Best reality shows to stream on Showmax in May

When it comes to reality television in Africa, Showmax is at the forefront of it all. Whatever you like, there are hours of reality television to keep you hooked and entertained.

Showmax Originals

The Real Housewives of Durban S4 Reunion Part 2 | Stream from Wednesday, 22 May 

MaBlerh is hosting The Real Housewives of Durban reunion for the second year in a row. 

Going into the reunion, the ladies seemed split into two core groups: on the one side, Sorisha Naidoo, Slee Ndlovu, and newcomers Ameigh Thompson and Angel Ndlela; and on the other, Jojo Robinson, Maria Valaskatzis, Nonku Williams, and newcomer Zama Ngcobo. With the ladies from each camp not seeing eye to eye, viewers had a lot of unanswered questions. 

In Part 1 of the reunion, we saw the ladies facing off and confronting each other on the things that have happened in the season. OG Sorisha Naidoo and newcomer Zama Ngcobo came face to face and confronted each other on why their budding friendship ended. The ladies addressed everything that viewers wanted to hear about,  from age-shaming to body-shaming. Nothing was off limits. 

The first season of The Real Housewives of Durban set a then-record on Showmax for the most first-day views and went on to be released in 28 territories outside Africa on hayu, not to mention on Peacock and Bravo, the original home of The Real Housewives franchise. Seasons 2 and 3 were among the 10 most streamed titles on Showmax in their launch years and are currently streaming on hayu. 

The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip - South Africa S1 | Mondays from 27 May

The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip - South Africa is the spinoff that fans have been waiting for, taking eight of South Africa’s most iconic Housewives on a luxury trip to Jamaica. 

The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip - South Africa dream cast includes Beverley Steyn (The Real Housewives of Cape Town S1); Christall Kay (The Real Housewives of Johannesburg S1-S2); LaConco (The Real Housewives of Durban S1-S2); Lethabo Lejoy Mathatho (The Real Housewives of Johannesburg S2-S3); Liz Prins (The Real Housewives of Gqeberha S1); Londie London (The Real Housewives of Durban S2); Melany Viljoen (The Real Housewives of Pretoria S1); and the longest-serving Housewife in Africa, Nonku Williams (The Real Housewives of Durban S1-S4).

The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip - South Africa is produced by GOAT Productions, the creative minds behind Unfollowed, one of the 10 most streamed South African shows on Showmax in 2023, and last year’s South African Film and Television Award winner Life With Kelly Khumalo S3.

The Real Housewives of Nairobi S2 | New episodes on Fridays

Named Best TV Show at the 2024 Kalasha Awards, Season 1 of The Real Housewives of Nairobi had all of Kenya talking on its way to becoming the biggest Showmax Original in Kenya yet, while Season 2 has trended in Kenya every Friday since its launch.

In Season 2, actress and entrepreneur Minne Kariuki returns, along with Vera Sidika, who’s eager to reintroduce herself, and business mogul and tastemaker Dr Catherine Masitsa. They are joined by new cast members, including lawyer and professional bodybuilder Farah Esmail, beauty and aesthetics entrepreneurXenah Nyambu,and entrepreneur Reja Keji Ladu.

The Real Housewives of Nairobi is produced by Eugene Mbugua’s D&R Studios (formerly Young Rich Television) and is part of The Real Housewives franchise, licensed as a format by NBCUniversal Formats, which is part of Universal International Studios, a division of Universal Studio Group.

International reality TV

Survivor S45 | Binge from 22 May

Five-time Emmy Award-winning host Jeff Probst once again welcomes 18 new castaways to the idyllic Mamanuca Islands in Fiji for Season 45 of Survivor, the mega-successful grand-daddy of reality competition shows.

Now in its 24th year, the show has won seven Emmys and continues to deliver the drama as contestants are stranded in a remote location with little more than the clothes on their back. They must survive a series of gruelling challenges – and each other – for 26 days in a bid to outwit, outplay, outlast and, ultimately, become the Sole Survivor. And take home a cool $1 million, of course.

This season’s line-up of castaways includes singer-songwriter J. Maya and Season 44 returnee Bruce Perreault.

Jerrod Carmichael Reality Show S1 | First on Showmax | Binge from 22 May

Jerrod Carmichael Reality Show is a darkly funny reality series about the Emmy-winning comedian’s tumultuous quest for love, sex, and truth.

The HBO Original had its world premiere at SXSW in March 2024 and currently has a 95% critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes. 

