Outlaws S1

Set in the lush but lawless land on the border between Lesotho and KwaZulu-Natal, Outlaws is the story of two families at war with each other: the Zulu, cattle-farming Biyela clan and the Basotho, cattle-raiding Ts’eoles. 

South Africa’s first modern-day Western series, Outlaws is created by Tshedza Pictures’ Phathu Makwarela and Gwydion Beynon. The team has won five Best Scriptwriting SAFTAs in the past four years for smash hit shows like The Republic and The River, which was also nominated for an International Emmy. Outlaws is Tshedza’s second Showmax Original, building on the success of Adulting, which set a record for the most first-day views of any drama on the streaming service in March 2023. 

Fresh faces Lehlohonolo Mayeza and Nirvana Nokwe-Mseleku co-star as Leruo Ts’eole and Sihle Biyela. Also look out for two-time SAFTA nominee Siyabonga Shibe (The Wife, Gaz’lam) as the Biyela patriarch and Mmabatho Mogomotsi (Snowey in Yizo Yizo) as the Ts’eole matriarch, not to mention the likes of SAFTA nominee Nolwazi Shange (The River), Men’s Health Cover Guy Challenge winner Mnqobi Kunene (How To Manifest a Man)  and man-of-the-moment Thembinkosi Mthembu (Adulting, Shaka iLembe, The River).  

Multi-award-winner Tebogo “Tebza” Malope directs the first two episodes, having won the Audience Award at Tribeca earlier this year for Rise: The Siya Kolisi Story.