The Best TV Shows on ABC TV

Every ABC TV Show Ranked From Best To Worst

Leading the pack on ABC TV are The Adventures of Long John Silver and Police Rescue, with their initial broadcasts in 1957 and 1991. Our curated list, current as of January 2026, showcases over 20 of ABC TV’s highest-rated series. From 1957 through to 2024, ABC TV has accumulated a diverse collection of over 20 television shows.

  • Ready, Steady, Wiggle!
    Ready, Steady, Wiggle! (2013)9.8

    New and old friends join The Wiggles for their musical adventures in Wiggle Town, learning lessons and solving problems as they go.

  • Guy Montgomery's Guy Mont Spelling Bee
    Guy Montgomery's Guy Mont Spelling Bee (2024)8.8

    Get ready to laugh-out-loud as Guy Montgomery and his loyal assistant Aaron Chen are joined by some of Australia's favourite personalities, testing their spelling prowess with wildly inventive spelling challenges designed to befuddle, bamboozle, and bedazzle them all.

  • Hard Quiz
    Hard Quiz (2016)7.7

    Host Tom Gleeson sets out to find Australia's hardest quiz champion, pitting four contestants against each other in a battle of attrition.

  • Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries
    Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries (2012)7.6

    Our lady sleuth sashays through the back lanes and jazz clubs of late 1920’s Melbourne, fighting injustice with her pearl handled pistol and her dagger sharp wit. Leaving a trail of admirers in her wake, our thoroughly modern heroine makes sure she enjoys every moment of her lucky life. Based on author Kerry Greenwood's Phryne Fisher Murder Mystery novels.

  • Harrow
    Harrow (2018)7.6

    When a dark secret from this past threatens to be exposed, unorthodox and brilliant medical examiner, Doctor Daniel Harrow, must use all his forensic skills to keep it buried forever.

  • The Newsreader
    The Newsreader (2021)7.6

    An unconventional relationship in a world on the cusp of change; a star newsreader and an ambitious bisexual reporter join forces in a ruthless 1986 newsroom, as events unfold that will change their lives.

  • Blue Water High
    Blue Water High (2005)7.3

    Blue Water High is an Australian television drama series, broadcast by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation on ABC1 and on Austar/Foxtel Nickelodeon channel in Australia and on various channels in many other countries. Each season follows the lives of a young group of students at Solar Blue, a high-performance surf academy where several lucky 16-year-olds are selected for a 12-month-long surfing program on Sydney's northern beaches. There are three series in Blue Water High. The first two series were screened in 2005 and 2006 and the producers did not intend to create a third series. However, due to popular demand by fans, they relented and made one more series with only Kate Bell returning in a main role. Series three ended with the closure of Solar Blue, indicating that the show would most likely not continue.

  • Spicks and Specks
    Spicks and Specks (2005)7.1

    Adam Hills, one of Australia's favourite comedians and winner of Edinburgh's Best of the Fest award, is joined by two team captains, comedian and actor Alan Brough and radio breakfast announcer Myf Warhurst, as well as brave personalities who enjoy having long forgotten embarrassing stories laughed about on national television. Two teams go head to head as they sing, shout and delve deep into the recesses of their collective minds to help earn their team an extremely inglorious victory.

  • Heartbreak High
    Heartbreak High (1994)6.9

    The ins and outs of the classroom lives of a group of students who attend the fictional Hartley High School in Sydney.

  • Jack Irish
    Jack Irish (2016)6.9

    Jack Irish is a man getting his life back together again. A former criminal lawyer whose world imploded, he now spends his days as a part-time investigator, debt collector, apprentice cabinet maker, punter and sometime lover – the complete man really. An expert in finding those who don’t want to be found – dead or alive, Jack helps out his mates while avoiding the past. That is until the past finds him.

  • The Adventures of Long John Silver
    The Adventures of Long John Silver (1957)6.7

    The Adventures of Long John Silver is a family adventure series about the Long John Silver character from Treasure Island. Produced in 1954 in colour in Australia for the American and British markets before the development of Australian television. Long John Silver is the proud captain of his own ship and his own crew. He and his buccaneer cruise around the Caribbean and often stay on the side of the English and fight the French and Spanish. After long and dangerous adventures, he and his crew rest in the tavern of Miss Purity. The series first aired in the United States on syndicated basis in 1956, but irregularly as part of another show. Several episodes were edited together and shown theatrically under the titles: 'Under the Black Flag' and 'South Sea Pirates'. Afterwards, it was sold to the ITV in the UK, and aired in 1957. In 1958, the Australian Broadcasting Company (ABC) screened the series as part of Children's TV Club.

  • Glitch
    Glitch (2015)6.7

    A police officer and a doctor face an emotionally charged mystery when seven local residents inexplicably return from the dead in peak physical form.

  • Enough Rope With Andrew Denton
    Enough Rope With Andrew Denton (2003)6.5

    Enough Rope with Andrew Denton is a television interview show originally broadcast on ABC1 in Australia. The title of the show came from the phrase "give someone enough rope and they'll hang themselves". The program was the brainchild of Australian comedian, social critic, producer and media personality Andrew Denton, who hosted the show. The hour-long chat show aired from 2003 to 2008.

  • Police Rescue
    Police Rescue (1991)6.4

    Police Rescue was an Australian television series The series dealt with the New South Wales Police Rescue Squad based in Sydney and their work attending to various incidents from road accidents to train crashes.

  • The Wiggles
    The Wiggles (1998)6.1

    A show geared for babies up to older toddlers. This show is full of music, teaching kids songs and easy dances.

  • Total Control
    Total Control (2019)5.6

    A local Indigenous politician is recruited to the senate by the Australian Prime Minister after a contentious video goes viral.

  • Bananas in Pyjamas
    Bananas in Pyjamas (1992)5.4

    Bananas in Pyjamas is an Australian children's television show that premiered on 20 July 1992 on ABC. It has since become syndicated in many different countries, and dubbed into other languages. In the United States, the "Pyjamas" in the title was modified to reflect the American spelling pajamas. This aired in syndication from 1995 to 1997 as a half-hour series, then became a 15-minute show paired with a short-lived 15-minute series The Crayon Box, under a 30-minute block produced by Sachs Family Entertainment titled Bananas in Pajamas & The Crayon Box. Additionally, the characters and a scene from the show were featured in the Kids for Character sequel titled Kids for Character: Choices Count. The pilot episode was Pink Mug.

  • Australian Story
    Australian Story (1996)4.8

    Putting the "real" back into reality television, Australian Story is an award-winning documentary series with no narrator and no agendas — just authentic stories told entirely in people's own words.

  • The Weekly with Charlie Pickering
    The Weekly with Charlie Pickering (2015)4.7

    News comedy show, tonight show and chat show all in one, allowing Charlie to return to his comedy roots while being a general nuisance to newsmakers, politicians and other charlatans.

  • Q&A
    Q&A (2008)3.2

    Hosted by Hamish Macdonald, Q&A puts punters, pollies and pundits together in the studio to thrash out the hot issues of the week. It's about democracy in action - the audience gets to ask the questions.