Streaming for seniors

Whether you’re already retired or have some extra time at home on your hands right now, there’s never been a better time to stream series and movies on Showmax. It’s easy to set up on your Explora, your smart TV, mobile device or by hooking an Android box up to your normal TV. (Find a beginners’ guide to streaming here, and more tips on how to set up and watch Showmax here.)

Once you have signed up for Showmax, either via your DStv Premium or Compact subscriptions or via the website or app if you’re not a subscriber, you have access to thousands of movies and series at the click of a button. Whether you love local South African stories or hit international entertainment, we have you covered. Here are some of our favourites.

Period drama series

Beecham House

Tom Bateman drives this period drama that follows the enigmatic, soulful John Beecham during his time in Delhi, India in the 19th century. Watch now »

Summer of Rockets

A Russian inventor who specialises in hearing aids is asked by MI5 to use his tech knowledge during the Cold War.

Victoria S1-3

Queen Victoria was one of the greatest monarchs in history. But as this drama shows, when she first became regent as a young woman, not everyone wanted her to succeed…

Downton Abbey S1-6

Audiences quickly became addicted to this immersive series. This is as authentic as period drama gets: actual historical events shape the plotlines about the Crawley family and the servants who live with them in Downton Abbey. You may have watched it the first time round, but this is the perfect opportunity to binge the whole thing again!

More brilliant series

New Amsterdam

Dr Max Goodwin takes over as medical director at the oldest public hospital in America. He bends the rules and challenges the status quo to provide the best medical care possible.

Big Little Lies

An unmatched cast is the main reason to watch this twisty thriller. Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman, Shailene Woodley, Laura Dern and Zoe Kravitz play five seemingly ordinary women who are drawn into a mystery by a shocking death. Meryl Streep joins the cast in the second season as the dead man’s mother.

Trackers

If you haven’t yet watched this South African series adapted from the book by Deon Meyer, do yourself a favour and watch it. It has an excellent cast and incredible production quality, plus a twisty plot that’ll have you enthralled.

Browse more series here

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Documentaries and real-life stories

Chernobyl

Starring Jared Harris, Stellan Skarsgård and Emily Watson, this highly acclaimed miniseries dramatises the catastrophic event that rocked Europe in 1986: the explosion of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. Consistently rated the best series of 2019, this is a compulsive watch.

Hansie

He was once one of the greatest cricketers alive, then fell from grace in a betting scandal, only to die tragically in an aeroplane accident. But who was Hansie Cronje, one of SA’s greatest sports stars and villains?

Faith Like Potatoes

Adapted from the novel of the same name, this film tells the inspiring true story of a rugged farmer in the KZN Midlands whose quest for wealth leads him on an unexpected path of friendship and, ultimately, faith.

Boere Op Die Aardsdrempel

In remote Patagonia, a 100-year-old community of Afrikaans Boers struggles to keep their language and culture alive, while longing to be reunited with their distant families in South Africa. This doccie is largely in Afrikaans, but is subtitled.

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Movies

The Hundred-Foot Journey (2014)

Displaced from India, the Kadam family lands up in a tiny village in the south of France, where they open an Indian restaurant just 100 feet from the Michelin-starred eatery run by Madame Mallory. Charmer starring Helen Mirren.

RED (2010)

Frank, a former black ops agent, has his peaceful life disrupted by a new breed of assassin. An all-star cast play his fellow REDs (Retired, Extremely Dangerous), who prove they’ve still got it. Starring Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich and Helen Mirren.

An Unfinished Life (2005)

A widow gets involved with a violent man and turns to her estranged father-in-law for protection for herself and her daughter. Starring Robert Redford, Morgan Freeman and Jennifer Lopez.

The Theory of Everything (2014)

This Oscar and Golden Globe winner tells the true story of the extraordinary relationship between the late physicist Stephen Hawking and his wife, Jane. Eddie Redmayne won the Best Actor Oscar for his role, while Felicity Jones earned praise for playing Jane Hawking, upon whose book the film is based.

The Children Act

As her marriage reaches a breaking point, a high court judge is asked to rule on the case of a teenage boy who is refusing a blood transfusion for religious reasons. Starring Emma Thompson and Stanley Tucci.

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