TLDR
Netflix has picked up global streaming rights to 2.6 Seconds: Death in the Outback, a four-part SBS and NITV documentary, before a single episode has screened publicly. The series examines the 2019 fatal shooting of Warlpiri Luritja teenager Kumanjayi Walker in Yuendumu and premieres at TIFF Primetime in September 2026.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
The deal
Netflix acquired global streaming rights to 2.6 Seconds: Death in the Outback on 10 September 2026, nine days after SBS published its forward programming slate and well before the series had screened for a public audience.[1] The series is one of only ten selected globally for TIFF's Primetime programme in 2026, placing it in unusually selective company for an Australian documentary.[1]
Netflix, SBS and the producers disclosed no financial terms. Pre-premiere acquisitions of publicly commissioned non-fiction by the world's largest streamer are rare enough that the timing alone stands out.
What the series covers
The four-part series examines the fatal shooting of 19-year-old Warlpiri Luritja man Kumanjayi Walker by Northern Territory police officer Zachary Rolfe during an attempted arrest in the remote community of Yuendumu in November 2019.[2] The title is forensic: 2.6 seconds passed between Rolfe's first and second shots, with a third following 0.5 seconds after that.
Darren Dale wrote and produced the series, with Jacob Hickey as series producer.[2] SBS and NITV co-commissioned it; Blackfella Films produced in association with PAW Media, with major production investment from Screen Australia's First Nations Department and support from Screen NSW.[1]
A long road to the premiere
SBS and NITV first announced the series in October 2024, originally targeting a 2025 premiere, before it appeared in SBS's 2026 and then its 2027 programming slates.[3] That extended timeline is common for documentary work of this complexity, though it does mean Netflix committed before SBS's own audience had seen a frame.
What the producers and Netflix said
Darren Dale said the acquisition confirmed what the production team had believed about the story from the start. "Netflix coming on board ahead of our TIFF premiere is confirmation of that belief and I cannot wait to see how international audiences respond to this powerful series," Dale said.[4]
Amanda Duthie, Netflix ANZ Content Director, said the series carried the kind of weight that stays with a viewer. "Some stories stay with you long after the screening, and 2.6 Seconds is one of those. Netflix is honoured to bring this deeply moving Australian documentary to Netflix audiences around the world, giving a powerful and important story the opportunity to resonate far beyond our shores," Duthie said.[4]
The world premiere at TIFF Primetime in September 2026 comes first, with the Australian broadcast window on SBS and NITV to follow.
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