Fashioning Modern Africanism

The new Showmax has arrived to change the game for streaming in Africa.  Ten months after MultiChoice, Comcast’s NBCUniversal and Sky announced a joint streaming vision for Africa, the new Showmax is here, featuring a refreshed brand and a massive content lineup, all delivered on a powerful new streaming platform.   At the heart of the new offering is the world’s first standalone Premier League plan for mobile, with all 380 games offered live on Showmax Premier League for just R69 a month.  In addition, there are two more Showmax plans available to customers in 44 African countries: Showmax Entertainment on mobile for an unbelievable R39 a month at launch, as well as the Showmax Entertainment plan, where the monthly price falls from R99 to R89 per month.   “There are currently just over 450 million smartphones in the hands of individuals across Africa … and more than 250 million avid football lovers on the continent,” says Marc Jury, CEO of Showmax. “Showmax Premier League is a game-ch

  1st seasons of 1923, Rain Dogs, The Rookie: Feds, Six Four, American Auto; new Chucky, Son of a Critch CHUCKY S3 | First on Showmax | 2 episodes on Mondays from 23 October Chucky  is headed for the White House in the third season of the cult horror franchise. It’s up to Jake, Devon, and Lexy to figure out how to stop Chucky when he’s cosied up to America's First Family, in the most secure house in the US.  Returning just in time for both Pride Month and Halloween,  Chucky  was nominated for Best Horror Series at this year’s Critics Choice Super Awards, with Brad Dourif up for Best Villain in a Series as the title character. The series  has a 91% critics’ rating on  Rotten Tomatoes , where the critics’ consensus praises its “absurd humour and creative horror.”  Alyvia Alyn Lind, Zackary Arthur and  Björgvin Arnarson are back as Lexy, Jake and Devon, as is Oscar nominee Jennifer Tilly as Chucky’s ex and now sworn enemy, Tiffany, who’s  facing a looming crisis of her own this season

Nirvana Nokwe-Mseleku stars as Sihle Biyela in the hit new Showmax Original  Outlaws , which is currently at #1 on the streamer’s Top 20.  From Tshedza Pictures ( Adulting ,  The River ,  The Republic ), the modern-day Western tells the story of two families at war with each other: the Zulu, cattle-farming Biyela clan and the Basotho, cattle-raiding Ts’eoles.  To say Nirvana is showbiz royalty is an understatement. She is the daughter of legendary musos Bheki Mseleku and Tu Nokwe; her aunt is Mango Groove vocalist Marilyn Nokwe; and her grandparents are Durban thespian Alfred Nokwe and opera singer Patty Masuku. Nirvana started singing professionally when she was just four years old - with the likes of Mam Busi Mhlongo and Bra Hugh Masekela.  While she’s been on screen before, including playing Mbali in the International Emmy-nominated crime series  Reyka ,  Outlaws  is her breakthrough lead role. We spoke to the multi-talented artist to find out more.  What attracted you to this role?

First seasons of Unfollowed & Desert Rose. DIFF winner 1960. New season of This Body Works For Me. UNFOLLOWED S1   | Showmax Original | Wednesdays from 23 August  Produced by G.O.A.T ( Life With Kelly Khumalo ),  Unfollowed  is an eight-part documentary series that unpacks the growing phenomenon of cancel culture and its impact in South Africa. The trailer has already had over 2.3m views on Twitter alone - a Showmax record.  Hosted by Newzroom Afrika’s Thembikile Mrototo, each episode of  Unfollowed  will focus on a different South African celebrity. The Showmax Original will start with singer Lady Zamar.  In 2017, Lady Zamar opened a case of rape against Sjava, who maintained his innocence. The National Prosecuting Authority declined to prosecute, citing insufficient evidence. In the first episode of  Unfollowed , Lady Zamar will reflect on everything that happened, as well as the continuous backlash she still receives on social media. Journalists, activists and legal experts will

  Minx S2 and Fifteen-Love are now streaming on Showmax MINX S2 | First on Showmax | New episodes on Mondays   Set in 1970s Los Angeles,  Minx  follows Joyce, an earnest young feminist (Ophelia Lovibond from  Feel Good, Elementary  and  This England ) who joins forces with low-rent publisher Doug (Critics’ Choice nominee Jake Johnson from  New Girl ) to create the first erotic magazine for women.    Season 2 picks up as Doug and Joyce sell Bottom Dollar to a retired shipping magnate and  Minx  becomes a commercial success. Under new leadership, Doug struggles to maintain his control within Bottom Dollar while Joyce loses sight of her core beliefs as she rises to stardom. As our Bottom Dollar misfits go mainstream, they start to question who they’re becoming and what they really want from this newfound success.   With five-time Emmy nominee Paul Feig ( Bridesmaids ,  The Office ,  Love Life ) among its exec producers, Season 1 was nominated for Best Comedy and Best Actress in a Comedy (

