23 September 2021
50 South African series and movies on Showmax and Netflix
These South African series and movies – rom-coms, stand-up specials, dramas, comedies, documentaries and horror movies – pay homage to our South African heritage.
50. The Wife (Showmax)
When Hlomu, an ambitious journalist, falls for a charming taxi driver, his secrets draw her into a dark underworld. Telenovela inspired by Dudu Busani-Dube’s books Hlomu the Wife and its sequels. New episodes every Thursday.
49. Kandasamys: The Wedding (Showmax)
Enemies turned friends Jennifer Kandasamy and Shanti Naidoo are thrilled that their children are getting married. But as the big day draws closer, things start to fall apart. Keeping Up With The Kandasamys is also on Showmax.
48. Inxeba: The Wound (Showmax)
While travelling to the mountains with a group of young initiates, Xolani’s life is turned upside down when his forbidden love is discovered. Beautifully shot and acted, this compelling drama is a South African cinema gem.
47. Goodbye Gogo (Showmax)
A rich matriarch wishes to reconcile with her estranged family before she dies. As her family come to say their goodbyes, they uncover truths that will either bring them closer – or break them apart for good.
46. Umakoti Wethu (Showmax)
SAFTA winner Fulu Mugovhani stars in this drama as Khatu, who finds herself in crisis when her husband’s new job ignites old flames. Melusi Mbele plays her husband Sizwe, with Kwanele Mthethwa as the woman caught in the middle.
45. Devilsdorp (Showmax)
Hell comes closer to home in the Showmax Original true-crime documentary series about the brutal Krugersdorp Killings and the work of the Electus Per Deus cult between 2012 and 2016.
44. Blood & Water (Netflix)
At Parkhurst College, a prestigious inner-city school for Cape Town’s elite scholars and academic overachievers, we’ll follow the exploits of the intelligent, proactive and impulsive 16- year-old Puleng Khumalo, as she engineers her transfer to the school to investigate the 17-year- old cold case of her abducted-at-birth older sister she’s never met. Season 2 lands on 24 September on Netflix.
43. Skemerdans (Showmax)
Skemerdans is set in the Cape Flats around a grieving widow who fights to regain control of what belongs to her amidst an ongoing murder investigation into the death of her husband.
42. Kings of Joburg (Netflix)
From Connie and Shona Ferguson comes this series about the Masire brothers, who rule the underworld of Johannesburg – until a family curse threatens to destroy them.
41. DAM (Showmax)
When a young woman returns to her small-town home, she’s confronted by an unspeakable past. But is the cause of her terror real, or is she losing her mind?
40. Tali’s Baby Diary (Showmax)
In the hilarious follow up to Tali’s Wedding Diary, an unexpected pregnancy forces Tali (Julia Anastasopoulos, aka SuzelleDIY) into a desperate pivot from Insta-influencer to wholesome momfluencer, as Darren (Anton Taylor) and Rael (Glen Biderman-Pam) navigate the choppy waters of the Cape Town property game.
39. One Night Kwa Mxolisi (Showmax)
When a once semi-successful rugby player opens a new restaurant, his friends come to celebrate his success. But after one too many vodkas and a few too many truth-bombs, illusions are shattered and friendships are tested. Directed by star Sisanda Henna (Trackers). Watch now »
38. Trevor Noah: NationWild (Showmax)
Mzansi’s great comedian is back with a brand-new comedy showcase featuring up-and-coming South African comedians and the stories behind their success.
37. Trevor Noah: Son of Patricia (Netflix)
Daily Show host Trevor Noah touches on tacos, runaway snakes, camping, racism immunity and lessons he learned from his mother in this comedy special.
36. Trippin With Skhumba (Showmax)
Pack your padkos! Skhumba and six of his comedian friends, including Tumi Morake, Celeste Ntuli, Schalk Bezuidenhout and more, go back to their roots, travelling to their hometowns, from Kempton Park to Empangeni and everywhere in between, in the ultimate South African road trip.
35. Seriously Single (Netflix)
While her free-living bestie urges her to embrace singlehood, a social media expert craving commitment can’t stop following the life of a former love.
34. Love Lives Here (Showmax)
Zinhle is a hard-working modern woman with traditional values. She knows exactly what she wants and believes she knows what the next best step is for her: getting married. Starring Thando Thabethe and more top SA talent.
33. Baby Mamas (Netflix)
Baby Mamas is a comedy drama revolving around the daily lives, loves and drama of four professional women who are all in different stages of motherhood.
32. Unmarried S1-2 (Showmax)
The fresh, fun and sexy drama series returns, following three friends living in bustling Johannesburg as they deal with the challenges of balancing motherhood, marriage and relationships with their careers.
31. 8 (Netflix)
After inheriting his estranged father’s countryside home, a man hires a mysterious farm hand with a demonic secret that draws his family closer to death.
30. Rage (Showmax)
What is supposed to be the best holiday of their lives turns to horror as a group of teenagers is picked off one by one in a small coastal village.
29. Pinky Pinky (Showmax)
A teenager tries to cope with the loss of her twin sister by running away to boarding school. There, she finds a monster not too different from the one she was escaping – but way more powerful. Will she keep running, or defeat it?
28. Gomora (Showmax)
Gomora is a story about inequality. It’s about the rich and the poor and how fine the line between the two can be. It follows the lives of two families and how their worlds collide.
27. The Girl From St Agnes (Showmax)
The mysterious death of a schoolgirl at an elite boarding school sets off a desperate hunt for the truth. It seems everyone has something to hide in this gripping South African drama filmed in the Midlands.
