What to watch on Showmax in February 2022

It’s the month of love, and we love the shows that are coming up on Showmax in February in South Africa.

Showmax Originals

The Wife Season 2 | New episodes every Thursday, from 17 February 2022 | Showmax Original 

The record-breaking first Showmax Original telenovela is back for a second season about the eight Zulu brothers, a formidable crime family, told from the perspective of the women who love them. 

This season is inspired by Dudu Busani-Dube’s novel Zandile the Resolute, her sequel to the bestselling Hlomu the Wife. 

Zandile (SAFTA nominee Khanyi Mbau) is the wife of the first brother, Nkosana (fan favourite Mondli Makhoba). She’s the matriarch of the Zulu family, the glue who held the Zulu brothers together – until Hlomu took over in her absence … 

The Wife is being produced by Stained Glass, who’ve created SAFTA-winning shows like eHostela and Ifalakhe as well as Uzalo, South Africa’s most-watched soap opera.   

Sex in Afrikaans | Binge from 14 February 2022 | Showmax Original 

In the eye-opening documentary series Seks in Afrikaans, four Afrikaans couples and two singles, with the help of clinical psychologist Bradley R Daniels, will speak openly for the first time about their sex lives and in the process discover there is much more fun to be had!

Featuring interviews with sex workers, adult shop owners, a unicorn, swingers, dominatrixes, a crossdresser, a dungeon master, people who dress up like babies, and others who prefer full-body latex suits, Sex in Afrikaans is an eye-opening tour of what your neighbours and co-workers get up to behind closed doors. 

The six-part docuseries is narrated by media personality Rian van Heerden, who is also producing through Provoco. 

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International series

Raised by Wolves S2 | 2 episodes on 4 February, with new episodes every Friday until 18 March, first on Showmax 

Award-winning South African actress Kim Engelbrecht (Reyka, The Flash) joins the cast of the HBO Max sci-fi drama series Raised by Wolves in Season 2.  

Once again filmed in Cape Town, Season 2 sees Android partners Mother (Amanda Collin) and Father (Abubakar Salim), along with their brood of six human children, join a newly formed atheistic colony in Kepler 22 b’s mysterious tropical zone. But navigating this strange new society is only the start of their troubles as Mother’s “natural child” threatens to drive what little remains of the human race to extinction.

Season 1 was one of Showmax’s 10 Most-Watched of 2021 and was nominated for three Critics Choice Super Awards. Inverse called Raised by Wolves “Ridley Scott’s best sci-fi since Alien.”  

The Good Fight S5 | Binge from 1 February 2022

In the fifth season of the cult legal drama The Good Fight, Diane (Christine Baranski) questions whether it’s appropriate for her to help run an African American law firm with Liz (Audra McDonald) when the firm loses two top lawyers. Meanwhile, they become entangled with Hal Wackner (Mandy Patinkin, Homeland), a regular Chicagoan who decides to open his own courtroom in the back of a copy shop.

Baranski, McDonald and Patinkin were all nominated for their roles at the 2022 Critics Choice Awards, where the show is up for Best Drama. 

A much funnier spinoff from The Good Wife, The Good Fight has a 91% critics rating for Season 5 on Rotten Tomatoes, where the consensus says, “The Good Fight’s fifth season continues to confront challenging current events with its singularly absurd style.”

Dexter: New Blood | Binge from 1 February 2022

He’s smart, he’s good looking, and he’s got a great sense of humour. He’s Dexter Morgan, everyone’s favourite serial killer. In his old life (Seasons 1-8), he was a Miami forensics expert, spending his days solving crimes, and nights committing them. But Dexter lives by a strict code of honour that is both his saving grace and lifelong burden. Torn between his deadly compulsion and his desire for true happiness, Dexter is a man in profound conflict with the world and himself.

