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.
Sullivan’s Crossing S1
A drama about reconnecting and rebuilding. A neurosurgeon has it all until her business partner is indicted for fraud. To distance herself, she returns home and navigates her present while confronting her past.
One Weeks S1
When a successful ad exec decides to kick her lazy boyfriend of six years out of her house, he lies about being in danger and begs her to let him stay for one more week – with hilarious consequences.
Made in South Africa
The Curse S1
Emma Stone stars in this thrilling and bizarre dramedy series. A newlywed couple struggle to make their vision for eco-living a reality in a small New Mexico town.
BlackBerry (2023)
This enthralling drama is the cautionary tale of the world’s first smartphone’s meteoric rise and catastrophic demise.
The Irrational S1
A world-renowned professor of behavioural science applies his unique expertise to solve difficult criminal cases.
016FM S1
To save their community radio station from closing, two polar opposite DJs prepare to compete on air, unaware that a syndicate has infiltrated the station.
Made in South Africa
Moonshine S1-3
The Canadian comedy-drama with a “dreamy, summer vibe”, Moonshine, returns for a raucous, raunchy second season on Showmax.
Past Lives (2023)
This heartrending romantic drama gives two lost lovers another chance. After 20 years apart, childhood sweethearts Nora and Hae Sung reunite for one fateful week in New York City.
The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry (2023)
Harold Fry sets off on a long journey on foot to visit an old, dying friend while leaving his wife and life behind.
Empini S1
Meet Ndoni Themba, who makes it her life’s mission to repay her father’s betrayal by infiltrating the shady world of VIP security.
Made in South Africa
Boiling Point S1
Based on the hit UK movie, this high-intensity culinary drama sees a head chef battle to forge a name for a new London restaurant
The Gilded Age S1-2
From the creator of Downton Abbey, this HBO drama series is set during the social wars of New York in the late 19th Century.
Fires S1
This miniseries follows the catastrophic bushfires that tore through the hearts of Australia and the world during the “Black Summer”.
A Good Person (2023)
A poignant drama about a young woman whose life spirals after an awful incident, but she finds comfort in an unexpected relationship.
Alex Rider S3
A thrilling British spy series based on the novels of the same name by Anthony Horowitz. Alex Rider is an ordinary teenager enlisted to work for MI6, where he uses skills he didn’t know he had to become an extraordinary spy.
Oppenheimer (2023)
Christopher Nolan directs Cillian Murphy in this multi-Oscar-winning biographical drama that follows the scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer and his role in creating the atomic bomb.
Fellow Travelers S1
Follow the decades-long chronicle of the risky, volatile and steamy relationship between the charismatic and ambitious Hawk and the pious and idealistic Tim, who fall in love at the height of the 1950s Lavender Scare.
The Fabelmans (2022)
Renowned filmmaker Steven Spielberg helms this drama. A young man discovers a shattering family secret and explores how the power of movies helps us see the truth.
Everything I Know About Love S1
Based on Dolly Alderton’s hilarious memoir, this is the platonic love story of 20-something childhood friends Maggie and Birdy as they move into their first grown-up house-share in London with their two friends from university.
The Winning Ticket (2024)
A happy family lives simply when their youngest daughter prays for them to win the lotto. Their lives drastically change when they do.
Made in South AfricaLooking for something lighter?
Comedy chaos: Prepare to laugh out loud
Check out these must-watch and crowd-pleasing go-to comedies that are sure to have you in stitches. All streaming on Showmax.
Do as Kate Winslet says in The Regime
As fascist dictator Chancellor Elena Vernham, Kate Winslet has a few requests for her staff in the HBO political satire mini-series The Regime.
Anyone But You (2023)
Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell star in this steamy romcom. After a great first date, Bea and Ben’s attraction turns cold, until they’re reunited at a destination wedding.
The Regime S1
Kate Winslet exudes power in this captivating HBO limited series as the Chancellor of an unnamed Central European nation, unravelling behind the palace walls.
Bookie S1
A veteran bookie struggles to survive the impending legalisation of sports gambling, increasingly unstable clients, family and co-workers.
A rookie’s guide to Bookie
Get the inside track on Chuck Lorre’s new sitcom Bookie Season 1 and the underground world of sports betting, then roll the dice on 5 more shows for bros.
See the trailer of new Showmax comedy series One Weeks
Sihle Ndaba and Zakhele Mabasa Mokone co-star in new Showmax Original One Weeks, premiering on Showmax on 22 July, with new episodes every Monday.
Made in South Africa
Mean Girls (2024)
A new student is a hit with an A-list girl clique called the Plastics. However, everything changes when she falls for the wrong guy.
These shows are out of this world
5 Quantum Leaps with Dr Song
As well as leapfrogging around history, Quantum Leap Season 2 takes us everywhere from witch trials in the 1690s to Egypt in the 1960s. Let’s go!
Quantum Leap S2
As lead physicist Ben Song takes an unauthorised leap into 1985, the Quantum Leap team have to figure out how to get him back.
Crash-land into the wide-eyed wonder of Resident Alien
Alan Tudyk leads this sci-fi comedy drama based on the Dark Horse comic book series. Now streaming on Showmax.
Resident Alien S1-3
Is humanity worth saving? This is the dilemma faced by a crash-landed alien who assumes the identity of a small-town doctor who solves crimes.
Infiniti S1
When the body of an American astronaut is found on a roof in Kazakhstan, a French astronaut and a Kazakh cop set out to solve the mystery.
Power up with the might and mystery of the Halo series
Halo S2 brings Pablo Schreiber’s commanding portrayal of Master Chef to life in this adaptation of the iconic video game franchise.
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (2023)
Return to the world of Autobots vs Decepticons. During the 90s, a new faction of Transformers, the Maximals, join the battle for Earth.
Halo S2
In the 26th Century, humanity bands together and risks everything to protect humankind from the universal threat: an alien race known as the Covenant.
Showmax is the home of HBO in Africa
Endangered (2022)
An in-depth look at a year in the life of four journalists reporting inside Mexico, Brazil and the United States, three democratic nations where the view of the press is rapidly deteriorating.
House of the Dragon Season 2 Episode 6 recap: A new dragonrider
We get a new dragonrider, a new Lord Paramount of the Riverlands, two new Hands, and a new First Mate in House of the Dragon Season 2, Episode 6.
House of the Dragon Season 2 episode 5 recap: Who’s the boss?
The Greens appoint Aemond as regent while Aegon recovers (or dies from) from his injuries, and Jacaerys wins over the Freys in House of the Dragon Season 2, episode 5.
The Regime S1
Kate Winslet exudes power in this captivating HBO limited series as the Chancellor of an unnamed Central European nation, unravelling behind the palace walls.