What to watch on Showmax in January 2026

Here's our guide to all the best shows and movies to stream on Showmax in January 2026.

How to Train Your Dragon | First on Showmax | Stream from Friday, 2 January

The sixth biggest box office hit of 2025 globally, How To Train Your Dragon reimagines the beloved, Oscar-nominated franchise as a live-action epic.

On the rugged isle of Berk, where Vikings and dragons have been bitter enemies for generations, Hiccup stands apart. The inventive yet overlooked son of Chief Stoick the Vast, Hiccup defies centuries of tradition when he befriends Toothless, a feared Night Fury dragon. Their unlikely bond reveals the true nature of dragons, challenging the very foundations of Viking society.

Mason Thames (The Black Phone) stars as Hiccup, with BAFTA nominee Nico Parker (The Last of Us) as Astrid and Nick Frost (Shaun of the Dead) as Gobber.

Oscar nominee Dean deBlois, who helmed the animated franchise, writes, directs and produces the film, which boasts a Grammy-nominated score by John Powell (Wicked).

Smurfs | M-Net (DStv Channel 101) | 8:05PM on Sunday, 4 January | Stream from Monday, 5 January on Showmax

Code blue! The #12 biggest kids’ movie of 2025 at the global box office, Smurfs brings the world’s tiniest blue friends (who are over 66 years old this year!) back to our screens for a smurfing adventure set to delight the gang this January.

When Papa Smurf is mysteriously taken by evil wizards Razamel and Gargamel, Smurfette leads the Smurfs on a mission into the real world to save him. With the help of new friends, the Smurfs must discover what defines their destiny to save the universe.

Smurfs features an all-star voice cast including Rihanna, John Goodman, James Corden, Nick Offerman, Kurt Russell, Dan Levy, Amy Sedaris, JP Karliak, Natasha Lyonne, Sandra Oh, Octavia Spencer, Nick Kroll, Hannah Waddingham, Jimmy Kimmel, Nick Kroll, Maya Erskine, Alex Winter, Billie Lourd, and Xolo Maridueña.

The movie combines live action, animation, and a smurfing line-up of musical numbers, including original songs from Rihanna and Tyla, plus Desi Trill’s hit song Higher Love (feat. Cardi B and DJ Khaled), which was nominated for a 2025 Kids' Choice Award for Favorite Song From A Movie.

Volspoed | Showmax Original | Tuesdays from 6 January

Volspoed is a turbo-charged reality series that pulls viewers straight into the high-adrenaline course of endurance racer Antonie Marx and his wife, Ronette Marx, a former Miss South Africa finalist and the steady hand on the home pit.

On the track, Antonie chases fractions of a second at speeds topping 200 km per hour. Off it, the Marx family faces a far tougher circuit: ambition, sacrifice and the emotional highs and lows of living at full throttle.

Volspoed pairs the intensity of endurance racing, a sport where danger is ever-present and the need for speed can cost lives, with the raw, personal stakes of a family fighting to stay in the same lane while pushing to win the The South African Endurance Series.

The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills S15 | First on Showmax | Fridays from 9 January

Season 15 of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills (RHOBH) teases all the gloss and glamour of a "Hot Girl Summer" as the ladies jet set across the globe from The Hamptons and Sedona to Italy, but will the drama put a strain on their friendships as alliances shift and old wounds reopen?

Named Best Reality Series at the Critics' Choice Awards for its debut season, RHOBH has been nominated for three MTV Awards and nine People's Choice Awards, including Reality Show of the Year and Reality TV Star of the Year (for both Garcelle Beauvais and Richards) at the 2024 awards.

Actress Kyle Richards (from Halloween), singer and actress Erika Jayne, and fashion designer Dorit Kemsley are all back this season, along with businesswoman Sutton Stracke, and former Uber and Netflix chief marketing officer Bozoma Saint John, who grew up in Ghana and Kenya.

Entrepreneur Kathy Hilton (Kyle Richards’ half-sister and Paris Hilton’s mom) and Oscar nominee Jennifer Tilly (from Chucky and Bound) also return, with luxury brand consultant and entrepreneur Natalie Swanston Fuller, fashion designer and celebrity wardrobe stylist Rachel Zoe, and “money queen” and coach Amanda Frances joining the cast this season.

The Mindy Project S1-6 | Binge from Friday, 9 January on Showmax

Series creator Mindy Kaling (The Office, Never Have I Ever, The Sex Lives of College Girls) stars as skilled Ob/Gyn Mindy Lahiri, who’s navigating the tricky waters of her personal and professional life as she pursues her dreams of becoming the perfect woman, finding the perfect man and getting her perfect romantic comedy ending.

When it debuted in 2012, the hit comedy was named Most Exciting New Series at the Critics' Choice Awards. It went on to nab Emmy, Writers’ Guild of America, People’s Choice and Teen Choice nominations, as well as two Critics Choice awards for Chris Messina (Based on a True Story). The classic comedy still holds an 86% overall critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Keep an eye out for the stellar line-up of guest stars, including Oscar winners Reese Witherspoon and Laura Dern and Emmy winner Seth Rogen (The Studio).

