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Scandal, American Crime on Presto

New episodes of two US dramas now available on Presto.

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Free to Air Fans waiting for new episodes of Scandal could be in for some wait with the Australian television premiere of season 4 and the first 9 episodes of season 5 now available on Foxtel / Seven-owned Presto.

The remainder of season 5 will be fast tracked after their US broadcast in February.

How long it will take for a Free to Air screening is unclear, but Aquarius arrived on Seven several months after its SVOD debut.

Season 1 of American Crime (not to be confused with American Crime Story) has also launched on Presto, with the second season fast-tracked from January.

Also making its Australian television premiere on Presto is the Emmy and Golden Globe-nominated American Crime, starring Felicity Huffman (Desperate Houswives), Regina King (who won the 2015 Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series) and Timothy Hutton, and explores issues of race, class and gender politics as it follows a racially-charged murder and the subsequent trial.

The first season of this anthology crime drama focuses on the aftermath and investigation of the murder of a veteran, Matt Skokie (Grant Merritt), and brutal assault of his wife, Gwen (Kira Pozehl). This stunning, critically-acclaimed series explores the story from multiple perspectives, centred around the impact of the event on the victims’ families, as well as the suspects and their loved ones.

Presto TV CEO Shaun James said, “Scandal is one of the most successful dramas currently airing on US television and Presto is thrilled to have secured the exclusive SVOD rights to all episodes of the multi-award-winning series.

“Australian audiences will be able to see every episode of Scandal including season 5 which is currently airing in the US, plus the never before seen season 4, as well as all three previous series’.

“We’re also excited to bring to Presto the stirring drama American Crime, which is a courageous series that wraps up raw emotions among a diverse cast and is sure to strike a chord with our subscribers.”

9 Responses

  1. Grrr. Realy hoping this doesn’t mean we won’t see those episodes of Scandal on FTA. I don’t fancy the extra bills that come with paying for multiple streaming services. I can continue to be patient for a while, but I’d like to know whether there’s a point to that. I’ve had to talk my husband out of seeking other means to watch Once Upon a Time a few times insisting Channel 7 will eventually play it, but I have no confidence in this at all. You would think a network that has three FTA channels could find space for first-run shows rather than squeezing them out to the streaming services.

  2. This is looking like the future of US drama in Australia – first on SVOD, then (if ever!) on FTA.

    On the one hand it’s great for fans of the show who have a legal option to watch shows same day, but on the other it excludes a lot of the population who can’t afford or otherwise can’t access an SVOD service from drama.

    1. I think too light is made of the fact that many people in Australian don’t have a good internet connection and aren’t able to access a SVOD service. Its one thing for viewers to miss out on shows because they premiered on a SVOD service but its quite another and significantly worse for a show to air a few seasons on fta and then move to svod where viewers may not able to continue watching it.

  3. Thanks David, I’d been wondering what had happened to Scandal, it’s usually on at this time of year, same with Suits. Any word when it’s coming back? So annoying Scandal’s going to Presto, not all of us have fast computers to watch stuff on line. Really annoyed I can’t watch the Home & Away special. Is there any chance 7 will show it eventually?

    1. Suits is on the Universal Channel which is available on foxtel and fetch. They are currently replaying season 4 and new episodes are fast tracked at the end of January.

      1. Oh thanks for that. I don’t have foxtel so hopefully 7 will eventually show it like they do with Chicago Fire. Don’t know what fetch is. So sick of them doing this, if it starts on 7 or 9 or whatever, then all subsequent seasons should be on that channel. It’s not fair to those of us that get invested in shows & don’t have foxtel.

  4. Australia is too small a market to have three streaming services which leads to this kind of fragmentation.

    Not liking the trend of seasons airing on one service such as free to air and moving to a paid service such as a streaming service. This is just another tactic that will kill free to air.

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