1 March 2022
What to watch on Showmax in March 2022
The year marches on – and so does the entertainment on Showmax. From buzzy new series Grand Crew to Oscar-winning movies to watch in Oscar month, to continuing new episodes of your favourites like The Wife and The Real Housewives of Durban, there’s something for everyone.
International series
Grand Crew S1 | Binge from 9 March | First on Showmax
Grand Crew follows a group of young Black professionals who gather at their favourite bar to “wine down” and unpack the ups and downs of life and love in LA, proving that life is always better with your crew.
The show’s instantly lovable cast includes Nicole Byer (Nailed It) and Echo Kellum (Arrow’s Curtis Holt/Mr Terrific), while Garrett Morris (2 Broke Girls) narrates.
As The Mary Sue says, “The whip-smart comedy is one of the best new sitcoms on network television… During the pandemic, many viewers have been returning to their favourite comfort shows like The Office and Friends. Grand Crew is a welcome new entry into the genre, and is hopefully on its way to becoming a new classic. So sit back, grab a glass of wine, and meet your new friends.”
Halo | Fridays from 25 March | First on Showmax
One of Rotten Tomatoes’ Most Anticipated Shows of 2022, Halo brings one of the highest-grossing gaming franchises of all time to the small screen, 21 years after the epic Xbox military science fiction game first launched.
Already renewed for a second season, Halo follows Master Chief, a cybernetically enhanced super-soldier, as he defends humanity from an alien threat known as the Covenant.
With South African blockbuster director Jonathan Liebesman (Battle: Los Angeles, Wrath of the Titans, The Killing Room, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) among the show’s directors, the series stars Emmy nominee Pablo Schreiber (Kris ‘Tanto’ Paronto in 13 Hours, and Orange Is the New Black’s George ‘Pornstache’ Mendez) as Master Chief John-117, with Jen Taylor reprising her voice role from the game series as Cortana. The cast also includes MTV Movie Award nominee Natascha McElhone (Californication), Emmy nominee Bokeem Woodbine (Fargo, Spider-Man: Homecoming), multi-award-winner Charlie Murphy (Peaky Blinders, Happy Valley) and Danny Sapani (Killing Eve, Harlots).
PEN15 S2 Part 2 | Binge from 1 March | First on Showmax
PEN15’s second – and final – season brings us eight new episodes to close out the gloriously weird and uncomfortably honest story of 13-year-old besties Maya and Anna, living through the horrors and highs of teenhood in the year 2000. 30-something creators Anna Konkle and Maya Erskine return as the puberty-stricken versions of themselves, surrounded by actual 13-year-olds.
PEN15 was nominated for three Emmys last year, including Outstanding Comedy Series, and Season 2 holds a 100% critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes. “It is bowing out at the peak of its powers,” says Guardian.
A Discovery of Witches S3 | Binge from 1 March | First on Showmax
In the final season of A Discovery of Witches, Matthew and Diana return from their trip to 1590 to find tragedy at Sept-Tours. They must find and piece the Book of Life back together, as their enemies gear up against them.
Adapted from Deborah Harkness’s bestselling All Souls trilogy, A Discovery of Witches is a vampire-meets-witch story of forbidden love, starring Matthew Goode (Downton Abbey) and Teresa Palmer (Warm Bodies). A Discovery of Witches has an 83% critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Vigil | Binge from 1 March
From the creators of Line of Duty, Vigil investigates the mysterious disappearance of a Scottish fishing trawler and a death on-board the submarine HMS Vigil, which bring the police into conflict with the Navy and British security services. DCI Amy Silva (BAFTA winner Suranne Jones from Gentleman Jack) and DS Kirsten Longacre (BAFTA winner Rose Leslie from Game of Thrones) lead an investigation into a conspiracy that goes to the very heart of Britain’s national security.
Vigil has an 84% critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with Wall Street Journal hailing it as “one of the better thriller series of the year.”