Early reviews are glowing. Cape Talk’s Sara-Jayne Makwala King calls the Showmax Original “edge-of-your-seat” and “jaw-dropping”, adding, “Rosemary’s Hitlist is easily the most gripping crime story since Devilsdorp…” Ndlovu was sentenced in 2021 to six concurrent life terms for the murders of six members of her family, including her sister and the father of her only living child at the time. They were murdered for killsurance: funeral cover payouts worth over R1.4 million to Ndlovu.  Ndlovu was also sentenced to an additional 30 years: 10 years each for fraud, incitement to commit murder, and the attempted murder of her mother, Maria Mushwana, her sister Joyce, and Joyce’s five children.  Watch the Rosemary’s Hitlist trailer:  Rosemary’s Hitlist  is produced by IdeaCandy, the company behind the SAFTA-winning true-crime sensation  Devilsdorp , and directed by Valen’tino Mathibela (the first season of  The Real Housewives of Durban, Lebo M - Coming Home ), with SAFTA winner Richard Grego

With 13 Emmys under its belt already, including Outstanding Drama Series in both 2020 and 2022,  Succession  is back on Showmax for its fourth and final season, with new episodes releasing every Monday.  One of  IMDb ’s highest-rated series of all-time, with an 8.8/10 score from more than 150 000 fans,  HBO’s hit series tells the story of four very rich siblings behaving very badly while trying to win their father’s approval – and control of his company, a   global media and entertainment empire. Season 4 has a 100% critics’ rating on  Rotten Tomatoes  - its highest yet - with the critics’ consensus calling the show “as compulsively watchable as ever… typically brilliant.”  Matthew Macfadyen and Jeremy Strong return to their Emmy-winning roles as Tom Wambsgans and Kendall Roy respectively this season, alongside Brian Cox as patriarch Logan Roy, Sarah Snook and Kieran Culkin as Roy siblings Shiv and Roman, Nicholas Braun as cousin Greg, and J Smith-Cameron as Gerri Kellman - all Emmy-no

Set in Johannesburg,  Adulting  explores the parallel universes of four varsity friends. Their strong bond has held them together even as their journeys in life have taken them in very different directions. Theirs is the bromance of the decade.  Adulting | Showmax Original | Mondays from 20 March 2023 Thembinkosi Mthembu (Mabutho in  The River , Junior in  The Republic,  and King Dingiswayo in the upcoming epic  Shaka iLembe ) stars as successful businessman Bonga, with Luthando BU Mthembu ( Big Brother Mzansi,   Ayeye: Stripped ,  Redemption ) as toy-boy Vuyani, Thabiso Rammusi ( The Suit ) as cheating family man Mpho, and Nhanhla Kunene ( Muvhango ,  Lavish ) as hot-headed bad-boy Eric.    Also look out for the likes of SAFTA nominee Winnie Ntshaba ( The Herd ,  House of Zwide ,  Generations ) and Sikelelwa Vuyeleni ( Hope ,  House of Zwide ) as Vuyani’s sugar mamma and Eric’s baby mamma respectively; Lungile Duma ( The River,   Durban Gen ) as Mpho’s wife; and Buhle Samuels ( Kings

Hosted by writer Kim Windvogel and journalist Romantha Botha, the adults-only documentary series will take a broader view of what South Africans get up to behind closed doors, and, well, everywhere else too.  The first episode features a diverse range of South Africans talking openly about their first experiences of sex and sex education. It’s aptly called Clueless.  “ Honestly, this is a hundred times better than I had thought it would be,” says Izak de Vries on  Litnet . “I loved the way Kim Windvogel and Romantha Botha normalised sex talk. This is not a dirty little thing to watch under the blanket. Every parent, every teacher and every partner can learn from the experts, who explain things in a way even I can understand.”  Siv Ngesi Whether it’s Moonchild Sanelly talking about her first blowj*b, Siv Ngesi talking about losing his virginity or Lesego Tlhabi (aka Coconut Kelz) talking about browsing p*rn on her school’s computers before she learnt to erase her search history, it’s cl