30 April 2020
What’s new on Showmax in East Africa in May 2020
If you haven’t taken up the fantastic M-Pesa deal for Showmax yet, don’t miss out! You could be paying as little as KSh1125 for six whole months of binge-watching on your phone.
The month of May is packed with five-star movies and series for you to enjoy. Here are the editor’s picks for Showmax in Kenya and Uganda, for May 2020:
Best of Local
If you haven’t discovered Kina and Kovu, two local productions from Maisha Magic that arrived on Showmax in late April, now is the time! There’s also a new season of Selina, plus new episodes of Njoro wa Uba and Pete.
Best International Series
I’m Sorry S2 | First on Showmax | 1 May
Comedy writer, wife, and mom Andrea is back with a new season of zero-filter, acid-sharp and usually totally inappropriate humour, putting her foot in it in cringeworthy everyday situations that are at once laugh-out-loud funny and bitingly true. Binge-watch S1 and 2.
The Magicians S5 | First on Showmax | 1 May
Based on the bestselling novels by Lev Grossman, The Magicians follows a group of New York magic students who discover a fantasy world that threatens our own. Spoiler alert: The fifth and final season finds Julia, Alice, Eliot, Margo, Penny and the rest of the gang coping with the tragic loss of Quentin as they navigate the return of magic. However, not only is magic back, but now there is way too much of it. The magicians must deal with the repercussions of this new magical surplus as they fight to prevent the literal end of the world. Watch all five seasons.
Run S1 | First on Showmax | Mondays from 4 May
From the team behind Fleabag comes the brand-new series Run, a romantic comedy thriller about a woman, Ruby Richardson (Emmy winner Merritt Wever), who walks away from her ordinary life in the suburbs to revisit her past with her college boyfriend, Billy Johnson (Domhnall Gleeson). They made a pact 17 years earlier that if either one of them texted the word “RUN” and the other replied with the same, they would drop everything to meet in Grand Central Station and travel across America together.
The Plot Against America S1 | Mondays at 23:30 from 11 May | Same day as M-Net
From the award-winning creators of The Wire comes The Plot Against America, an alternate history story in which Franklin D Roosevelt loses the US presidential election of 1940 to Nazi sympathiser Charles Lindbergh. What follows is the terrifying and tension-building tale of the country’s turn to fascism, told through the eyes of a working-class Jewish family in New Jersey in the build-up to World War 2.
Deadly Class S1 | First on Showmax | 11 May
King’s Dominion is an exclusive private school with a focus on special skills: specifically, the art of assasination and all the skills required to become the young heirs of the world’s most prominent crime families. Like any school, there’s a brutal curriculum and hectic social cliques, and it’s these that newbie Marcus will need to survive if he’s to prove his worth. It’s based on the comic book series by Rick Remender and Wesley Craig.
Best Movies
Bad Education (2019) | First On Showmax | 1 May
Bad Education is based on the real-life scandal that went down at writer Mike Makowsky’s high school, where a student journalist uncovered the single largest public school embezzlement scheme in America’s history. The movie follows Frank Tassone (Oscar nominee Hugh Jackman) and Pam Gluckin (Oscar winner Allison Janney), whose reign over a prestigious school district is threatened by the embezzlement scandal, forcing Frank to take drastic steps to maintain order and secrecy.
Dumplin’ (2018) | 7 May
Willowdean (‘Dumplin’), the plus-size teenage daughter of a former beauty queen, signs up for her mom’s Miss Teen Bluebonnet pageant as a protest that escalates when other contestants follow in her footsteps, revolutionising the pageant and their small Texas town. Danielle MacDonald (Unbelievable) stars as Dumplin’, with Jennifer Aniston as her mother.
Boy Erased (2018) | 7 May
Jared Hedges is the son of a Baptist preacher in a small town, who is confronted with an ultimatum after being forcibly outed to his parents: attend a church-sponsored conversion therapy programme, or lose his family, friends, and faith.
Fast & Furious: Hobbs & Shaw (2019) | 14 May
Hobbs & Shaw sees Diplomatic Security Service agent Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) and British military elite operative-turned-outlaw Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham) forced into an unlikely alliance when anarchist Brixton (Idris Elba) threatens to unleash a deadly virus on humanity.
But that’s not all …
From 14 May 2010, you can also binge the entire nine-movie Fast Saga, from its street racing beginnings to the most recent heist adventures. Stars include MTV Movie Award winners Vin Diesel and Gal Gadot (Wonder Woman), the late Paul Walker, and our very own Oscar winner Charlize Theron.