Brave New World | Binge from 1 March
Based on Aldous Huxley’s classic 1932 novel, Brave New World imagines a utopian society that has achieved peace and stability through the prohibition of monogamy, privacy, money, family, and history itself.
Alden Ehrenreich (Han Solo in Solo: A Star Wars Story), Jessica Brown Findlay (Downton Abbey) and Harry Lloyd (Viktor in Arcane) lead an impressive cast.
Brave New World won Royal Television Society Awards for its costumes and visual effects, but be warned: unlike the book, the series isn’t going to make it into any high school syllabus. Brave New World carries an 18SN age restriction, with The Guardian suggesting that it should have been renamed Brave Nude World and adding, “Not since Game of Thrones have I seen so many nude scenes so happily, lavishly and gratuitously staged for our viewing pleasure.”
Chicago Med S6 | Binge from 1 March
The dedicated doctors, nurses and staff of Gaffney Chicago Medical’s trauma centre are back for Season 6 of the hit medical drama from multi-award-winning executive producer Dick Wolf (Law & Order). This season, they are pushed to the limit as they fight on the frontlines of a global COVID-19 pandemic. Together, they must adapt to the new normal as they confront unprecedented medical challenges.
The cast includes four-time Emmy nominee Oliver Platt (Fargo) as Chief of Psychiatry Dr Daniel Charles, as well as Yaya DaCosta (The Butler),S Epatha Merkerson (Law & Order).
A Million Little Things S3 Part 1 | Binge from 1 March
Friendship isn’t a big thing. It’s a million little things. In Season 3, just when the friends seem to find their new normal, their lives are upended when COVID-19 rocks their world – forcing them to once again lean on each other in ways that are both moving and aspirational.
As TV Fanatic says, “Can you think of a show that better encapsulates the feeling of living in the disaster year that is 2020? … A Million Little Things is akin to Chicken Soup for the Soul…as if you were snuggling up with a warm blanket, eating comfort food, and spending time with beloved friends. In times like these, you learn to cherish any moment that gives you that feeling.”
Ziwe S1 | Binge from 1 March
Born in the US to Nigerian parents, Ziwe Fumudoh blasted onto the scene with her YouTube show Baited with Ziwe. Now she has her own talk and variety show, Ziwe, a no-holds-barred mix of musical numbers, interviews and sketches that challenge our discomfort with race, politics, and other cultural issues.
Ziwe’s first season features the likes of activist Gloria Steinem, The Real Housewives of New York City star Eboni K Williams, actress Cristin Milioti (Palm Springs) and author Fran Lebowitz.
Vulture hails Ziwe as “iconic” and Vanity Fair says, “Ziwe perfected the art of putting people on the spot,” while Salon.com calls her show “both a true star-making platform and a spoof of the same.”
Wu-Tang: An American Saga S1 | 1 March
Set in early 1990s New York, at the height of the crack cocaine epidemic, Wu-Tang: An American Saga is the fictionalised account of the formation of legendary hip hop supergroup Wu-Tang Clan. Ashton Sanders (Judas and the Black Messiah) and Shameik Moore (the voice of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse’s Miles) co-star as Bobby Diggs and Sha Raider respectively.
Created by Grammy-nominated Wu-Tang leader RZA with Alex Tse (Watchmen), Season 1 of the series was nominated for an Emmy and three Black Reel Awards.
Movies
The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard |14 March
The world’s most lethal odd couple – bodyguard Michael Bryce (Ryan Reynolds) and hitman Darius Kincaid (Samuel L Jackson) – are back on another life-threatening mission. Still unlicensed and under scrutiny, Bryce is forced into action by Darius’s even more volatile wife, the infamous con artist Sonia Kincaid (Salma Hayek).
As Bryce is driven over the edge by his two most dangerous protectees, the trio soon find that they are all that stand between Europe and a vengeful madman (Antonio Banderas). Joining in the fun and deadly mayhem is Morgan Freeman as… well, you’ll have to see.
