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The Year Ahead in Entertainment and Sport
What will 2026 bring in entertainment and sport? News Club is the place to find out...
Welcome to our Year Ahead series where we talk with our friends in news about what they reckon will be the big themes of the year. This time, we're going in-house to talk entertainment and sport...
The Squiz is the place to stay informed, not overwhelmed.
From what to watch this weekend to which games are worth setting the alarm for, entertainment and sport are the news we actually want to talk about at the BBQ.
Andrew Williams is our News Director and the host of Squiz Today podcasts, and a man with a deep interest and knowledge of what's on screen and taking place in sport. We sat down with him to talk about the big themes for 2026.
The story that stuck from 2025
Entertainment: Andrew nominates Adolescence, the Netflix drama that became one of the streamer's biggest hits despite almost zero promotion.
Andrew Williams: All the streamers probably have an enormous amount of people working on trying to get an algorithm for what's the best form of entertainment. In the end, it was a show with almost no promotion, from a human idea, with a lot of craft behind it, that took off through word of mouth.
It follows Netflix's other surprise hit Baby Reindeer in late 2024 - both dark British dramas that connected with audiences by tapping into the magic of storytelling over algorithm-driven content.
Sport: Off the field, Andrew's fascinated by the Tasmanian stadium saga - the $1.13 billion project that came down to a handful of votes in the Tassie Parliament, despite having bipartisan support from the major parties. On the field, it's the Women's Ashes - and one leg break from Alana King in particular.
Andrew Williams: You know how men were saying they think about the Roman Empire several times a day? Those men are lying. But I think about Alana King's leg break at least once a day.
The big story for 2026
Entertainment: Media consolidation. Netflix's deal to buy Warner Brothers is just the start - Andrew expects smaller streamers to bundle together or fold as the market contracts around the dominant players.
Andrew Williams: There are a lot of players out there, particularly in the US market. Some of them are gonna go, well, we're just not getting the subscriber base.
Sport: Three new football teams are gearing up to launch in the coming years - the Perth Bears (2027) and the PNG Chiefs (2028) in the NRL, and the Tasmanian Devils in the AFL (2028). Each faces different challenges around player recruitment, distance, and local support, and Andrew expects to see plenty of news on that this year as they gear up to get started…
Andrew Williams: If someone's going to make (these new rugby league teams) work, it's probably gonna be (NRL CEO) Peter V'landys.
The story bubbling away to keep an eye on
Entertainment: The decline of Marvel. What was once the biggest entertainment franchise in the world - Avengers: Endgame is the second highest-grossing film ever - has been struggling with oversaturation and confusing parallel universe storylines. This year's new Spider-Man and Avengers films will be the test.
Andrew Williams: They're so desperate they brought back Robert Downey Jr, who was Iron Man, as the key villain - a totally different character. If they don't get people in cinemas for this, they might have to pack it up and start again.
Sport: The FIFA Men's World Cup in Canada, the US and Mexico - expanded to 48 teams, under the Trump presidency, with the three host nations at odds. Plus the Women's Asian Cup on home soil with the Matildas, the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow (after Victoria pulled out), and the Winter Olympics in Milan.
Andrew Williams: I think every Matildas fan, of which there are many after the World Cup, have been aching to see them in a tournament again. You're going to get your chance this year, and that's very exciting.
The interview
The full conversation with Andrew is available in the News Club channel...
Why Adolescence and Baby Reindeer succeeded in a way that algorithm-driven content usually doesn’t
The ACCC's new merger powers and what they mean for Australian media
Why the Women's Ashes was a masterclass and the Australian women's cricket team deserves more love
🎧 Listen to the full episode here.
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Andrew recommends
📺 Line of Duty - "It's coming back for another season, so if you've been pausing and waiting, now's the time to catch up."
📺 Blue Lights - "A cop drama set in Belfast that intersperses a regular workplace drama with the historic element of the Troubles. Amazing cast, fantastic writing."
🎬 Sinners - The vampire epic from 2025 picked up a record 16 nominations for this year’s Academy Awards, and it was Andrew’s favourite film of last year.
📋 Lists, lists and more lists - Andrew loves a list, so here are some lists of the best movies, TV shows, books and albums of 2025 - and here are some lists of the most anticipated movies, TV series, books and albums to whet your appetite for the year in entertainment to come. It looks like a good one…
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