The best drama series and movies to stream on Showmax
These tearjerking drama series and movies will bring on all the feels – stream them all on Showmax, but be sure to keep the tissues handy, and bring along your nerves of steel.
We’ve got heart-pounding crime dramas, psychological thrillers where we know things aren’t all going to be okay, romantic dramas that clutch at our hearts, and devastating stories that unfold in emergency rooms, on the streets, in troubled homes and in workplaces of all kinds.
Goodrich (2024)
Andy Goodrich needs help raising his kids after his wife checks into rehab – so he leans on his daughter from his first marriage in this bittersweet family drama.
Doc S1
A powerful medical drama based on an incredible true story. Dr. Amy Larsen (Molly Parker) loses her memory during a car accident and must return to being an intern as she rebuilds her life.
Mountainhead (2025)
Succession creator Jesse Armstrong delivers a star-studded satire about a group of super-rich tech gurus who meet for a boys’ trip as an international crisis unfolds.
Summertide S1
An exhilarating South African multi-generational drama following the Field family and those who cross their paths – each with their own secrets and desires.
Made in South Africa
Bet I Love You (2024)
Financial gain and social status are necessary for Rex, a compulsive gambler, who strives to overcome his addiction and recover squandered funds in a series of humorous situations.
Made in South Africa
Power Book III: Raising Kanan S1-4
Teenaged Kanan Stark works to join the family drug business in Queens in the prequel series to the hit show Power.
Die Tragiese Saak van Pamina Vermaak (2022)
An unemployed journalist ends up back in her small West Coast hometown, where she meets a floundering rock star.
Made in South Africa
Happy Face S1
A young woman’s world is turned upside down when she discovers that her father is an infamous serial killer in this tense series.
Widow Clicquot (2023)
This extraordinary period drama tells the story of Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin, who, at the age of 20, became the head of the Veuve Clicquot champagne family.
Kites (2024)
On a night when Sihle is driving his DJ friends to their gig, things turn upside down when they get a call about a body in an apartment.
Made in South Africa
The Following Events are Based on a Pack of Lies
Two very different women, Alice, a formidable PA, and Cheryl, a bestselling fantasy author, become trapped in a triangle of epic proportions.
The Responder S2
An embattled first responder tackles a series of night shifts in Liverpool while trying to keep his head above water personally and professionally.
Hans Steek die Rubicon Oor (2022)
A 90-year-old widower wants to grow old on his own terms, but when he is forced into a retirement home, he leads a revolt against the management.
Made in South Africa
The Handmaid’s Tale S1-6
Based on the celebrated novel of the same name and starring the talented Elisabeth Moss, this dystopian drama focuses on the fight to take down the fascist regime of Gilead.
Pheletso (2025)
When a charming young man wakes up in the hospital with almost no recollection of how he ended up there, his relationship is put to the test.
Made in South Africa
Accused S2
An engrossing anthology courtroom drama based on the acclaimed BBC crime series. Each episode follows a new defendant as they await their verdict, while flashbacks reveal how they ended up in court.
Killer Front Page S1
An ambitious journalist who dreams of attaining national recognition, like his father, gets obsessed with front-page headlines byline and winning the heart of his colleague. However, his life takes a dark turn when he gets fired.
Made in South Africa
Adam (2024)
In modern-day South Africa, 18-year-old Adam is sent to Prinsloo Bush School, where he faces brutal training from his militaristic teachers.
Made in South Africa
A Very Royal Scandal
This compelling British miniseries driven by Michael Sheen explores Emily Maitlis’s journey as a Newsnight journalist and Prince Andrew’s disastrous interview with her.
Shaka iLembe S1
Set in the 1700s, Shaka iLembe tells the story of the making of the iconic African king.
Made in South AfricaLooking for something lighter?
Khanyisa Jam Jam opens up in Laugh Africa Comedy Club special
Comedian Khanyisa Jam Jam talks about being part of the Laugh Africa Comedy Club special, now available to stream on Showmax.
South African
Laugh Africa Comedy Club
A high-energy celebration of stand-up, spotlighting the continent’s finest comedic talent and international guests, straight from the iconic Laugh Africa Comedy Festival.
Made in South Africa
Embrace the cringe in The Rehearsal Season 2
Hateable or relatable? We’re here to look at our 10 favourite characters with awkward, offputting energy – starting with The Rehearsal’s Nathan Fielder.
Mr Throwback S1
In this hilarious basketball comedy, a down-on-his-luck memorabilia dealer looks for redemption by reuniting with his sixth-grade teammate, NBA legend Steph Curry.
The F-Show (2025)
The F-Show features a strong roster led by one of South Africa’s favourite comedians skewering the daily chaos that comes with being South African.
Made in South Africa
Funny Woman S1-2
Based on the Nick Hornby novel Funny Girl, this is the story of a Blackpool beauty queen who tries to make is a comedian in the 1960s.
Hacks S1-4
Emmy winner Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder make an odd partnership in the acclaimed HBO dramedy Hacks, about a legendary Vegas comedian and her new writer.
Stream Julio Torres’s fantasy film Problemista on Showmax
Emmy nominee and Peabody Award winner Julio Torres makes his dazzling feature debut with Problemista, now streaming on Showmax.
These shows are out of this world
Wild Wild Space (2024)
A high-stakes HBO doccie that chronicles the modern-day, celestial land grab – a fast-paced, high-stakes race of epic proportions in which companies compete to blast satellite-carrying rockets into low Earth orbit.
Bella Ramsey on Ellie’s new love interest in The Last of Us S2
Bella Ramsey talks about her award-winning role as Ellie in The Last of Us S2, and her new co-star, Isabela Merced. Catch new episodes every Monday.
10 things to know before watching The Last of Us Season 2
As the new season takes a five-year leap into the future, we recap what you need to know from The Last of Us Season 1, from a guide to the Infected, cults, militias and communities, to who still know about Ellie’s immunity.
The Last of Us S1-2
Five years after the events of Season 1, Joel and Ellie are living a relatively peaceful life in Jackson, Wyoming – until the past comes calling. Stream The Last of Us S2, plus all of S1, on Showmax.
The Last of Us co-creator on why we all feel so protective of Ellie
Emmy winner Craig Mazin, co-creator and executive producer of The Last of Us, discusses why audiences feel so protective of Ellie. The new season premieres on M-Net and Showmax from 14 April 2025.
Breathe (2024)
Air-supply is scarce in the near future, forcing a mother and daughter to fight to survive when two strangers arrive desperate for an oxygenated haven.
Dune: Part Two (2024)
The second instalment in an epic two-part adaptation of Frank Herbert’s acclaimed novel. Paul Atreides unites with Chani and the Fremen while on a warpath of revenge.
Dune: Part Two – what lies ahead for Paul and Chani?
Dune: Part Two’s leads Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya, and director Denis Villeneuve discuss their fates and the nitty-gritty of riding a sandworm across the desert.
Showmax is the home of HBO in Africa
The Stroll (2023)
When director Kristen Lovell began to transition in the 90s, she was fired from her job. Like many transgender women of colour during this era, she began sex work in an area known as The Stroll.
Embrace the cringe in The Rehearsal Season 2
Hateable or relatable? We’re here to look at our 10 favourite characters with awkward, offputting energy – starting with The Rehearsal’s Nathan Fielder.
The Rehearsal S1-2
In this bizarre HBO docuseries people get a chance to rehearse for their own lives in a world where nothing ever works out as expected.
Tokyo Vice S1-2
In this powerful HBO crime thriller based on true events, a Western journalist working in Tokyo takes on one of the city’s most powerful crime bosses.