10 January 2019
Celebrating 20 years of The Sopranos
In its eight years on the air, HBO’s The Sopranos, about New Jersey mob boss Tony Soprano (played by the late James Gandolfini), redefined what television drama could be.
As the New York Times writes, “By the time the writer and producer David Chase brought The Sopranos to a close on June 10, 2007, he had helped establish HBO as a cultural force and make literary symbolism, cinematic style, long-form storytelling and complicated antiheroes the norm for high-end TV dramas.”
Today, 20 years after its premiere, and 13 after its finale, fans continue to debate what the show’s ending meant: “Humming Journey’s Don’t Stop Believin’ is all it takes in certain circles to trigger a cascade of ferocious arguments over the show’s anti-ending,” says Vanity Fair.
The Writers Guild of America named The Sopranos “the best-written television series of all time”, and it won a whopping 21 Emmy Awards. So if you’ve never watched The Sopranos, you’re missing out on one of the most influential stream TV series every made.
You can remedy that right now by streaming every episode of the groundbreaking series on Showmax.
And if you’ve already seen it, and don’t have the 86 hours on your hands required to relive every moment, these are some of the best episodes to rewatch, according to the New York Times.
Season 1, episode 1: Pilot/The Sopranos
Season 2, episode 12: The Knight in White Satin Armor
Season 3, episode 4: Employee of the Month
Season 3, episode 6: University
Season 3, episode 11: Pine Barrens
Season 5, episode 12: Long Term Parking
Original African stories by local talent
Big Girl Small World
Stream the new Kenyan romcom series Big Girl Small World from 8 May, with new episodes every week.
Empini S1
Stream the Showmax Original drama series Empini from 23 May 2024.
Original Sin: My Son The Killer
Original Sin: My Son The Killer follows the murder of Andrea Venter by Gerhard Jansen van Vuuren, who then went on the run from South Africa to Brazil.
Tracking Thabo Bester
From the makers of Devilsdorp and the director of Convict Conman comes the true-crime documentary South Africa has been waiting for. All the episodes are streaming on Showmax.
The Illuminated
The Showmax Original docuseries The Illuminated explores different religious movements in South Africa. Stream now, with new episodes every Wednesday.
Koek S1
The crime comedy Koek, starring Cindy Swanepoel, now streaming on Showmax, with new episodes every Thursday.
Ekhaya Backpackers S1
Stream the Showmax Original comedy series Ekhaya Backpackers. All the episodes are now streaming.
Cheta M
Cheta M explores the love story between Adanna and Nnanna, young lovers who battle the spiritual and political forces in their way. Stream now, with new episodes Wednesday to Friday.
RHONairobi S2: Your favourite queens plus 3 new faces
Big Girl Small World, coming soon
The best movies to stream
10 Rotten Tomatoes-approved movies on Showmax: ranked
From Jaws and Kanarie, to Get Out and Minari, these are the freshest movies on Showmax according to Rotten Tomatoes.
10 movies everyone’s watching on Showmax now
Stream these 10 fun, eye-popping movies that your fellow Showmax fans are loving, including Queen & Slim, Babylon, Equalizer 3 and more.
Transformers movies on Showmax: ranked
All seven Transformers movies are ready to stream on Showmax, including the 2007 original and the latest, Rise of the Beasts.
DC superhero movies on Showmax: ranked
See the ranked list of DC superhero movies now streaming on Showmax, including the feel-good Shazam! Fury of the Gods.