The Father | Stream from 21 March
Anthony is 80, living defiantly alone and rejecting the carers that his daughter, Anne (Olivia Colman), introduces. Yet help is also becoming a necessity for Anne as Anthony’s grip on reality is unravelling. As his memory ebbs and flows, how much of his own identity and past can Anthony cling to? How does Anne cope as she grieves the loss of her father, while he still lives and breathes before her?
At 83, Anthony Hopkins last year became the oldest-ever Best Actor winner at the Oscars. The Father also took home the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay, with another three nominations.
The Father has a 98% critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes, where the critics consensus praises the film’s “devastatingly empathetic portrayal of dementia.”
Bad Hair | 3 March
A horror satire set in 1989, Bad Hair follows an ambitious young woman (Elle Lorraine from Insecure), who gets a weave in order to succeed in the image-obsessed world of music television. However, her flourishing career comes at a great cost when she realises her new hair may have a mind of its own.
This campy horror film was written and directed by Justin Simien (Dear White People), Bad Hair co-stars everyone from Lena Waithe (Master of None) and Blair Underwood (Dear White People) to Laverne Cox (Orange Is The New Black), Nicole Byer (Nailed It!) and Robin Thede (A Black Lady Sketch Show) to Kelly Rowland and Usher, as well as James van der Beek (Dawson’s Creek).
“Justin Simien’s pointed, fiendishly fun horror flick cackles at the gore when an ambitious music host gets a wig that literally slays,” says Variety, calling it “at once sly, resonant, and horrific.”
Superintelligence | 10 March
When an all-powerful Superintelligence chooses to study the most average person on earth, Carol Peters, the fate of the world hangs in the balance. As the A.I. decides whether to enslave, save or destroy humanity, it’s up to Carol to prove that people are worth saving.
Melissa McCarthy (Bridesmaids, The Heat) was nominated for a Kids’ Choice Award for Favourite Actress for Superintelligence, which also stars James Corden, two-time Emmy winner Bobby Cannavale (The Irishman), and two-time Emmy nominee Brian Tyree Henry (Atlanta).
Let Them All Talk | Stream from 24 March
Let Them All Talk tells the story of a celebrated author (Meryl Streep) who takes a journey with some old friends (Candice Bergen and Dianne Wiest) to have some fun and heal old wounds. Her nephew (Lucas Hedges) comes along to wrangle the ladies, as well as her new literary agent (Gemma Chan from Eternals and Crazy Rich Asians), who is desperate to find out about her next book.
Directed by Steven Soderbergh (Traffic), it has an 88% critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes, which says: “When Steven Soderbergh rounds up a cast this talented, it’s definitely wise to Let Them All Talk – and this light yet rewarding dramedy more than lives up to expectations.”
Also watch:
3 March
A family in 1630s New England is torn apart by the forces of witchcraft, black magic, and possession in The Witch. The horror, starring Emmy nominee Anya Taylor-Joy (The Queen’s Gambit), won over 40 international awards, including the Directing Award at Sundance, and holds a 90% critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes, where it’s the 27th highest-rated horror film of all time.
7 March
The future of America is a utopia… founded on one night of hell. Once a year, for 12 hours, all crime becomes legal in the horror franchise The Purge. Produced by Blumhouse Productions (Get Out, BlacKkKlansman), the collection now on Showmax includes The Purge (2013), The Purge: Anarchy (2014), The Purge: Election Year (2016), and The First Purge (2018).
10 March
Four guys, a bachelor party, and a road trip. What could possibly go wrong? Bradley Cooper, Zach Galifianakis, Ed Helms and Justin Bartha star in The Hangover Trilogy: The Hangover (2009), The Hangover Part II (2011), and The Hangover Part III (2013).
14 March
Eight-time Oscar nominee Glenn Close stars as a mother helping her daughter (MTV Movie Award winner Mila Kunis) work through four crucial days of recovery from substance abuse in the drama Four Good Days, which earned Diane Warren her 13th Oscar nomination for Best Original Song earlier this year.