Time says, “Jerrod Carmichael Reality Show makes reality TV - hilariously, painfully - real again,” while The Hollywood Reporter says, “I laughed and covered my eyes in mortification in equal measure — and since I finished my screeners, I haven’t stopped thinking about it.”

We’re Here S4 | First On Showmax | Fridays from 24 May

In Season 4 of HBO’s Emmy, Peabody, and GLAAD award-winning unscripted series We’re Here, Sasha Velour, Priyanka, Jaida Essence Hall, and Latrice Royale continue the show’s mission of spreading love and connection across small-town America through the art of drag. 

This season, the queens work with participants in Murfreesboro, Tennessee and Tulsa, Oklahoma, as well as in surrounding towns, while taking an in-depth, immersive look at recent anti-LGBTQ+ legislation and the effect it has had on the community.

Season 4 got praise from Deadline for being a light in the darkness: “In a world where the shadows of intolerance loom, the spectacle of We’re Here emerges not just as a beacon of light but as a bold declaration of presence.” The Los Angeles Times hailed it as “uniquely affirming and vital.” Wired called it “an essential reminder that queer people are fighting for justice and visibility across the US,” and Decider lauded it for managing “to find the light even in the darkest of circumstances,” proclaiming it the “most relevant reality show on television.”

The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City S4 | First on Showmax | New episodes on Thursdays

The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City peeks into the unconventional personal and professional lives of successful women navigating an ultra-exclusive social circle in Salt Lake City, Utah, where religion, status and perfection are praised to the highest degree.

The 10th instalment of mega-successful Real Housewives franchise, The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City was nominated for an MTV TV Award for Best New Unscripted Series when it debuted in 2020, and it’s been no stranger to controversy, with one cast member fired from the show for her insensitive social media posts and another now serving a six-and-a-half-year sentence in jail for wire fraud. 

Season 4 is off to a salty start as the Housewives dig up old feuds and start new rivalries, leading up to a shocking betrayal. Plus, there’s a new face in the Housewives’ exclusive circle, as Angie introduces Monica Garcia (who used to work for Jen Shah), in a development that the LA Times says has “made The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City unhinged, unmissable TV.”

Love Undercover S1 | First On Showmax | New episodes on Thursdays

Today's athletes are mega stars with extreme wealth, giant fandoms and lavish lifestyles. You could even call them royalty. And naturally, with any royal story, a fairytale is never too far away. 

Love Undercover is a modern-day fairytale meets buddy comedy about an elite group of international soccer stars who come to the United States on a secret quest for true love. We'll follow the likes of Jamie O’Hara (ex-Tottenham Hotspurs) and Ryan Babel (ex-Liverpool) on an epic journey filled with drama, heartbreak and self-discovery. 

Can they win over the ladies without their fame and fortune? Will they manage to keep their true identities a secret? And will any of them fall for an American princess before inviting them back to their home countries and testing their relationships on the global stage?

For these men, finding love is the #1 goal.

The Bachelorette S20 | Binge now

In Season 20 of The Bachelorette, 27-year-old Charity Lawson, a child and family therapist from Georgia, is out to find The One. …But what if there’s more than one? 

Our favourite romantic thrill-ride is set to bring us all the ups and downs (and a little bit of help from a secret undercover agent) as Charity finds herself falling in love – with multiple guys. And as the feelings get more intense, some men start to question whether they're ready to give Charity what she wants. Will her love story have a happy ending?

The Bachelorette won the 2021 MTV TV Award for Best Dating Show, and has earned multiple nominations at both the People’s Choice and Teen Choice Awards.

Bachelor in Paradise S9 | First on Showmax | Binge now

This season on Bachelor in Paradise, things get wetter and wilder than ever before as the hit reality show returns with a new cast of standouts and fan favourites from The Bachelor and The Bachelorette. 

New arrivals shake up the status quo immediately and love triangles turn into love squares and beyond as sexy dates have some couples changing their minds every week.

LA Fire & Rescue | Binge now

A real-life series from Emmy-winning executive producer Dick Wolf (Law & Order), LA Fire & Rescue follows the day-to-day emergencies and personal stories of the firefighters, paramedics and lifeguards of the Los Angeles County Fire Department - through wildfire suppression, medical emergencies, violent crimes, freeway accidents, house fires, industrial fires, natural disasters and more. 

These heroes are responsible for protecting over four million people on the ground, in the air and on the beaches in the second largest metropolitan area in the United States.