Set 10 years after Dexter went missing in the eye of Hurricane Laura, the new instalment finds him living under an assumed name in the small town of Iron Lake, New York. Dexter may be embracing his new life, but in the wake of unexpected events in this close-knit community, his Dark Passenger beckons…

Dexter: New Blood has an 8.4/10 rating on IMDb. As The Wrap says, “Hall, as the ultimate good bad guy, is as riveting to watch as ever.”

Also watch Dexter S1-8 »

Brooklyn Nine-Nine S8 | Binge from 1 February 2022

If you’ve been sleeping on one of the best comedies on TV, Brooklyn Nine-Nine follows the exploits of the hilarious Detective Jake Peralta (Emmy winner Andy Samberg) and his diverse, lovable colleagues as they police the NYPD’s 99th Precinct. 

The eighth and final series of the Emmy-winning cop comedy series has an 89% critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes, where the critics’ consensus says, “Brooklyn Nine-Nine faces big topics with poise in a fittingly complicated final season that attempts to meet the moment without losing its sense of humour.”

Transplant S1 | Binge from 1 February 2022 

Drama series Transplant centres on Bashir “Bash” Hamed (Hamza Haq from This Life), a refugee of the Syrian Civil War who’s trying to rebuild his career as a doctor in the ER unit at the fictional York Memorial Hospital in Toronto.

The show’s cast includes John Hannah (The Victim) and Ayisha Issa (12 Monkeys), a former Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu World Champion. 

Wall Street Journal calls Transplant “the best medical show on American television”, with Globe and Mail praising its depiction of the “terror and frustrations that immigrants experience, trying to use their skills in a new country”. It’s already been renewed for a second season. 

B Positive | Binge from 1 February 2022

B Positive revolves around Drew (Thomas Middleditch, Silicon Valley), a therapist and newly divorced dad. He needs a kidney donor when he runs into Gina (Annaleigh Ashford), a rough-around-the-edges woman from his past who volunteers her own. Together, they form an unlikely and life-affirming friendship as they begin a journey that will forever impact both of their lives.

B Positive was nominated for two 2021 Emmys, and has an 85% Season 1 critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes, where the critics’ consensus says, “B Positive’s familiar sitcom trappings are elevated by its charming cast – especially the weird and winsome comedic stylings of Tony winner Annaleigh Ashford.”

C.B. Strike: Lethal White | Binge from 1 February 2022 | First on Showmax

Based on the best-selling novel by Robert Galbraith (aka JK Rowling), C.B. Strike: Lethal White stars Tom Burke (Orson Welles in Mank) as private detective Cormoran Strike, a former Special Investigation Branch investigator and war veteran. 

Together with his assistant, Robin Ellacott (Holliday Grainger, The Capture), Cormoran tackles cases that have, so far, baffled the police. 

C.B. Strike has an 82% critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes. As John Doyle wrote in The Globe and Mail, “Heavens what a love story, with a tangled mystery thrown in. Readers, I was smitten. What a great diversion.”

4400 | Binge from 1 February 2022 | First on Showmax

4400 overlooked, undervalued, or otherwise marginalised people who vanished without a trace over the last hundred years are all returned in an instant, having not aged a day and with no memory of what happened to them.

A reboot of the Emmy-nominated 2004 hit series, 4400 has a 80% critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with Decider saying, “All of what made The 4400 a cult hit back in the 00s is at play in this remake… but with a twist: A mostly Black cast and undertones of racial inequality driving the mystery.”

A.P. Bio S4 | Binge from 1 February 2022 | First on Showmax

A.P. Bio stars Glenn Howerton (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’s Dennis Reynolds) as failed philosophy academic Jack Griffin, who becomes a biology teacher at Whitlock High School, run by Principal Durbin (Patton Oswalt, Veep). But instead of teaching science, Jack uses his honour-roll students to get back at the people in his life who have wronged him. 