IMDb’s #44 All-time Top-rated Movie, Gladiator, won five Oscars, including Best Picture, and Best actor for Russell Crowe, and was nominated for a further seven, including Best Supporting Actor for Joaquin Phoenix and Best Director for Ridley Scott.
Oscar nominees Amy Adams and Jake Gyllenhaal star in Nocturnal Animals, which centres on a wealthy art gallery owner who is haunted by her ex-husband’s novel, a violent thriller she interprets as a symbolic revenge tale. The film earned Michael Shannon a 2017 Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor, and also co-stars triple-Oscar nominee Laura Linney and Emmy nominee Michael Sheen.
17 March
Christoph Waltz won the 2010 Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his role as a Nazi commander in Inglourious Basterds, which also stars the likes of Brad Pitt and Michael Fassbender. IMDb’s #85 Top-rated Movie of All Time, the war film picked up seven further Oscar nominations, including Best Director and Best Original Screenplay for Quentin Tarantino.
Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig, and Sir Ian McKellen are among the stellar cast of Oscar nominee Chris Weitz’s fantasy adventure The Golden Compass. Based on the first novel in Philip Pullman’s award-winning trilogy, “His Dark Materials”, the movie won both a 2007 Oscar and a BAFTA for Visual Effects.
Turn on the Fifty Shades collection with Fifty Shades Freed, completing the erotic drama trilogy alongside the original film, Fifty Shades of Grey and the second movie, Fifty Shades Darker, which was among the Top Ten Most-Watched films on Showmax in 2021.
21 March
Based on the true story of how the Boston Globe exposed a massive child molestation scandal within the local Catholic Archdiocese, the drama Spotlight won two Oscars in 2016, for Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay. Mark Ruffalo was nominated for Best Actor, Rachel McAdams for Best Supporting Actress, and Tom McCarthy for Best Director.
Nominated for two 2019 Oscars, Mary Queen of Scots stars multiple Oscar nominees Saoirse Ronan and Margot Robbie as rival monarchs Mary Stuart and her cousin Elizabeth I.
Emily Blunt, Rupert Friend, Paul Bettany, Miranda Richardson, Jim Broadbent and Mark Strong are the ensemble cast of The Young Victoria, which follows the turbulent first years of Queen Victoria’s rule, and her enduring romance with Prince Albert.
24 March
Oscar nominee Ryan Gosling stars as pioneering astronaut Neil Armstrong in the biographical drama First Man, which won a 2019 Oscar for Best Visual Effects, with three further nominations.
28 March
Watch Mike Myers’ hilariously over-the-top, below-the-belt spy comedy, Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, plus the sequels Austin Powers in Goldmember. Look out for stars like Beyoncé, Michael Caine, Elizabeth Hurley and Robert Wagner, with Verne Troyer as Mini-Me.
Non-Fiction
The Sparks Brothers | Stream from 21 March
How can one rock band be successful, underrated, hugely influential, and criminally overlooked all at the same time? With commentary from celebrity fans like Flea, Beck, Jason Schwartzman, Neil Gaiman, and more, The Sparks Brothers takes audiences on a musical odyssey through five weird and wonderful decades with brothers and bandmates Ron and Russell Mael, celebrating the inspiring legacy of Sparks: your favourite band’s favourite band.
The debut documentary from director Edgar Wright (Baby Driver), The Sparks Brothers was nominated for a slew of awards, and has 98% on Rotten Tomatoes, which says: “Their albums may be cult favourites, but this Edgar Wright-directed documentary offers an introduction to Sparks that has something for everyone.”
Final Account | Stream from 21 March
Distilled from over 300 interviews conducted by the late British documentary filmmaker Luke Holland, Final Account is an urgent portrait of the last living people to participate in Adolf Hitler’s Third Reich. Ranging from former SS members to civilians, they reckon – in very different ways – with their memories, perceptions and personal appraisals of their own roles in one of the greatest crimes in history.