Touch | Stream from Thursday, 15 January on Showmax

Based on the best-selling novel by Ólafur Jóhann Ólafsson, Touch follows one widower’s emotional journey to find his first love, who disappeared 50 years ago, before his time runs out.

Selected as Iceland’s Oscar entry, Touch has won eleven awards and has a 93% critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Variety calls the film “a weepie filled with humanity and hope… a uniquely powerful, humane film about people rebounding from the rubble of devastating losses, choosing courage and love to overcome grief.”

Die Kantoor S1 | kykNET (DStv Channel 144) | 8PM on Sunday, 18 January | Showmax Originals | Tuesdays from 20 January

It was more than 20 years ago that the world was introduced to the wonderfully bleak mockumentary world of The Office, created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant. MetaCritic lists the British version as the best-reviewed comedy series of all time, while the American version won five Emmys, including Outstanding Comedy Series, and was the most-streamed show in the world in 2020 during Covid.

The fourth international adaptation, Die Kantoor stars 2025 Fleur du Cap winner Albert Pretorius (Niggies; Nêrens, Noord-Kaap) as Flip, the office manager at polony specialists Deluxe Processed Meats.

Inspired equally by Rassie Erasmus and Leon Schuster, Flip welcomes a documentary crew to record his rise to greatness - and his occasional pranks. He’s living his own Chasing The Sun. Everyone else is just trying to survive eight hours without throttling anyone.

The ensemble cast includes SAFTA winner Schalk Bezuidenhout (Kanarie, Hotel), screen legend Lida Botha (Die Kwiksilvers), Carl Beukes (Jozi, The Shakedown), Silwerskerm winner Ilse Oppelt (Oh Schuks I’m Gatvol, Fishy Fêshuns), Daniah de Villiers (Mia in Mia and the White Lion), Mehboob Bawa (Bhai in Bhai’s Cafe), former KFM presenter Sipumziwe Lucwaba, and newcomer Gert du Plessis.

Rapid Blue, part of BBC Studios, is producing, with SAFTA and Silwerskerm winner Bennie Fourie (Hotel) as head writer and director.

Re-watch The Office S1-9 on Showmax while you wait for the African version.

Izingane Zes'Thembu S3 | Binge from Tuesday, 20 January on Showmax

Nominated as Best Non-Scripted TV Series of 2025 at The National Film and TV Awards South Africa, Izingane Zes’thembu follows five of Musa Mseleku’s older children.

Having grown up in a polygamous family, and on TV in Uthando Nes’thembu, Mpumelelo, Mpilo, Sne, Lwandle and Abongwe are now navigating the ups and downs of young adulthood, battling for love, respect and independence.

Die Byl S6 | Binge from Tuesday, 20 January on Showmax

Serial killer experts Piet van der Bijl and his team return in the final, gripping season of Die Byl. A ruthless killer on a crusade sets out to give them hell on earth, while the team struggles with their own humanity.

Waldemar Schultz and Milan Murray were once again nominated for their lead roles at this year’s Silwerskerm Awards, while Melissa Willering was up for Best Supporting Actress.

Die Byl was also up for Best Afrikaans TV Series at the 2025 National Film and TV Awards South Africa in 2024.

The returning cast includes Lika Berning as Lena, Ty Keogh as Capt. William Miller and Marcel van Heerden as Dr Anton Fourie, while newcomers this season include Antoinette Louw, Rika Sennett, Geon Nel, Cedwyn Joel, Carel Nel, Melanie du Bois, Hannes van Wyk, Pascual Wakefield, Johan Botha and Lida Botha.

Jurassic World: Rebirth | First on Showmax | Stream from Friday, 23 January

Labelled “fantastical, romantic, awe-inspiring, [and] most of all... fun,” by Newsweek, Jurassic World: Rebirth was the 4th-biggest box office hit of 2025.

Anchored by double-Oscar nominee Scarlett Johansson, People’s Sexiest Man 2025 Jonathan Bailey and two-time Oscar winner Mahershala Ali, Rebirth sees an extraction team race to the most dangerous place on Earth, inhabited by the worst of the worst that were left behind on an island research facility for the original Jurassic Park.

“What a comeback,” The Guardian says in their 4/5-star review. The “franchise roars back to life [with] …a brighter, breezier, funnier, incomparably better-acted and better-written film, with unashamed nods to the summer smashes of yesteryear [and] …terrific romcom chemistry between Johansson and Bailey.”

Wife Swap: The Real Housewives Edition | First on Showmax | Stream from Friday, 23 January

Wife Swap: The Real Housewives Edition mashes up of two of television’s most iconic reality franchises.

Follow The Real Housewives stars Angie Katsanevas (Salt Lake City), Dr. Wendy Osefo (Potomac), Melissa Gorga (New Jersey), and Emily Simpson (Orange County) as they slip out of their stilettos and find out what it’s like to step into another real wife's shoes.