A.P. Bio holds an 88% critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with Decider calling it, “tremendous… an outrageous tsunami of weird, wonderful comedy” and “one of the flat-out funniest shows on television…” 

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Movies

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Judas and the Black Messiah | Stream from 3 February 2022

Judas and the Black Messiah is inspired by the true story of the betrayal and assassination of Fred Hampton, chairman of the Black Panther Party.

As Hampton, Daniel Kaluuya (Black Panther) won the Oscar, BAFTA and Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Supporting Actor, while H.E.R’s Fight For You also took home an Oscar for Best Original Song. The film also picked up four more Oscar nominations.

Judas and the Black Messiah has a 96% critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes, where the critics’ consensus says, “An electrifying dramatization of historical events, Judas and the Black Messiah is a forceful condemnation of racial injustice – and a major triumph for its director and stars.”

The Little Things | Stream from 17 February 2022

The Little Things stars Oscar winners Denzel Washington (Fences) and Rami Malek (Bohemian Rhapsody, Mr. Robot) as Deputy Sheriff Joe “Deke” Deacon and Sergeant Jim Baxter, two cops on the hunt for a serial killer who’s terrorising Los Angeles. As their search begins to dredge up echoes of Deke’s past, disturbing secrets emerge, which could threaten more than his case …

Shadow in the Cloud | Stream from 17 February 2022 | First on Showmax

Strap in, folks. IndieWire calls Shadow in The Cloud a “bonkers mash-up of monster movie and World War II drama”. 

The high-action creature feature follows female flight officer Maude Garrett (Chloë Grace Moretz, Kick-Ass), tasked with transporting top-secret documents aboard a B-17 Flying Fortress, where the sexist crew is about to become the least of her problems … 

Also Watch:

14 February 2022

Set against the backdrop of the wildly romantic Irish countryside, with a score that was nominated for numerous awards, Wild Mountain Thyme stars BAFTA nominees Emily Blunt and Jamie Dornan as a pair of star-crossed lovers caught up in their family’s land dispute. Oscar winner Christopher Walken and Emmy winner Jon Hamm co-star. 

17 February 2022

Emmy nominee Richard Gere is a successful New York hedge-fund magnate facing ruin in Arbitrage, which co-stars Oscar winner Susan Sarandon and Oscar nominee Tim Roth. Nate Parker was nominated for a Black Reel Award for his supporting role, and the drama holds an 87% critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes. 

21 February 2022

The classic comedy Get Him to the Greek stars Oscar nominee Jonah Hill as a record company intern sent to accompany an out-of-control British rock star (BAFTA nominee Russell Brand) to a concert at LA’s Greek Theater. With stars like Sean “Diddy” Combs, Elisabeth Moss, Rose Byrne, Pink and Christina Aguilera thrown into the mix, the film was nominated for an MTV Movie Award, an IGN Summer Movie Award and seven Teen Choice Awards. 

24 February 2022

Nominated for the Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize, the drama Wander Darkly stars BAFTA nominee Sienna Miller (The Loudest Voice), Diego Luna (Rogue One) and Beth Grant (No Country for Old Men). A couple is in a terrible car accident, and the woman tries to come to terms with her belief that she has died.

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South African Series and Movies

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Glasshouse | Stream from 7 February 2022 | First on Showmax

Glasshouse is set after The Shred, an airborne virus that causes dementia, has left humanity roaming like lost and dangerous animals, unable to remember who they are. Confined to their airtight glasshouse, a family does what they must to survive – until the sisters are seduced by a stranger who upsets the family’s rituals, unearthing a past they have tried to bury.

Glasshouse had its world premiere at the 25th Fantasia International Film Festival in Montreal, Canada in August 2021, receiving multiple five-star reviews and an 89% critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Film Threat’s Lorry Kitka singled out Glasshouse as her “favourite film of the year so far”; Exclaim proclaimed, “Kelsey Egan is a filmmaker to keep an eye on”; and Pop Culture Planet included Jessica Alexander in their list of the Best Performances of 2021, in good company alongside the likes of Jennifer Coolidge in The White Lotus and Fiona Dourif in Chucky. 

