese, Mandarin, Russian, Ukrainian), Wednesday 25 January, 9.35pm
Slate (Korean), Wednesday 25 January, 11.40pm
Focus On: Jackie Chan - Bleeding Steel (Cantonese), Thursday 26 January, 9.30pm
The Fortress (Korean), Thursday 26 January, 11.
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SBS is ringing in the Lunar New Year with a distinctive line-up of programming across the SBS Network from 16 January to 5 February to celebrate diverse cultures, traditions and food, and encourage all Australians to be part of this special time of year observed by over 1.5 billion people around the world. Welcoming the Year of the Rabbit and Cat, content will be available in more than nine languages including Cantonese, English, Filipino, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Nepali and Vietnamese to showcase the breadth and diversity of celebrations.
