What to watch on Showmax in December 2025

December is stacked with great content to dive into. From The Chair Company and the final Mission: Impossible to Dìdi, Masinga: The Calling, Novocaine, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, and Wizkid: Long Live Lagos.

The Chair Company S1 | First on Showmax | Binge from Monday, 1 December 

After an embarrassing incident at work, William Ronald Trosper finds himself investigating a far-reaching conspiracy.

Triple Emmy winner Tim Robinson (I Think You Should Leave With Tim Robinson) co-creates and stars as Trosper.

The HBO comedy is at #3 on Rotten Tomatoes’ list of the Best Shows of 2025, with a perfect 100% critics rating. The Guardian describes it as “an office rage comedy packed with massive, stupid laughs,” The New York Times as “absurdly funny”, The Hollywood Reporter as “delightfully unhinged”; TV Guide as “the funniest show of the year”; and Decider as “an absolute triumph.”

HBO has already ordered a second season, after The Chair Company became HBO’s top freshman comedy in platform history, with the season averaging 3.3 million  U.S. cross-platform viewers and growing. 

Novocaine | M-Net (DStv 101) | 20:00 on Sunday, 30 November | Stream from Monday, 1 December on Showmax  

Meet Nathan Caine. He feels no pain.

When the girl of his dreams is kidnapped, everyman Nate turns his inability to feel pain into an unexpected strength in his fight to get her back. 

As Nate, Jack Quaid (Hughie in The Boys) was nominated for a Critics' Choice Super Award for Best Actor in an Action Movie. Critics' Choice Super nominee Amber Midthunder (Prey) co-stars as his love interest. 

A #1 box office hit in the US, Novocaine has an 80% critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes, where the consensus says the film gets "an adrenaline shot from Jack Quaid and Amber Midthunder's considerable charm while finding increasingly demented ways to utilise its concept." 

Novocaine was shot in South Africa with Blue Ice Africa. Look out for local stars like Evan Hengst and Tristan de Beer in the trailer.

Life with Felix S1 | Binge from Monday, 1 December on Showmax 

Get an inside look at the life of Durban-based radio presenter and comedian Felix Hlophe in the Mzansi Magic reality series Life with Felix.

Known for his bold personality and headline-making moments, Felix opens up like never before, sharing his personal journey, behind-the-scenes drama, and everyday experiences in this unfiltered and entertaining show. 

The Gagasi FM breakfast show host was nominated as Best Local Radio Personality in the Best of Durban Readers’ Choice Awards 2025.

Watson S1 | Binge from Wednesday, 3 December on Showmax 

Watson brings one of history’s greatest detectives into the modern day to turn his attention from solving crimes to solving medical mysteries. 

Morris Chestnut (Lance in The Best Man franchise) stars as Dr John Watson, who returns to work as the head of a clinic treating rare disorders following the death of his friend Sherlock Holmes. But Watson’s old life isn’t done with him yet: Moriarty and Watson are set to write their own chapter of a story that has fascinated audiences for more than a century. 

Created by showrunner Craig Sweeny (Elementary), the show’s already been renewed for a second season. 

Tiffany Haddish Goes Off | First on Showmax | Thursdays from 4 December

Tiffany Haddish Goes Off is a six-part docuseries following superstar Tiffany Haddish and her three closest childhood girlfriends as they travel together on a four-week-long adventure exploring Africa and their connection to the continent. 

We’ll see them bonding, confiding, confessing, and growing on this journey. This raw, vulnerable and unpredictable version of Tiffany Haddish leaves the viewer crying with laughter and sobbing from heartfelt, relatable, real-time self-healing.

Masinga - The Calling | Showmax Original | Stream from Friday, 5 December 

Masinga - The Calling explores an exiled detective's return to his homeland, where he is forced to confront the demons of his youth and the trauma of the ritual murder of his young albino brother, while rescuing an Asian girl from a similar fate. 

In the title role, SAFTA winner Hakeem Kae-Kazeem (Hotel Rwanda) leads a star-studded cast that includes Shamilla Miller (Devil's Peak) as his rookie partner, plus SAFTA winners Abdul Khoza (The Wife), Fana Mokoena (World War Z), Warren Masemola (The Republic), and Brandon Auret (Elysium), as well as Sean Cameron Michael (Black Sails) and Mbuso Khoza, who took home Best Supporting Actor at the 2025 Simon Mabhunu Sabela Awards. 

