South Africa in third place at International Emmys, with four MultiChoice nominations

MultiChoice has made history by earning four nominations for South Africa at the 2025 International Emmy® Awards.

The nominated titles include the sequel to the acclaimed sports documentary Chasing the Sun (SuperSport); the Afrikaans crime drama Koek (Showmax); the powerful documentary School Ties (M-Net); and the gripping thriller Catch Me a Killer (Showmax), which earned a nomination in the Best Performance by an Actress category for Charlotte Hope. In addition, Play Room Live, on the Play Room children’s channel on DStv Channel 300, has been nominated in the Kids: Factual and Entertainment category.

These five nominations are the most ever for an African country in a single year, and put South Africa in third place overall, behind only the UK and Brazil.

This is the fourth consecutive year MultiChoice has cracked the iEmmys shortlist, bringing its total to 11 nominations in eight years.

The nominations come as MultiChoice expands its global footprint under new parent company CANAL+, signalling a bold new chapter in African content reaching audiences worldwide.

“We are incredibly proud of our content teams and producing partners, whose creativity, passion and commitment have earned MultiChoice a record four International Emmy nominations,” says Nomsa Philiso, Director of Content: General Entertainment, English and Portuguese-speaking Africa at MultiChoice. “These nominations mark a significant milestone for our industry – a moment where local stories, crafted with care and cultural depth, are being recognised on a global stage like never before.”

Nominees include:

Best Drama Series: Koek

When Cape Town housewife Christelle Smit discovers evidence her husband is having an affair with a stripper named Candi Floss, her investigation takes her to a world poles apart from the suburban utopia she knows.

The Showmax Original stars Cindy Swanepoel as Christelle, with Sandra Prinsloo as the brandy-drinking, cigar-smoking, leopard-print loving, kidney-stealing mob boss she’s soon in debt to.

Created by Christiaan Olwagen, directed by Johannes Pieter Nel, and produced by Wolflight, the crime comedy was the most awarded TV series at Silwerskerm in 2024.

When asked what the nomination means to her, Cindy Swanepoel said, "For us as South Africans, and the team, it means the world. We were such a wonderful team - crew, production, cast. No egos; just joy. We were so excited that we were able to tell stories like this in our own language, in Afrikaans. I never imagined being in such an amazing series, firstly, but then for it to be acknowledged internationally is such an honour and such a joy." 

Best Actress: Charlotte Hope in Catch Me A Killer

British actress Charlotte Hope (Game of Thrones, The Spanish Princess) stars in Catch Me A Killer as Micki Pistorius, South Africa’s first-ever serial-killer profiler.

Adapted from Pistorius’ memoir, the true-crime drama series is set in the mid-90s as the newly qualified forensic psychologist tries to prove to a largely skeptical, largely male police force that she can help profile and track down South Africa’s most feared killers, from the Station Strangler to Stewart “Boetie Boer” Wilken.

Produced by Kowalski Films, Night Train Media and Local Motion Pictures, the Showmax Original became the first South African series at Series Mania and won Best Production Design for Warren Gray at the British Film Designers Guild Awards.

Sphere Abacus sold the series widely, including BritBox in North America, BBC First in Benelux and Poland, SBS in Australia, Alibi Channel in the UK, Mystery Channel in Japan, Cosmote TV in Greece, and Pickbox in Central and Eastern Europe.

Simon Howley, executive producer, says, "The nomination is so well deserved. [Charlotte] was amazing as Micki and thoroughly immersed herself in the role. She’s a wonderful actress and the loveliest person to work with."

Best Sports Documentary: Chasing the Sun 2

Chasing the Sun 2 offers fans front-row seats to the Springbok’s awe-inspiring 2023 journey to their historic fourth Rugby World Cup victory – the most by any country ever.

The five-part documentary series features never-before-seen footage, interviews with more than 30 players and coaches, and all the highlights from the Springboks’ nail-biting journey from first-game defeat to winning the final.

Chasing the Sun 2 is directed and executive produced by Gareth Whittaker and produced by T+W for SuperSport – earning their second International Emmy nomination in three years, after Two Sides (2023).

Gareth Whittaker says, "The better the stories we tell about ourselves, the better versions of ourselves we become. That holds true for sports teams, it holds true for individuals, but maybe most importantly in this context, it holds true for our country. I am incredibly proud to be South African, and to have played a very small part in helping to shape the story of this magical place."

Best Documentary: School Ties

School Ties confronts the grooming and sexual abuse of learners in some of South Africa’s most prestigious boys' schools. The M-Net series unravels the trauma endured by victims and the culture of silence that allows this to happen, as well as the responses of authorities, schools, and society at large.

The four-part documentary series is directed by Richard Finn Gregory and produced by local true-crime pioneers IdeaCandy (Tracking Thabo Bester, Devilsdorp, Rosemary’s Hitlist, Steinheist and the upcoming Unspoken War).

School Ties prompted a national debate on accountability in elite schools and was nominated for Best Documentary at this year’s National Arts and Culture Awards.

School Ties director, Richard Finn Gregory, says, "In our industry, awards can sometimes be a distraction. If you're doing a piece of work in order to try and win awards, it means that you're losing focus on telling the best story that you possibly can ... When it comes to School Ties, though, I am really proud that each and every person on our team really went out of their way to put the story first, and put the participants first, in order to create something meaningful."

MultiChoice Studios is handling international sales for Koek, School Ties and Chasing the Sun 2, while Catch Me A Killer is now repped by Eccho Rights.

All four iEmmy nominees are available to binge on Showmax, as well as previous MultiChoice nominees Die Brug (2024), Reyka (double nominee in 2022), The River (2019) and Is’thunzi (2017 and 2018). Another MultiChoice iEmmy nominee from recent years is rugby documentary Two Sides (2023).

As the biggest funder of African content, MultiChoice invested over R8bn in local content in the 2025 financial year — more than half its general entertainment spend. That translated into 5 000 new hours of African storytelling, bringing its local library to over 90 000 hours. For context, that’s more than 10 years of non-stop bingeing.

In addition to the MultiChoice nominees, DStv also screened two of the other 2025 iEmmy nominees. Play Room Live, produced by Eclipse Television Productions and aired on Play Room (DStv Channel 300), is nominated in the Kids: Factual and Entertainment category, while cosy crime series Ludwig, which aired on BBC Brit (DStv Channel 120), is nominated for Best Comedy, as well as Best Actor (David Mitchell).

Winners will be announced in New York City on Monday, 24 November 2025.