Glasshouse is the first film in a three-part post-apocalyptic slate being developed by Showmax with Local Motion Pictures, in association with Crave Pictures, with Kelsey Egan directing and sharing story credits with associate producer Emma Lungiswa de Wet. 

Late Bloomer | Stream from 28 February 2022

In Late Bloomer, a happy-go-lucky party girl must reassess her carefree life when she falls in love and suspects she may be pregnant after a one-night stand.

Directed by multi-award-winner Amy Jephta (Barakat, Skemerdans), Late Bloomer co-stars Nicole Fortuin (Alles Malan) and Danny Ross (Skemerdans) alongside the likes of SAFTA winner Denise Newman (Material), Monique Rockman (Nommer 37), Bianca Flanders (Troukoors) and comedian Kate Pinchuck (Tali’s Baby Diary).  

No Love Lost | Stream from 14 February 2022 | First on Showmax

Amahle (Hope Mbhele from Umkhokha), a hopeless romantic, gets surprised by her boyfriend Dumisani (Lungile Radu from Love Lives Here) with a getaway for their one-year anniversary. 

At the resort, she bumps into her ex-boyfriend Lwazi (two-time SAFTA winner Pallance Dladla, DAM), on vacation with his current girlfriend Azania (SAFTA winner Zola Nombona, Lockdown). This leads to a series of unavoidable double dates where the exes begin to question whether their feelings are really in the past. 

No Love Lost is the feature film debut of director Phiwo Mkhanzi (House of Zwide, Isibaya).

Mr Johnson | Stream from 10 February 2022

David Johnson awakes from a 47-year coma at the age of 73. While he has a hard time accepting his old body and the fact that he has lost more than half of his life, he quickly makes up for lost time.

Winner of three international awards, Mr Johnson co-stars the legendary Paul Slabolepszy and double SAFTA winner Jana Cilliers (Die Boekklub), opposite the likes of Frank Rautenbach (Faith Like Potatoes), Sisanda Henna (Trackers) and Graham Hopkins.

Welcome to the Family | Stream from 14 February | First on Showmax

Palesa has barely said “yes” to her boyfriend’s marriage proposal when she finds herself dragged along to his family home in KZN, where she discovers that she is about to marry into an over-the-top, wealthy family led by two overbearing, controlling and hard-to-please monster-in-laws.

Written by Nandisa Mkize (Umakoti Wethu) and directed by Nthabiseng Tau (Isidingo)​​, Welcome to the Family stars Nolo Seabi (Isithembiso, Siphesihle Vazi (Selimathunzi), triple SAFTA winner Linda Sebezo (Lockdown), Delisile Malinga (Umkhokha), Zakhele Msibi (Isibaya), and Bongiwe Ngidi (Saints and Sinners).

Also Watch:

3 February

Binge the powerful drama series Lioness, starring Shannon Esra (Still Breathing) as a woman who loses her children, her lover and her freedom when she is framed for fraud committed by her husband before his death. Eight years later, while trying to reunite with her children, she discovers he’s still alive … 

The series also stars Nokuthula Ledwaba (The River), Jacques Bessenger (Kanarie), Frank Rautenbach (Warrior, Faith Like Potatoes), Gerald Steyn (DAM), and Fiona Ramsay (Reyka), among others. 

Inspired by the true events of the 1976 hijacking of an Air France flight in Uganda en route from Tel Aviv to Paris, and the most daring rescue mission ever attempted, 7 Days in Entebbe stars Oscar nominee Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl), BAFTA nominee Daniel Brühl (Inglourious Basterds), and Nonso Anozie (Game of Thrones) as Ugandan dictator Idi Amin​​. 

7 February 

Season 5 of The River comes to Showmax at the same time as 1Magic from 7 February 2022. Winner of 28 SAFTAs in three years, including Best Telenovela for two of the last three years, Best Actress for Sindi Dlathu and Best Actor for Presley Cheweneyagae, The River was nominated for an International Emmy Award in 2019 for Best Telenovela. 

