For the first time, BBC Three will premiere the entirety of a new series online before its television broadcast, it was announced last week. All six episodes of Jonah From Tonga will be available for 48 hours starting May 2 on the BBC iPlayer in the U.K. and Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s (ABC) internet TV service iView.
The series is the latest from Chris Lilley, the chameleonic writer/producer/actor best known for playing the privileged school girl Ja’mie in the ABC series Summer Heights High and Ja’mie: Private School Girl. The new series brings back Jonah, one of the other two characters he played in Summer Heights High.
Jonah From Tonga is produced by Princess Pictures and Chris Lilley in conjunction with ABC TV.
The BBC iPlayer launched December 2007 as a simple archival sight where viewers could catch up on programs they missed on TV. In the years since, it has evolved, adding exclusive iPlayer-only programs, entire series and films, radio shows, live TV channels and radio stations and downloads for offline viewing.
Earlier this month, the short-form documentary series WWI Uncut debuted as a BBC iPlayer app exclusive.