Filmed in KwaZulu-Natal and London, Masinga – The Calling won Best Director and Best Screenplay for Mark Engels at both the 2025 Simon Mabhunu Sabela Awards in Durban and the Palermo Independent International Film Festival in Italy.  The gripping crime thriller also won Best Produced Feature Film Screenplay at the Writers’ Guild of South Africa Muse Awards for Engels and co-writer Vicki Bawcombe. 

News24’s Joel Ontong says: “Masinga - The Calling packs a powerful punch… The pacing is airtight, resulting in an instantly enthralling experience.” 

Marc Maron: Panicked | First on Showmax | Stream from Friday, 5 December  

In his second HBO special, comedian and podcaster Marc Maron offers up his nuanced perspective on our increasingly uncertain world. 

WTF with Marc Maron attracts over 50 million listeners every year, with over 1 600 episodes to date. Maron was nominated for a Critics' Choice and Screen Actors Guild award for his role in GLOW and was up for a Writers Guild of America for his previous comedy special, From Bleak To Dark, which is also on Showmax.  

Great Photo, Lovely Life | Stream from Friday, 5 December on Showmax 

In the HBO documentary Great Photo, Lovely Life, renowned photojournalist Amanda Mustard returns home to Pennsylvania to investigate the multiple sexual abuse crimes committed by her grandfather. 

Nominated for Best Documentary at last year’s News and Documentary Emmy Awards, Great Photo, Lovely Life was also up for Best TV Feature from the International Documentary Association and for Outstanding Achievement in Broadcast Film at the 2025 Cinema Eye Honours Awards, among other honours. 

The documentary has a 100% critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Collider says: “To make such a deeply personal and often unflinching work about the abuse committed by a family member is no easy undertaking, though this devastating documentary does so with the necessary care for its subjects while still asking the essential questions.

How to Manifest A Man S2 | Binge from Monday, 8 December on Showmax 

After a public humiliation, Dudu is on a mission to reclaim her once-perfect life. She pretends to have moved on while secretly using dark manifestation to manipulate everyone around her.

Two-time African Movie Academy Award nominee Enhle Mbali Mlotshwa stars as Dudu, opposite former Men’s Health cover star Mnqobi Kunene (Geja in Uzalo) as Simz.

The first season was nominated for a SAFTA for Rochelle Selling’s costume design. 

Lockerbie: A Search For Truth | Binge from Thursday, 11 December on Showmax 

Based on real events, Lockerbie: A Search For Truth stars Oscar winner Colin Firth (The King’s Speech, Love Actually) as a grieving father seeking justice in the aftermath of one of the worst airline disasters in history. 

In the wake of a terror attack that killed 259 passengers and crew, Dr Jim Swire (Firth) is nominated spokesperson for the UK victims’ families. His quest for answers will jeopardise his stability, his family and his life – and completely overturn his trust in the justice system. 

In their five-star review, Daily Mail hailed Lockerbie: A Search For Truth as “meticulously researched and sensitively told… superb.”

Also look out for Lockerbie, named Best Factual Series at the 2024 BAFTA Awards and available to stream from Monday, 22 December on Showmax.   

Dìdi | Stream from Thursday, 11 December on Showmax 

In 2008, during the last month of summer before high school begins, an impressionable 13-year-old Taiwanese American boy learns what his family can't teach him: how to skate, how to flirt, and how to love your mom. Dìdi won 21 awards internationally, including the Film Independent Spirit prizes for Best First Feature and Best First Screenplay.

Dìdi has a 95% critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes. As The Spectator says, “It’s an absolute joy. It’s funny, moving, authentic and takes you right back to being 13. (Agh!).”

Married to Medicine: Atlanta S12 | First on Showmax | Thursdays from 11 December

Married to Medicine showcases the fast-paced and drama-filled lives of six of Atlanta's most dynamic and successful women, including doctors and wives of doctors, as they juggle bustling careers, family, and social calendars.

Returning this season are Dr Jackie Walters, Dr Simone Whitmore, Dr Contessa Metcalfe, Toya Bush Harris, Quad Webb and Dr Mimi Sanders. Dr Heavenly Kimes has her sights set on running for office, so returns as a friend this season, joining newcomers Angel Love Davis and Brandi Milton, who are both nurses.

Helderberg | Binge from Friday, 12 December on Showmax 

Just after midnight on 28 November 1987, Mauritian air traffic control lost contact with South African Airways Flight SA 295, en route from Taipei to Johannesburg. After being unable to reach the plane again, an emergency was declared – but South Africa’s worst-ever commercial aviation disaster had already taken place.

