
1 March 2018
SMILF comes first and only to Showmax
Update: SMILF is no longer on Showmax. Find your next binge in the full series catalogue here.
- SMILF was nominated for Best Comedy and Best Actress at the 2018 Golden Globes
- Based on a Sundance winning short film – and creator Frankie Shaw’s own experiences as a 20-something mom
- Third biggest comedy premiere on SHOWTIME ever
- Multiple year-end best of lists, including Deadline, The LA Times and Vogue • Co-starring Emmy-winner Rosie O’Donnell in her first series regular TV role
- First and only on Showmax
SMILF, which earned creator Frankie Shaw nominations for both Best Comedy and Best Actress at the 2018 Golden Globes, is now streaming first and only on Showmax in Africa. Watch now »
In addition to executive producing, directing and writing SMILF, Frankie plays Bridgette Bird, a 20-something from South Boston whose desires for relationships, sex and a career collide with the realities of working-class single motherhood.
The raw, honest comedy is based on her Sundance Film Festival Award-winning short film of the same name – and her own experiences of having a child in her mid-twenties. (Watch the NSFW Vimeo Staff Pick short film that started it all here.)
SMILF debuted with the third biggest premiere week audience for a comedy ever on SHOWTIME – the network that brought you Shameless – and ended the year on multiple Best of 2017 lists, including Deadline, The Los Angeles Times, and Vogue. Forbes described it as “the show Girls wished it could be,’ while WIRED wrote that, “In 2018, TV needs to take a cue from SMILF” and stay “as intimate as it was in 2017.”
“From its first episode, the refreshingly honest point of view of SMILF broke through with audiences, the press and on social media,” said Gary Levine, SHOWTIME’s president of programming. “Frankie Shaw is a creative force to be reckoned with; her show is funny and forthright, pointed and poignant, irreverent and relevant, all at once.”
SMILF stands for “Single Mother I’d Like To F*k” and is meant to be ironic. “There’s no real room for a woman’s existence in the word MILF,” Frankie told The New Yorker. “By getting inside her life experience, we are in a sense changing the meaning, reclaiming it.”
The hit comedy series also features multiple Emmy winner Rosie O’Donnell in her first series regular TV role, as Bridgette’s stubborn mom, while Golden Globe and Emmy nominee Connie Britton (Nashville, Friday Night Lights) guest stars as her unstable boss, Ally, in four episodes. Frankie’s fellow executive producers include Oscar-nominee Michael London (Sideways) and six-time Emmy nominee Lee Eisenberg (The Office).
Seasons 1 and 2 of SMILF are both on Showmax.
Original African stories by local talent

Empini S1-2
Empini is a high-stakes, action-packed drama set in the ruthless, corrupt world of private security. Season 2 is now streaming, with new episodes every Tuesday.

Youngins S1-2
Stream Tshedza Pictures’s first teen drama, Showmax Original Youngins. S1 and S2 are ready to binge.

The Real Housewives of Durban Seasons 1-5
Our eThekwini queens are back with a brand-new season. Stream Season 5 now, with new episodes every Friday.

Unfollowed S1-2
Unfollowed examines cancel culture in social media through real-life stories of South African celebs. Stream S1-2 now on Showmax.

The Mommy Club S1-3
The Mommy Club sees glamorous Jozi momfluencers navigating the the cutthroat world of “it” moms. Stream S3 now, with new episodes every Saturday.

Adulting S1-3
Four best friends go through the hoops of life, love and everything else. Binge-watch Adulting S1-3 now on Showmax.

The Chocolate Empire S1
The Chocolate Empire follows JB Mauzo, who was recently released from prison, as he rebuilds his life. Stream now, with new episodes every Thursday.

Breekpunt
Breekpunt is a tennis drama about a gutsy teenager fighting for the chance to compete in international tennis. Stream now, with new episodes on Mondays.
The Mommy Club Tanzania, coming soon
Stream new episodes of The Chocolate Empire
The best movies to stream

Boy Kills World and 5 more deliciously deadly action flicks
Looking for some blood-soaked action, gun-fu, laughs and hit-the-replay fight scenes? We’ve got you. Come try Boy Kills World and 5 more films that are just killing it!

An easy guide to 10 alien invasions
From Teacup’s Assassins and Harbingers, to A Quiet Place’s Death Angels, we break down what to expect when aliens take an interplanetary holiday to raise hell on Earth.

10 inspiring villain origin stories on Showmax
If you want to become a superhero just get bitten by a spider or find some tacky magic jewellery, loser! If you want to become a villain, though, that takes hard work – just ask Knull in Venom: The Last Dance.

The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, plus 10 real-life revolutionaries
Discover the origins of The Hunger Games in The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, and then stream 10 more shows and movies about real-life revolutionaries.