The results are raw, emotional, and eye-opening. From unexpected conflicts to major breakthroughs, this Wife Swap journey challenges everything they thought they knew.

Crutch S1 | First on Showmax | Binge from Wednesday, 21 January

Crutch stars Emmy nominee Tracy Morgan (30 Rock) as Francois “Frank” Crutchfield, who goes by “Crutch.” The brash yet beloved Harlem shop owner has his world turned upside down when his highbrow son and free-spirited daughter move back into the family home.

Crutch has a 100% critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with Variety calling it “a hilarious sitcom about family, community and the ups and downs of life… Stuffed full of laugh-out-loud moments, a robust and talented cast and some iconic guest stars, the show is fun, refreshing and well thought-out… Crutch has all the makings of a classic sitcom.”

I Love LA | First on Showmax | Binge from Monday, 26 January

In I Love LA, a tight-knit friend group gathers after years apart, navigating the complexities of ambition, relationships, and how time has changed them.

Creator Rachel Sennott (Bottoms, Shiva Baby), rising star Odessa A’zion (Marty Supreme) and People’s Choice winner Josh Hutcherson (The Hunger Games) lead the cast. Guest stars include Teen Choice winner Leighton Meester (Gossip Girl), Emmy nominee Moses Ingram (Queen’s Gambit, Obi-Wan Kenobi), and multi-award-winner Elijah Wood (The Lord of the Rings, Yellowjackets).

I Love LA has an 84% critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Indiewire describes the series as “very funny”; Elle as “comedy gold”; and Vulture as “a comedy that’s both precise and unhinged, absurdly funny yet emotionally true — a portrait of youthful ambition and friendship that makes someone slightly older both grateful to not be that young anymore and just a little envious of those who are.”

HBO has already ordered a second season, after I Love LA became HBO’s second top freshman comedy in platform history, averaging nearly two million U.S. cross-platform viewers.

Fire Country S3 | Binge from Wednesday, 28 January on Showmax

The Critics Choice Super Award-nominated action series Fire Country stars Max Thieriot (SEAL Team, Bates Motel) as Bode Donovan, a young convict in an unconventional prison release program in California, working with elite firefighters to extinguish massive, unpredictable wildfires.

New characters this season include Southern California firefighter Camden Casey (Jared Padalecki from Supernatural) and ex-con Audrey James (Daytime Emmy nominee Leven Rambin from True Detective S2 and Gone). Also look out for Grammy-nominated musician Jelly Roll and Emmy nominees Constance Zimmer (UnREAL, Good Trouble) and Morena Baccarin (Deadpool, Serenity), who’s getting her own spin-off show, Sheriff Country.

Co-created by Thieriot and Emmy-nominated Grey's Anatomy producers Tony Phelan and Joan Rater, Fire Country is exec-produced by Oscar nominee and multiple-Emmy-winner Jerry Bruckheimer (CSI, Top Gun, Bad Boys, Pirates of the Caribbean).

Fire Country was CBS’ most watched new show of the year in its first season and has already been renewed for a fourth season.

M3GAN 2.0 | First on Showmax | Stream from Friday, 30 January

If you thought M3GAN was a problem, brace yourself for Amelia, a military-grade weapon built by a defense contractor using the murderous doll’s underlying tech…

Gerard Johnstone is back as director, with horror legends James Wan and Jason Blum again producing, and stars Allison Williams, Violet McGraw and Amie Donald also returning.

Ivanna Sakhno (Ahsoka, Pacific Rim: Uprising) joins the cast as Amelia, with Grammy winner and 12-time Emmy nominee Jemaine Clement (Avatar: The Way of Water, What We Do in the Shadows) as Alton Appleton.

LA Times says M3GAN “gets a humour upgrade with twice the killer dolls”, calling it “incredibly fun.”

Also on Showmax

Thursday, 1 January

Cellar Door

Monday, 5 January

Inside Man, Pacific Rim, R.I.P.D. Safe House, Wrath of the Titans

Tuesday, 6 January

Jan Braai Vir Erfenis S15, Net Mens

Wednesday, 7 January

Ufelani S1

Thursday, 8 January

He Went That Way, Konakele Kithi S1, The Secret Life of Pets, Jaws 1-3

Friday, 9 January

Luthando 2, The Way Ndingakhona S3

Monday, 12 January

Reagan, The Mummy 1-3

Tuesday, 13 January

Skomota

Thursday, 15 January

Blue Bayou, Boogie, Cut Throat City, The Great Wall, Yes, Chef!

Monday 19, January

47 Ronin, Afterburn, Battleship, Oblivion, The Last Gunfight

Wednesday, 21 Jan

Ufelani S2

Thursday, 22 January

Beast, Firestarter, Ubizo S5, Wanted

Friday, 23 January

The Way Ngingakhona

Monday, 26 January

Kick-Ass 2, M3gan, The Chronicles of Riddick, The Soloist

Tuesday, 27 January

Mamazala S23

Wednesday, 28 January

Ufelani S3

Thursday, 29 January

Doomsday, Four Good Days, Let Him Go, The Bardsley Bunch