21 February  

Directed by Nico Scheepers, who wrote the award-winning play the series is based on, Nêrens, Noord-Kaap stars Albert Pretorius, Geon Nel and De Klerk Oelofse as estranged brothers who return to their family farm against the backdrop of the harsh Northern Cape landscape, and the ghosts of their shared past. Frank Opperman and Ilse Klink co-star in this Afrikaans drama series (with English subtitles). As News24 said in their 5/5-star review, Nêrens, Noord-Kaap “is a triumphant showcase of the best that local TV has to offer… You’ll want to savour every bite of it.”

28 February 

Season 3 of the Afrikaans crime anthology series Spoorloos, entitled Steynhof, centres on the disappearance of a baby following a double murder on a farm in the Northern Cape. Fifteen years later, a young girl begins to piece together the puzzle surrounding her past, but not everyone wants her to find out the truth… This season’s cast includes SAFTA winner Stiaan Smith; SAFTA nominees Jane de Wet, Diaan Lawrenson, Vinette Ebrahim, Wayne van Rooyen, and Franci Swanepoel, as well as rising star Brent Vermeulen (Die Stropers, Glasshouse). 

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Non-Fiction

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John Wayne Gacy: Devil In Disguise | 4 February | First on Showmax

John Wayne Gacy: Devil In Disguise follows the chilling story of one of the world’s most notorious serial killers, as told through the words of Gacy himself, those who were forever changed by his unspeakable deeds, and those who believe that the full truth remains concealed to this day.

Directed by Rod Blackhurst (Amanda Knox), this six-part documentary series draws on a multi-hour death-row interview with Gacy himself, most of which has never been seen before, along with exclusive audio and video interviews. Almost fifty years since the crimes took place, new questions are emerging about what really happened, and who else may have played a part in the deaths of Gacy’s 33 victims.

The docuseries has a 100% critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Black Art: In the Absence of Light | 1 February | First on Showmax

Directed by Oscar nominee and five-time Emmy winner Sam Pollard (MLK/FBI), this HBO documentary film explores the oft-neglected contributions of African American artists to both the art world and American culture at large.

The documentary looks at the major Black art movements of the past half-century, and speaks to contemporary luminaries like Jordan Casteel, Kara Walker, Carrie Mae Weems and Kehinde Wiley, among others. The film has a 92% critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with Boston Globe calling it “an essential and revelatory glimpse at the accomplishments of today’s Black artists.”

Shark With Steve Backshall | 4 February | First on Showmax

British explorer, naturalist, and presenter Steve Backshall has dedicated his life to revealing the wonder of sharks. Shark With Steve Backshall is a three-part docuseries tracking Steve’s journey to the remotest parts of our planet to meet the incredible variety of sharks upon which the health of our oceans depends, and the passionate people fighting to save these misunderstood predators.

Teaming up with leading scientists, Steve reveals stunning discoveries – glow-in-the-dark sharks, sharks that walk on land, and ancient sharks over 400 years old, with antifreeze in their blood… 

He also takes viewers night-swimming with an 18-metre whale shark in the Maldives, chases the sardine run off South Africa’s coast, and finds out what’s behind the mysterious disappearance of Cape Town’s great whites. 

Brain Surgeons: Between Life And Death S1 | 4 February | First on Showmax

How do our brains make us who we are? The two-part first season of Brain Surgeons: Between Life and Death follows patients undergoing life-changing brain surgery at one of Britain’s foremost neurosurgical units. In every operation, surgeons are hoping to save a life. But they are also entering one of the most mysterious places on Earth – the inside of our heads. 

Using detailed computer-generated graphics and animations of the patient’s real MRI scans, the films reveal how the specific functions of the patients’ brains have been affected, bringing this strange and complex world to life in a more vivid way than ever before. 