26. Queen Sono (Netflix)
The action-packed series follows Queen Sono, the highly trained top spy in a South African agency whose purpose is to better the lives of African citizens. While taking on her most dangerous mission yet, she must also face changing relationships in her personal life.
25. Lockdown S1-5 (Showmax)
Notorious for its cliffhangers, plot twists and emotional rollercoasters, Lockdown takes viewers into the cells and offices of Thabazimbi Women’s Correctional Facility, where survival is the order of the day.
24. The Letter Reader (Showmax and Netflix)
A young boy from Johannesburg arrives in KwaZulu-Natal and begins to read letters for villagers — then falls in love with one of the recipients.
23. Hopeville (Netflix)
To support the swimming aspirations of his son, an estranged father attempts to restore a public pool but meets resistance from the community.
22. Matwetwe (Showmax)
Lefa and Papi have just finished high school and are about to embark on the biggest hustle of their lives. On New Year’s Eve, they try to pull off a deal, dodge a gangster, get the girl and stay alive, in this Kagiso Lediga-powered crime comedy.
21. Four Corners (Showmax and Netflix)
In the Cape Flats, a newly released ex-con exacts revenge and triggers a gang war, sending ripples through the life of a 13-year old chess prodigy.
20. Liefling (Netflix)
All the stops are pulled for this musical sensation. Jan has his eye on the life-loving Liefling, but fate, jealous exes and many songs all conspire to keep them apart.
19. Vir Altyd (Showmax)
South African sweethearts Ivan Botha and Donna-Lee Roberts are back with Vir Altyd, the Afrikaans romantic comedy you’ve been looking for. Two childhood friends explore what it means to find the one.
18. Swaaibraai (Showmax)
A couple whose marriage has gone stale hit on an innovative solution: Swaaibraai, an exclusive app for swingers.
17. Tjovitjo (Netflix)
Amid poverty and struggle, a hardened pantsula dance leader enters a dark space and searches for redemption and salvation in his community.
16. Joko Ya Hao (Showmax)
During the 1955 forced evictions, Noziziwe, an aspiring preacher who fails to be ordained as a pastor because she’s a woman, becomes a symbol of resistance and an anchor for the oppressed.
15. Material (Netflix)
Cassim is a young Muslim man who works in his father’s fabric shop in Johannesburg. Cassim wants to be a stand-up comedian, which his father disapproves of. When he gets a gig at a local bar, he has to find a way of keeping it a secret.
14. Intersexions S1 (Netflix)
Intersexions is an award-winning television series that shows how the inter-relationships between sexual partners enable HIV to spread insidiously across society.
13. White Wedding (Netflix)
White Wedding is a South African romantic comedy. It tells the story of a road trip adventure embarked by a groom and his best friend as they race across South Africa to attend a wedding.
12. Blessers (Showmax)
Jacob is a wealthy CEO with a successful spouse, a family and expensive recreational habits. He believes life will always be this easy … until he receives a blessing.
11. Gangsters Paradise: Jerusalema (Netflix)
A petty crook (Rapulana Seiphemo) builds a criminal empire in Johannesburg, but an escalating war with a drug lord and police pressure threaten to shut him down.
10. My Octopus Teacher (Netflix)
A filmmaker forges an unusual friendship with an octopus living in a South African kelp forest, learning as the animal shares the mysteries of her world.
9. Black Tax S1-2 (Showmax)
In Season 2, the SAFTA-winning comedy returns, and this time the extended Dlamini family have had to downscale. A new home brings a whole new set of problems, including meddlesome neighbours that complicate Thuli’s life even more.
8. Mzali Wami S1 (Showmax)
Joyce Khaphayi’s daughter was stolen at Park Station 20 years ago by an unknown woman. Two decades on, Joyce runs an orphanage, but finds herself tangled in a cruel criminal scheme to sell girls, only to discover that one of the girls is her own long lost daughter, and that the woman who raised her will do anything to get her back.
Set in Joburg, the 13-episode drama is created by radio presenter, producer and reality star Dineo Ranaka (The Ranakas) and Isidingo and Isibaya writer Siphosethu Tshapu.
7. Lebo M – Coming Home (Showmax)
His is the first voice you hear in The Lion King. Now, follow legendary musician Lebo M as he reunites his family on South African shores and rediscovers his roots in this insightful reality show.
6. Loyiso Gola: Unlearning (Netflix)
“When you’re the only black man at the party you go from Flavor Flav to Nelson Mandela like this!” Funny man Loyiso Gola is back and better than ever with his new stand-up special tackling learning and unlearning social norms. For more Loyiso Gola, check out his 2015 comedy special, State of the Nation, on Showmax.
5. I Am All Girls (Netflix)
On the hunt to bring down a global human trafficking ring, detectives Ntombizonke (Hlubi Mboya) and Jodie Snyman (Erica Wessels) battle their own dark secrets and go on an all-consuming journey.
4. The Station S1 (Showmax)
When four workers unexpectedly inherit the filling station that they all work at, they think they are suddenly wealthy, but they risk loosing it to a man who is determined to destroy it.
3. Nqobile (Showmax)
In this South African series, husband and wife Nqobile and Simo want the same thing – full power and control of the Nkosi dynasty – but both have conflicting motivations.
2. Jiva! (Netflix)
Vibrant dancer Ntombi (Noxolo Dlamini) is juggling the demands of a dead-end job, family responsibility and a rocky love life, but realises that her dance moves could be her ticket out of her working-class neighbourhood in Durban.
1. The Real Housewives of Durban (Showmax)
It’s high fashion, lavish spending and savvy hustling with the six eThekwini queens who are inviting us to get a glimpse of their glamorous lifestyles, gorgeous homes and successful businesses.
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