And why stop your action-fest there? From 21 May, Showmax will also have the entire Bourne Series: The Bourne Identity, The Bourne Supremacy, The Bourne Ultimatum, The Bourne Legacy, and Jason Bourne.
Good Boys (2019) | 28 May
Three sixth grade boys ditch school and embark on an epic journey that includes carrying accidentally stolen drugs, being hunted by teenage girls, and trying to make their way home in time for a long-awaited party. This blast of an adventure comedy stars kids, but it gets pretty crude, and with a 16 age restriction, it’s very much not for kids – though it might take you back to some of the insane stuff you got up to at that mad age.
Best of Kids
Dora and the Lost City of Gold | 10 May
Dora has grown up in the jungle with her explorer parents, but now she faces a new challenge unlike any she’s survived before: high school! After a sudden, dangerous turn of events, Dora soon finds herself back on familiar ground as she and her best friend, Boots the monkey, must lead Diego, a mysterious jungle dweller, and a group of kids from her school on a perilous trek through the jungle to rescue her parents and uncover the truth behind the legend of the lost city of gold.
Pokémon Detective Pikachu | 24 May
21-year-old insurance adjuster Tim Goodman lives in Ryme City, a place where humans and Pokémon co-exist in harmony. As a kid, Tim wanted to become a Pokémon trainer, but things didn’t work out that way. Then his dad, ace private eye Harry Goodman, goes missing, and Tim teams up with Harry’s former Pokémon partner, Detective Pikachu – a wise-cracking detective who’s lost his memory. Golden Globe nominee Ryan Reynolds voices Pikachu, while Justice Smith (Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom) plays Tim.
Also on Showmax in May:
1 May
The L-Word: Generation Q | Girlfriend’s Guide to Divorce S1-5 | I Don’t Know How She Does It | Lego City Adventures | LEGO Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu S10
7 May
Everest | Kidnap | Khanyisa Bunu Comedy Special | S(he)
8 May
Ali & Cavett: The Tale of the Tapes | Women of Troy
11 May
The Johnsons S9 | Girl in Progress | The Loft House | Warcraft
14 May
Come and Find Me | Rage of a Lioness | Uthando Nes’Thembu S3
18 May
Auction Wild | Stratton: First into Action
21 May
Tinsel S13 | Dillan Oliphant: Good Kid M.A.A.D Witty | The First Purge
25 May
The Journey
Original African stories by local talent
Empini S1
Stream the Showmax Original drama series Empini from 23 May 2024.
Original Sin: My Son The Killer
Original Sin: My Son The Killer follows the murder of Andrea Venter by Gerhard Jansen van Vuuren, who then went on the run from South Africa to Brazil.
Tracking Thabo Bester
From the makers of Devilsdorp and the director of Convict Conman comes the true-crime documentary South Africa has been waiting for. All the episodes are streaming on Showmax.
The Illuminated
The Showmax Original docuseries The Illuminated explores different religious movements in South Africa. Stream now, with new episodes every Wednesday.
Koek S1
The crime comedy Koek, starring Cindy Swanepoel, now streaming on Showmax, with new episodes every Thursday.
Ekhaya Backpackers S1
Stream the Showmax Original comedy series Ekhaya Backpackers. All the episodes are now streaming.
Cheta M
Cheta M explores the love story between Adanna and Nnanna, young lovers who battle the spiritual and political forces in their way. Stream now, with new episodes Wednesday to Friday.
Youngins S1
Stream Tshedza Pictures’s first teen drama, Showmax Original Youngins, with three new episodes every week.
The Roast of Minnie Dlamini: The roast everyone's been waiting on
Empini, coming soon
More Mzansi gold
Youngins Season 1 Episodes 34-36: The heist
After Khaya reveals that he saw underaged photos in the principal’s messages, he and his friends plot revenge in episodes 34-36 of Showmax Original Youngins.
Laugh Africa Presents: The Showmax Roast of Minnie Dlamini
The Showmax Roast of Minnie Dlamini unleashes the wrath on the media personality, which sees a star-studded line-up with comedy heavyweights Tumi Morake and Jason Goliath as Roast Masters.
The Mommy Club Season 2 Episode 10 recap: Getting to the bottom of it
In episode 10 of The Mommy Club S2, Hermajesty and Mrs Sande go head-to-head and Nozipho confides in Mrs Mops. New episodes land every Monday on Showmax.
The Real Housewives of Durban S4: Nonku and Slee’s friendship is dead and buried
In the finale episode of The Real Housewives of Durban S4, all is laid on the table at the ladies’ dinner. All episodes are now streaming on Showmax.