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Kids

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Tom & Jerry | Stream from 20 February, one day after M-Net Saturday Kids Movie 

Our favourite cat and mouse are back in Tom & Jerry: The Movie, which sees Jerry move into New York’s finest hotel on the eve of the wedding of the century, forcing desperate event planner Kayla (Chloë Grace Moretz) to hire Tom to get rid of the intruder. But, as mayhem ensues, their escalating cat-and-mouse battle soon threatens to destroy her career, the wedding, and possibly the hotel itself.

A mix of live action and animation, Tom & Jerry stars Michael Peña (Dora and the Lost City of Gold)​​; Ken Jeong (Crazy Rich Asians) and more.

Moominvalley S3 | Date TBC | First on Showmax

Moominvalley, adapted from Tove Jansson’s beloved tales of the Moomin family, won a 2020 British Animation Award for Best Children’s Series, plus many more awards. 

It’s the most expensive European animations series ever made, and its stellar voice cast includes BAFTA winner Matt Berry (What We Do in the Shadows) as Moominpappa and Rosamund Pike as Moominmamma, not to mention the likes of Jennifer Saunders and Richard Ayoade. 

Are You Afraid of the Dark S2: Curse of the Shadows | Date TBC

There’s nothing like the thrill of a good scary story, and this series promises all the chills, creeps and frights teens and brave tweens can handle, once again courtesy of the Midnight Society, a group of teens who gather at midnight to tell stories of hair-raising horror.

The show has a 100% critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes and Common Sense Media gives it five stars , recommending the series for ages 11+ and calling it, “Shivery, quivery fun for tweens and teens who like scares,” saying, “Most of what scares here is the power of suggestion… [but] the scares are real.”

Mush-Mush and the Mushables S1 | Date TBC

Mush-Mush and the Mushables are putting the fun back into fungi. These tiny guardians of the forest go on adventures in a wondrous and wild world of nature. Join them as they learn about their unique abilities, have fun, and find there’s a lot to learn about growing up.

This adorable animated preschool series from Europe has an 8.5/10 score on IMDb and 4/5 stars on Common Sense Media, where it’s recommended for ages 4+, which calls it “a joy to watch”.

Archibald’s Next Big Thing Is Here S1 | Date TBC

The first season of this animated series picks up the adventures of Archibald Strutter, a happy-go-lucky chicken who improvises his way through life but always finds his way home to his three siblings and trusty sidekick. 

It’s narrated by Rosamund Pike and has 4/5 stars on Common Sense Media, recommended for ages 5+: “It’s not always the case that an animated series has the ability to entertain entire families, but Archibald’s Next Big Thing promises to do just that.”

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Also on Showmax in February

3 February

The Courier | I Give It A Year | Loving Pablo | Wat Is Waarheid? S1 

7 February

Despicable Me | Despicable Me 2 | Minions | Don’t Tell a Soul | The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society | Koppieteefontein S1 | Last Night | A Little Bit of Heaven 

10 February

All My Life | Bel Ami | A Bridesmaid in Love | Every Day | A Guy Thing | Love | Game | Set | Love Map | The Nutty Professor | The Nutty Professor II: The Klumps | Romeo and Juliet | Weskusbewoners S1

14 February 

Charlie St Cloud | Forgetting Sarah Marshall | Noddy Toyland Detective S2 | You | Me & Dupree 

17 February

Billionaire Boys Club | Blood and Money | Boy Erased | Lovers and Liars | Wat Dit Vat S1

21 February

Barbie: A Fairy Secret | Barbie: The Pearl Princess | Barbie: Spy Squad | Face 2 Face S1 | Get Him to the Greek | The Hollow Point | Mojave  

24 February

Breaking In | The Misfits | R.L. Stine’s Mostly Ghostly: One Night in Doom House | The Runner | Peppermint

28 February

Angry Birds Bubble Trouble S1 | Crisis | Frankie & Alice | Our Kind of Traitor | Welcome to Marwen