The documentary was nominated for several awards and has a 93% critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Guardian calls it “A simple, unadorned study of everyday evil, …the past speaking to the present.”
I’ll Be Gone in the Dark | Binge TBC
This HBO documentary series is both a gripping examination of the crimes of the Golden State Killer who terrorised California in the 1970s and 1980s, and the moving story of one woman’s relentless pursuit of justice for his victims.
The series was nominated for numerous awards and holds a 96% critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes, where the critics consensus calls it, “a heavy, but important tapestry of trauma, obsession, and survival.”
Local
Settlers | Stream from 3 March | First on Showmax
Filmed on the South Africa/Namibia border, with the arid desert landscape doubling for the inhospitable surface of Mars, Settlers centres on an isolated family battling the elements to survive on the Martian frontier, where the greatest threat remains their own kind.
The sci-fi drama stars Brooklynn Prince (The Florida Project), Jonny Lee Miller (Elementary) and more, with plenty of South African crew. It’s directed by Wyatt Rockefeller, who “wisely abandons the fantasy of settling Mars in favour of contemplating the very real complications posed by life on an unestablished, uninhabited planet,” says The Wrap.
Diamond & Dolls | Binge from 7 March
“We are just trying to make a living. Please don’t judge us.” Diamond & Dolls is a six-episode reality show based on the lives of four slay queens on a journey towards fame, fortune and, more significantly, discovering themselves. Series producer Tebogo Ramokgadi – the self-described “Mayor of Sandton” – stars alongside Inno Morolong, Eva Modika, Lumi Jemma and Lolo Mlunjwana.
Wounds S1 | Weekly from 30 March
1Magic’s gripping medical drama Wounds is set in the fictional Healing Hands Hospital, where nurses and doctors dedicate their lives to helping others. A place of both trauma and hope, where a single decision can save a life or end it, this is where medical professionals walk a daily tightrope, all while grappling with the complexities of being human themselves.
It is where we meet Busisiwe (Samke Makhoba from MTV Shuga), a new intern who is understandably nervous – but for reasons that have more to do with the past she is running away from than the challenges that lie ahead of her as a nurse.
Kids
Santiago of the Seas S1 | 7 March
Join Santiago, an eight-year-old pirate, and his crew as they take on the high seas, embarking on rescues, uncovering hidden treasures and keeping the Caribbean safe. It’s won many awards and has a five-star rating on Common Sense Media, where it’s recommended for ages 4+. Their review calls it an, “Exceptional preschool series [that] celebrates kindness and courage.”
Moominvalley S3 | TBC | First on Showmax
Moominvalley, adapted from Tove Jansson’s beloved tales of the Moomin family, is the most expensive European animated series ever, and a multi award winner. The stellar cast includes Rosamund Pike and Matt Berry (What We Do in the Shadows), Jennifer Saunders, Richard Ayoade and more. As The Guardian says, “This loving, lavishly produced adaptation couldn’t be more timely: never has there been a better moment to introduce the Moomins, with all their optimism, openness and hospitality, their deep connection with nature and anti-consumerist ethos … to a new audience.”
The Loud House S5 | 14 March
A brand-new season of this Emmy-winning series means more hilarity with eleven-year-old Lincoln Loud and his right-hand man Clyde as they try to survive Lincoln’s ten sisters, and life in the Loud House. Common Sense Media recommends The Loud House for ages 8+, giving it a 4/5-star rating and saying, “Kids will come to The Loud House for the laughs, but they’ll return for the excellent ensemble cast and the surprisingly heartwarming themes.”
Spongebob Squarepants S12 | 24 March
He’s a talking sea sponge who works at a fast food restaurant and lives in an underwater pineapple. He’s also won a ton of awards. five Emmys, six Annie Awards, 17 Kids’ Choice Awards, and three BAFTA Children’s Awards. That’s right! It’s the one and only Spongebob Squarepants, bringing a whole new season of hilarity to Showmax. That’s over 250 (double!) episodes of fully absorbent underwater absurdity to soak up!
