Stream these shows to get that summertime vibe

The holidays might be over but SA’s fun season is in full swing. Plan a TV weekend getaway with Showmax.

You’re back at the 9-5, you’ve polished off the last of the Christmas treats, and you’re probably avoiding eye contact with your bank account as if it’s a one-night stand you spotted on the bus. But when the weekend comes, you’re vibing! Keep up that summer spirit with a Showmax getaway filled with ice cream-bright, colourful shows, and movies that you can binge in less than 48 hours.  

Summer, South African-style

Alles Malan Seasons 1-2

Watching Alles Malan is like being a fly on the wall for the juiciest drama in the neighbourhood. It’s summer in Paarl, and those Malans are at it again (inspired by real incidents in the lives of director Corné and René van Rooyen and writers Leon Kruger and Retief Scholtz).

The series tackles everything from the role of a modern Afrikaans man as Derik (Albert Martiz) plays patriarch to three generations, to the latest penarie in the family business, Malan Transport. PS: the Season 1 action begins in January, so you can watch and stay in step with the Malans, from the start of the school year to Valentine’s Day in episode 3, with Christmas coming in episode 13. 

Binge it in: 20 hours. 

Tali’s Joburg Diary

This third of Tali’s diaries sees SA’s most recognisable social media hot mess descend on Joburg squawking and flapping. Tali (Julia Anastasopoulos) is on a mission to get her precious spawn into Hyde Park’s ritziest preschool. But to do that, she’ll have to redeem her past as the high school bully to Joburg’s new social queen, Monique (Sharon Spiegel Wagner). It’s gossipy, giggle-yourself-silly poolside fun filled with plot points you might recognise from real life – like when Tali’s snatch goes viral in episode 9, giving us flashbacks to a certain hockey Whatsapp group in 2016. 

Binge it all in: roughly 4 hours, 50 minutes 

Troukoors Seasons 1-2 

Summer is wedding season and wedding planner Jessica (Ilse-Lee van Niekerk) is battling through her 20s along with her software developer sister Luca (Blyde Smit) and Jessica’s best friend Abi (Bianca Flanders) the baker in this romantic comedy series. The world around them seems to be doing its best to smack their sweet dreams, ambitions and belief in love right out of their hands like a big bully.

But Troukoors sticks up for our faith in fairy tales and romance, as Jessica, Luca and Abi stick up for each other. Season 2 brings romantic temptation into the ladies’ lives, along with a big, gay wedding for Abi’s dad Karel (Kevin Smith) and his love Nathan (Melt Sieberhagen).  

Binge it in: 10 hours, 30 minutes 

…and try local funshine romance movies 

Klein Karoo: If you’re looking for more summer wedding shenanigans, watch documentary filmmaker Frans (Tim Theron) get dumped at the altar – twice – in the romantic comedy movies Klein Karoo (1 hour, 34 minutes) and Klein Karoo 2 (1 hour, 37 minutes).  

Hart In Bos: This short and sweet ensemble romantic comedy movie (49 minutes) takes us along for a fun break in the small coastal village of Hartenbos, where the call is out for people to tell the local radio station how they found love in the strangest places. Even a slobby DJ could find his one and only! 

Kampterrein: For more holiday resort fun, this rom-com (1 hour, 30 minutes) pokes fun at South African attitudes when the Fouché family pulls up to their favourite caravan spot to find the Khumalos already set up and having a fabulous time. The dad rivalry between Louw Venter and Josias Moleele’s characters is hilarious. 

Kaalgat Karel: To keep romance blossoming all the way to Valentine’s Day, try this quirky movie (1 hour, 35 minutes), which shows what a streaker gets up to in his mission to win the heart of a strait-laced single mom.  

Summer round the world 

Run The World Season 1 

Hope, optimism and friendship can make your 30s feel like life’s summer. Series creator Leigh Davenport’s girl gang comedy series, which centres on four Black female friends in New York City, captures all those feelings and goes down like a cold fizzy drink on a hot beach. And like a good friend, it’s not afraid to get real and relatable (look out for the heart-to-heart about lying in episode 7).

