The new season of Shaun Micallef’s Origin Odyssey sees Shaun Micallef accompany six prominent Australians back to the places their ancestors once called home. Armed with historical research, misplaced confidence and a passport, Shaun helps uncover family stories that have lain hidden for generations. Along the way, there are remarkable discoveries, unexpected detours, laugh-out-loud moments and conversations that quietly change how each guest sees the people who came before them. Because the past has a habit of refusing to stay there.
Fortunately for us.
Premiering Tuesday 18 August on SBS and SBS On Demand, the six-part series opens in Italy, where Shaun joins award-winning actor and television personality Pia Miranda. Together Pia and Shaun retrace her Nonno’s footsteps. uncovering a family history shaped by resilience, hardship, and migration. In Vulcano, Pia searches for the home where her Nonna once lived and the church where she was married. Emotional reunions with relatives prompt reflections on identity, belonging and the life she may have lived had her family’s story unfolded differently.
National treasure Denise Scott travels to Germany with Shaun to uncover the story behind her German roots, a heritage she admits she has largely overlooked. As they explore medieval towns, churches, archives, and the submerged site of her ancestor’s birthplace, Denise and Shaun uncover stories of labour, loss and strength, For Denise, the voyage becomes unexpectedly moving, prompting her to reflect on her relationship with her mother and reshaping her understanding of ambition, family and the quiet courage of an ordinary life.
Award-winning comedian, writer, actor, and podcast host Matt Okine meets up with Shaun in Ghana, where they embark on an immersive odyssey of Matt’s father’s early life. Now a dad himself, Matt sets out to better understand his father’s life before coming to Australia, and to reconnect with a heritage he once hesitated to embrace. From fishing villages and cocoa farms to family traditions and sacred rituals, Matt reckons with the heritage he once kept at arm’s length and takes stock of how hard his dad worked to move to Australia and give him the life he has now.
Beloved Australian comedian, actor, and writer Luke McGregor heads to Scotland with Shaun to uncover his family history. What begins as a light-hearted search for answers soon deepens as relatives, historians and archival records help piece together his lineage, revealing unexpected connections across Scotland’s historic and picturesque towns. Guided by Shaun’s own reflections on heritage, Luke navigates the humour, awkwardness and wonder of connecting with a past he never fully understood.
One of Australia’s most recognisable radio and television personalities, Kate Langbroek, returns to Jamaica for the first time since she was eighteen to reconnect with the homeland of her maternal ancestors. Kate and Shaun’s adventure begins in the vibrant chaos of Coronation Market, where the music, colour and atmosphere stir memories for Kate and prompt reflections on her upbringing in a Jehovah’s Witness family. As long-hidden family stories come to light, Kate uncovers a powerful legacy passed down through generations of strong Jamaican women.
In Ireland, much-loved television presenter and broadcaster Tony Armstrong joins Shaun to explore his family’s Irish heritage. As Tony meets his Irish relatives for the first time and retraces his ancestor’s struggles, he uncovers powerful parallels with his Aboriginal identity. Moments of reflection are shared between Tony and Shaun as they draw connections between colonial histories in Ireland and Australia. Shaun finds hope in Ireland’s evolving path towards reconciliation, while Tony reflects on identity, belonging, and a sense of inherited purpose.
Shaun Micallef said: “They say getting there is half the fun. But it does rather depend on where you’re going – and with whom. Fortunately, this season, SBS audiences get to go on six remarkable journeys with six equally remarkable Australians. Pia Miranda, Tony Armstrong, Kate Langbroek, Luke McGregor, Denise Scott and Matt Okine are on their way across space and time back to their ancestral homelands. Half the fun is very much in getting them there. The other half arrives when they do get to their destination. And a third half – perhaps the most important half of all – is delivered by me: your host – Shaun Micallef. Believe me, I’m just as surprised as you’ll be at what happens.”
Shaun Micallef’s Origin Odyssey is developed and produced by Endemol Shine Australia (ESA), part of media and entertainment group, Banijay Entertainment, in association with SBS.
Shaun Micallef’s Origin Odyssey will be subtitled on SBS On Demand in Arabic, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Vietnamese and Korean. All episodes will be available with audio description.
Shaun Micallef’s Origin Odyssey season 2 premieres on Tuesday 18 August on SBS and SBS On Demand. The six-part series airs on SBS at 7:30pm Tuesday nights, with new episodes available to stream on SBS On Demand weekly from August 18.
Season 1 of Shaun Micallef's Origin Odyssey is now streaming at SBS On Demand.