Also Watch:
14 March
Book the kids for movie night, movie weekend, or even movie month as criminal mastermind Gru steals the show on Showmax in Despicable Me, Despicable Me 2 and Minions. The world’s favourite supervillain, three irrepressible orphans, and an endless supply of very small, very funny, very yellow minions has made these films the highest-grossing animated film franchise of all time.
17 March
The animated film, The Grinch, based on the Dr Seuss classic “How the Grinch Stole Christmas!”, tells the story of a grumpy Grinch who plots to ruin Christmas for the village of Whoville. Benedict Cumberbatch voices the Grinch and Pharrell Williams narrates, with Rashida Jones, Kenan Thompson, and Angela Lansbury also among the voice cast.
24 March
A young boy befriends a giant alien robot that the army wants destroyed in the beloved 1999 animated science fiction film The Iron Giant, which won a 2000 BAFTA Children’s Award for Best Feature Film, and nine Annie awards, and still holds a 96% critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Based on the 1968 novel by Poet Laureate Ted Hughes, this cult classic was the directorial debut of Oscar winner Brad Bird (who went on to do Pixar’s The Incredibles and Ratatouille).
Also new on Showmax in March
1 March
The Forgotten West Memphis Three | Mastermind of Murder
3 March
Alvinnn!!! And the Chipmunks S1-3 | Bending the Rules | Hairbrained | Hannibal | Monster High: Boo York | Boo York | Monster High: Haunted | Monster High: Welcome to Monster High | Red Dragon | Winchester
4 March
After The Thrones S1 | Amanda Seales: I Be Knowin’ | Amy Schumer: Live At The Apollo | Bill Maher…But I’m Not Wrong | Bill Maher: Live From D.C. | Billy Crystal: 700 Sundays | Bob Saget: That Ain’t Right | Bored To Death S1-3 | The Boring Life Of Jacqueline | The Brink S1 | Carnivale S1-2 | Chris Rock: Kill The Messenger | Chris Rock: Never Scared | The Chris Rock Show S1-2 | The Comeback S1-2 | Eastbound & Down S1-4 | From The Earth To The Moon | Generation Kill | John Adams | The Passion | The Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame 2020 Inductions | Show Me A Hero | Tsunami: The Aftermath
7 March
Playing God | Sympathy for Delicious
10 March
The Bleeder | Monster High: Electrified | Monster High: Great Scarrier Reef | R.I.P.D. | Traffik
14 March
Eva
17 March
Barbie: A Fairy Secret | Cosmic Sin | Equal Standard | His Dark Materials |
18 March
Hello Ladies S1 | How To Make It In America S1-2
21 March
Love | Weddings & Other Disasters
23 March
Flight Of The Conchords S1-2 | Getting On S1-3 | Ja’mie: Private School Girl | John From Cincinnati S1 | Jonah From Tonga | Luck S1 | Lucky Louie S1 | Quarry S1 | Wyatt Cenac’s Problem Areas S1-2
24 March
Come Away
28 March
Extinct | The Visit
31 March
Love by Accident | Oblivion
Youngins S2, now on Showmax
Soft Life, now streaming on Showmax
More Mzansi gold
Outopsie S1-3
Senior forensic pathologist Dr Hestelle van Staden reveals what really happens behind closed doors in captivating cases where forensic pathology played a central role.
Made in South Africa
Great African Crimes with Mandy Wiener (2024)
This one-off special explores three dramatic cases that left South Africa stunned: Daisy de Melker, the so-called Sea Cottage incident, and the Krugersdorp bank robbery.
Made in South Africa
Zarelda de Bruin on her breakout debut role in Spooksoeker
The 17-year-old Zarelda de Bruin plays Melissa in the Showmax Original Spooksoeker, now available to stream. Catch new episodes every Thursday.
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