PS: Sex And The City fans, look out for the costumes from wardrobe head Patricia Field. Love it and feeling more-ish? Try Grand Crew Season 1, which is set in sunny LA and stars the queen of charisma, Nicole Byer (3 hours, 30 minutes) and the movie Girls Trip (1 hour, 57 minutes) 

Binge it all in: 3 hours, 44 minutes 

Winning Time: The Rise Of The Lakers Dynasty Season 1 

We’re not exactly a braai-and-basketball nation but this sports docu-drama brings so much larger-than-life storytelling and visual razzle-dazzle to the screen that it’s a net win! And having the characters talk directly to the camera pulls us right into their story. The series starts in 1979 when the LA Lakers Basketball team are just a bunch of so-so sports bros – until “Magic” Johnson’s (newcomer Quincy Isaiah, who is amaze-balls) showmanship changes the game. The retro look is a vibe – think Stranger Things without the horror. 

Binge it all in: 10 hours, 10 minutes 

Betty Seasons 1 & 2 

Real-life New York skateboarders fill this gritty yet joyful comedy-drama series centred on an all-girl group of Gen-Z skaters and their fight to push back against the “skate-keeper” bros who think they own the streets, and treat girls on the scene as sex buffet menu (the series really digs into why those attitudes are such a tedious drain on girls who’re just living their lives, learning skills and have fun).

Season 2 also covers the weirdness of the pandemic and lockdown. Betty is like graffiti in praise of doing your own thing, taking up space, and standing up for one another on the street and in life. Get down with the camera as it whizzes along with the girls on their boards to a perfect summer soundtrack. 

Binge it all in: 6 hours 

Flight Of The Conchords Seasons 1-2 

New Zealand musical comedy sketch duo Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie play fictional versions of themselves as shepherds from New Zealand struggling to break into America’s folk/indie/novelty song scene with help from their hopelessly out of his depth manager, Murray (Rhys Darby) – New Zealand’s Deputy Cultural Attaché in the US.

The series is low-budget but as laid back as a do-nothing beach day with your BFFs. And there’s plenty to sing along with, as the series kicks off with our fave hit of the robot uprising: The Humans Are Dead. Also look out for the Flight Of The Conchords Live In London doccie (1 hour, 23 minutes). And if you’re in the mood for more friends being silly together, try the stunt and prank-filled Jackass Forever movie (1 hour, 32 minutes). 

Binge it in: 11 hours 

Palm Springs 

Nyles (Andy Samberg) and fellow wedding guest Sarah (Cristin Milioti) are reliving the same day together, over and over and over at a desert resort in Palm Springs, California. Occasionally a fellow guest, Roy (JK Simmons), will hunt Nyles for sport.

It’s all silly, sunny shenanigans until Sarah challenges Nyles’s nihilism. Go re-watch the opening scenes once you’ve hit the end credits. PS: For a horror twist on time tricks, also try the M. Night Shyamalan movie Old, which sees time accelerate during a group of people’s day at a private beach (1 hour, 43 minutes). 

Watch it in: 1 hour, 26 minutes 

How It Ends 

Cheer up, it’s just the end of the world! In this sci-fi comedy, as a killer asteroid heads for Earth, Liza (Zoe Lister-Jones) and her imaginary younger self (Cailee Spaeny) set off on a mission through the streets of LA: to be honest for once, to make amends with her friends, family and ex-boyfriends (so many famous people pop up for fun moments), and to shuffle off her regrets in an “existential scavenger hunt” before she gets to her cousin Mandy’s (Whitney Cummings) End Of The World Party.  

Watch it in: 1 hour, 22 minutes 

Bonus picks: look out for these series and movies

The White Lotus Seasons 1-2: (14 hours). What could be more summery than a series about rich and entitled clients and the demands they make of staff at an exclusive resort? Season 1 is set in Hawaii and Season 2 in Sicily, with Jennifer Coolidge linking the two as bizarro heiress Tanya McQuoid. Say it with us, “These gays, they’re trying to murder me!” 

We’re Here Seasons 1-2: (12 hours, 26 minutes). In this fun and moving reality series, drag queens Shangela, Eureka and Bob The Drag Queen (from reality competition show RuPaul’s Drag Race) travel around the US visiting small town to help LGBTQIA people to claim their space, celebrate their individuality and find their allies as they put on a drag show.