Almost four decades later, mystery still surrounds the exact cause of the fire that saw the Boeing 747, named Helderberg, crash into the Indian Ocean and claim the lives of all 159 passengers and crew aboard. Was it simply an accident – or an act of treachery?

Helderberg is produced by Relish Media and local true-crime pioneers IdeaCandy, the production company behind award winners like Steinheist and Devilsdorp.

Writing in Daily Maverick, Noelle Adams hailed Helderberg as “a must-watch... slickly made and visually dynamic.”

Caleb Hearon: Model Comedian | First on Showmax | Binge from Friday, 12 December 

So True with Caleb Hearon has topped the podcast charts weekly since its launch in February 2024, with over 23 million views on YouTube and a 2025 iHeartPodcast Award nomination for Best Emerging Podcast.

In his debut stand-up special, Hearon unpacks life’s most absurd contradictions with his signature charm and razor-sharp wit. Taking us back to his roots in Kansas City, the newly 30-year-old deploys his generational Midwestern wisdom to solve most of the world’s problems: politics, internet trolls, learning we’re not that different from our parents, and more.

Named one of Variety’s “Top Comics to Watch”, Hearon was included in The Washington Post’s “Next 50” list that profiles 50 individuals set to shape society in 2025. He was also hailed by Vulture as a “comedian you should and will know”.

The Night Before Christmas in Wonderland | Stream from Sunday, 14 December on Showmax

The Queen of Hearts has outlawed Christmas because she didn’t receive the gift she asked for. Years later, Father Christmas finally unearths her lost letter and travels to the whimsical world of Wonderland. With the help of curious young Alice, can Christmas be saved?

Gerard Butler (300) voices St Nick, with Emilia Clarke (Game of Thrones) as the Queen of Hearts.

In their five-star review, Common Sense Media recommends the animated movie for ages 5+. As they say, “Delightful and inventive, this Christmas animation is an enchanting throwback in both style and story… Full of heart and plenty of ho-ho-ho moments.. this is a don't-miss holiday event.”

Die Kwiksilvers | M-Net (DStv Channel 101) | 20:00 on Sunday, 14 December | Stream from Monday, 15 December on Showmax 

80-something widow Elsabe road trips across the Karoo with three elderly friends to experience a meteor shower in Sutherland. They have only three days to get there – and her overprotective son is hot on their tail.

Screen legend Lida Botha stars as Elsabe, with Silwerskerm winner Jacques Bessenger (Koek, Donkerbos) as her son. SAFTA winner June van Merch, Susanne Beyers and Theresa Sedras co-star.

Directed by rising star Jordy Sank through Sanktuary Films, the kykNET movie set a then- record for the most successful local box office performance for an Afrikaans film since Covid and has won several awards, including the Audience Prize at Silwerskerm.

Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning | First on Showmax | Stream from Wednesday, 17 December 

In Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, four-time Oscar nominee Tom Cruise is back as agent Ethan Hunt. This time, he’s pursuing a dangerous AI that's infiltrated global intelligence.

The ninth biggest movie of 2025, The Final Reckoning won Best Action Movie and Best Actor: Action at the 2025 Critics' Choice Super Awards, thanks in no small part to a Guinness World Record-setting burning parachute jump sequence (performed by Cruise himself, of course) filmed in the Drakensberg. 

The star-studded support cast includes Angela Bassett, Hannah Waddingham, Hayley Atwell, Nick Offerman, Pom Klementieff, Shae Whigham, Simon Pegg and Ving Rhames. 

The Final Reckoning has an 80% critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with The New York Times hailing it as “blockbuster entertainment at its most highly polished.” Mission accomplished, then.

P.S. You can binge all seven previous films in the franchise on Showmax from 25 November.

Happy Place S1 | Binge from Wednesday, 17 December on Showmax

Bobbie is a tough but lovable woman who inherits her late father’s Tennessee tavern – only to discover that her new co-owner is also the half-sister she never knew she had!

They couldn’t be more different, but they’ll navigate this new life together ... because at Happy’s Place, everyone is family.

Three-time Grammy winner Reba McEntire was nominated for a 2025 Kids' Choice Award in the heartfelt sitcom. 

