Looking for something truly excellent to stream on Showmax? Don’t miss these highly rated series, stuffed to the gills with big-name stars. Plus, as a bonus, some great documentary series you won’t want to miss. Sign up from R39 per month.
House of the Dragon S2
The second season of House of the Dragon comes to Showmax and M-Net on 17 June 2024. The Emmy-winning first season was named Best TV Series – Drama at the 2023 Golden Globes and Best TV Series at Rotten Tomatoes’ Golden Tomato Awards for the best-reviewed show of 2022.
Based on George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood, House of the Dragon is set 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones and tells the story of House Targaryen. Following King Aegon II’s coronation, Alicent and Rhaenyra cling to fading memories of their old friendship as their opposing factions gear up for civil war.
Express from the US, on M-Net and Showmax on Mondays from 17 June.
Special Ops: Lioness
Zoe Saldaña was up for a Critics Choice Super Award for her performance in Special Ops: Lioness as Joe McNamara, the leader of an undercover all-women US special ops team dedicated to befriending the wives, girlfriends or daughters of high-value terrorist targets and working to turn them for the CIA. It’s inspired by the true premise of “Team Lioness”, which saw female soldiers joining patrols in Iraq in 2003, breaking combat rules for the first time.
Created by Taylor Sheridan (Yellowstone, 1923), Special Ops: Lioness became Paramount+’s most-watched global series when it launched and has already been renewed for a second season. The stacked cast includes the likes of Oscar winners Nicole Kidman and Morgan Freeman. Binge from 13 June.
Power Book IV: Force S2
Tommy’s back in Season 2 of Power Book IV: Force, the third spin-off of the acclaimed Power franchise.
Force follows fan-favourite character Tommy Egan (Ozark) whose bid to start over after leaving New York finds him straddling the line between the two biggest crews in a city divided by race. Using his outsider status to his advantage, Tommy is ready to rewrite all the rules in his quest to become the biggest drug dealer in Chicago.
The series has a 100% critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with Variety saying, “By taking the time to unpack the very real racial tensions in Chicago, permitting Tommy to do what he does best and illustrating the varied characters more intimately, Force has hit its stride.” Binge from 10 June.
Chucky S3
Chucky has moved into the White House with the most powerful family in the world. How did Chucky wind up here? What on Earth does he want? And how can Jake, Devon, and Lexy possibly get to Chucky inside the world’s most secure house, all while balancing the pressures of romantic relationships and growing up?
Season 3 has a 100% critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with Slashfilm calling it “The wildest season yet.” First on Showmax, new episodes on Wednesdays.
Fellow Travellers
Created by Oscar nominee Ron Nyswaner (Homeland), Fellow Travelers is a thriller that chronicles the risky, volatile and steamy romance of two very different political staffers who meet in McCarthy-era Washington.
Matt Bomer (David Oppenheim in Maestro) was nominated for Golden Globe, Critics Choice, Screen Actors Guild and People’s Choice awards as Hawkins Fuller, while Jonathan Bailey (Bridgerton) won the Critics Choice Award as Tim Laughlin.
Based on the novel by Thomas Mallon, Fellow Travelers has a 91% critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with AV Club saying it’s “as heart-wrenching as it is heartwarming,” and Variety praising Bomer and Bailey’s “electric chemistry.” Now streaming, first on Showmax.
Boiling Point
Following on from the multi-award-winning 2021 film of the same name, the BAFTA-nominated BBC miniseries Boiling Point is set in a high-pressure restaurant kitchen. Picking up eight months after their mentor Andy Jones suffered a heart attack, it follows head chef Carly and her team as the stresses of keeping the restaurant running bear down on them amidst a hospitality industry in crisis.
It has a 100% critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with the Daily Telegraph (UK) calling it “a Michelin-starred TV drama” and “highly stressful TV” in their 5/5 review. Now streaming, first on Showmax.
Looking for more great British drama? Showmax has plenty streaming now »
Fires
The 2019-20 Australian megafires made headlines around the world. Inspired by true events, the anthology series Fires brings to life just some of the stories of those who lived through the Black Summer – stories of heartbreak, loss and survival but also of heroism, humanity, and community in the midst of unimaginable terror.
The series has won a slew of awards, including Best Miniseries at Australia’s Emmys, the Logies. The all-star ensemble cast includes Richard Roxburgh (Elvis), Miranda Otto (Lord of the Rings films), Anna Torv (Tess in The Last of Us), Sam Worthington (Avatar films), and more. Now streaming.
Chasing the Sun 2: A Story for South Africa
This five-part documentary series offers fans front-row seats to the Springbok’s awe-inspiring journey to their fourth Rugby World Cup victory – a historic world first.
It features never-before-seen footage, interviews with more than 30 players and coaches, and all the highlights from the Springboks’ nail-biting journey to the final.
The SuperSport and SA Rugby co-production, brought to you by Toyota, Betway, and Spur, has almost as much to live up to as the Springboks did, after the first instalment won the SAFTA for Best Made-For-TV Documentary, among other accolades, and was hailed as “the greatest rugby documentary ever made” by Rugbypass TV. Now streaming.
Shadowland
Legendary documentary filmmaker Joe Berlinger sends documentary teams across America to embed with subjects who have rejected mainstream narratives. These include a beloved rural Pennsylvania pizza shop owner facing twenty years in prison for her role in the January 6th riots, an anti-vaccine activist pushing a dangerous fake cure for Covid-19, and a mother divorcing her husband because she fears his beliefs put their children’s lives in danger.
A deeply immersive six-part docu-series, Shadowland reveals how conspiracy theories have moved from the margins to the mainstream, exploring how people come to their beliefs, and what makes these theories so alluring.
Decider hailed it as “fascinating, upsetting, sometimes depressing, sometimes revelatory journalism.” Now streaming.