The fixtures are headlined by the MCG Melbourne Derby on January 4 - a replay of last year's final and the Stars' cross-town rivalry with the Melbourne Renegades has never been stronger.

The action-packed fixture will see the Stars play 14 matches across a shortened season, opening its campaign against the Brisbane Heat on December 20.

The Stars will play all five of its MCG matches during January and will again take a fixture to the Gold Coast, playing a home match at Metricon Stadium on December 27 against the Adelaide Strikers to continue the Big Bash's expansion into this market.

The Stars' final home venue will be announced in due course.

In his first season at the helm, coach David Hussey said he was eager to start preparing for what will be another big season.

"We're really excited for the upcoming season," Hussey said,

Now that the fixtures have been released, we can jump straight into planning, complete our list and prepare for a push for our first title.

"The Stars own cricket at the MCG in the month of January so it's great that Melburnians have so many opportunities to come and spend their summer holidays with us.

"Every year the Melbourne Derby gets bigger and bigger and after last season's final - this one is going to be a very good battle, so I encourage all Melburnians to pencil January 4 in their calendars."

This season's new BBL finals series creates an appropriate crescendo to the season, with the top five teams all involved in the finals and the top two teams rewarded with a double chance.

Joining Maddinson, a former Bomaderry High School student, in the Stars squad so far are Michael Beer, Jackson Bird, Scott Boland, Liam Bowe, Dwayne Bravo, Jackson Coleman, Travis Dean, Ben Dunk, Seb Gotch, Evan Gulbis, Peter Handscomb, Sandeep Lamichhane, Nick Larkin, Glenn Maxwell, Jonathan Merlo, Liam Plunkett, Marcus Stonis, Daniel Worrall and Adam Zampa.

Full schedule: Brisbane Heat (December 20), Hobart Hurricanes (December 22), Adelaide Strikers (December 27), Hobart Hurricanes (December 30), Sydney Thunder (January 2), Melbourne Renegades (January 4), Sydney Thunder (January 8), Melbourne Renegades (January 10), Sydney Sixers (January 12), Perth Scorchers (January 15 and 18), Sydney Sixers (January 20), Adelaide Strikers (January 22) and Brisbane Heat (January 25).