The King of Kings | Stream from Sunday, 21 December on Showmax 

A father tells his son the greatest story ever told. What begins as a bedtime tale becomes a life-changing journey. Through vivid imagination, the boy walks alongside Jesus, witnessing His miracles, facing His trials, and understanding His ultimate sacrifice. The King of Kings invites us to rediscover the enduring power of hope, love, and redemption through the eyes of a child.

Emmy nominee Oscar Isaac (Poe Dameron in Star Wars) voices Jesus. Also listen out for Oscar winners Ben Kingsley, Forest Whitaker, and Kenneth Branagh, not to mention Mark Hamill (aka Luke Skywalker in Star Wars), Pierce Brosnan (aka James Bond), and Uma Thurman (The Bride in Kill Bill).

Dear Santa | M-Net (DStv Channel 101) | 20:00 on Sunday, 21 December | Stream on Showmax from Monday, 22 December

When a young boy mails his Christmas wish list to Santa with one crucial spelling error, a devilish Jack Black arrives to wreak havoc on the holidays.

From the Farrelly brothers, the Oscar-winning minds behind Dumb & Dumber, Dear Santa also features Emmy winner Keegan-Michael Key (Key & Peele), Brianne Howey (Georgia in Ginnie & Georgia) and 18-time Grammy nominee Post Malone.

Wizkid: Long Live Lagos | First on Showmax | Stream on Friday, 26 December

Following Wizkid from Lagos to Tottenham Stadium in London, this documentary follows the Grammy-winning Nigerian musician’s rise as a global icon reshaping how Africa is seen – and heard – around the world.

Wizkid: Long Live Lagos premiered at the 2025 Tribeca Festival, with Variety hailing it as “entertaining and propulsive”. Six-time Grammy nominee Femi Anikulapo Kuti also features.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds S3 | First on Showmax | Binge from Wednesday, 31 October

Star Trek: Strange New World follows Captain Christopher Pike, Science Officer Spock and Number One in the years before Captain Kirk boarded the USS Enterprise, as they explore new worlds around the galaxy. 

Anson Mount and Celia Rose Gooding were nominated for Best Actor and Actress at last year’s Critics' Choice Super Awards, while previous seasons have been up for both Best Drama Series at the Critics' Choice Awards and Best Science Fiction/Fantasy Series at the Critics' Choice Super Awards. As the Daily Telegraph says, “It has everything the discerning Trekkie could want.”

Sport of the Month

Carling Cup Final

6 December

Also on Showmax

Monday, 1 December

As’qoqeni S1 | Batman | Batman & Robin | Batman Forever | Batman Returns | Downton Abbey: A New Era | Konakele Kithi S1 | Snow White and the Huntsman | The Adventures of Puss in Boots S3 | The Huntsman: Winter’s War

Thursday, 4 December

Ant Bully | Charles Stuart Murder S1 | Megamind | Monsters vs Aliens | Sing | South To Black Power | Spirit Untamed | The Bad Guys | The Boss Baby: Family Business | The Lego Batman Movie

Friday, 5 December

Season’s Feeling | Twisted Christmas 

Monday, 8 December

Bad Tidings | Jurassic Park | Jurassic Park: The Lost World | Jurassic Park III | Jurassic World | Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom | Jurassic World: Dominion

Thursday, 11 December

Home | Hop | I Am Ali | I’m With Your Ex S3 | Jonah: A Veggietales Movie | Mr. Peabody & Sherman | The Prince of Egypt | Turbo

Sunday, 14 December

Urkel Saves Santa: The Movie

Monday, 15 December

Friday, Horrible Bosses 1-2 | Ride Along 1-2 | The High Note

Thursday, 18 December

Central Intelligence | Skyscraper | The Bourne Identity | The Bourne Supremacy | The Bourne Ultimatum | The Bourne Legacy

Saturday, 20 December

Christmas Carole

Sunday, 21 December

Onthul S3 Episode 1

Monday, 22 December

Baby Mama | Identity Thief | Major Payne | The Change-Up | The Wedding Crashers | Wanderlust

Wednesday, 24 December

Allegiance S2 | Skaapboud of Potjie

Thursday, 25 December

Dolittle | Get On Up | Nanny McPhee | Nanny McPhee Returns | Pitch Perfect | Pitch Perfect 2 | Pitch Perfect 3 | The Housewives of the North Pole

Sunday, 28 December

Boet Se Goet | Makoti: Are You The One S3

Monday, 29 December

Final Destination 1-5 | Freaky | Isithembu Sikamosongelwa S1

Wednesday, 31 December

Miskien Ja