Binge-Worthy Shows You Can’t Miss on Netflix and Showmax

Thanks to South Africa’s range of diversity and rich culture, our filmmakers are making their way towards the big screen in big ways! There is a show for everyone according to your genre-specifications and general interests. From coming-of-age stories to romantic dramas to real dramas, Mzansi loves their dramas, there is truly something for everyone on TV and we’ve got the best recommendations for you. Mzansi has got movie-making-magic and it is spreading all across Africa! Here’s our top 10 tv shows and movies that are currently streaming on Netflix and Showmax!

1. Meet the Khumalos

The creators of ‘Keeping up with the Kandasamys’ strike again! Nothing like a good old grudge, forbidden love and having to overcome your issues with your enemy for the sake of your children’s happiness, kind of film. It’s jam packed with South African hits, our wicked sense of humor and the greatest part about romantic comedies; the hidden message that will hit you right ‘in your feels’ that is applicable and relatable to every audience member.

2. A Kind of Madness

“Pain is all the left over love you don’t get to give” - Elina Hart, the catalyst of this emotional, character-driven narrative about love in the face of dementia. Think Allie and Noah but make it South African. Elina and Dan’s love is the kind we all aspire to have; the kind that holds onto you when life is slipping through your hands and your memory is no longer a friend of yours. Despite being escapees from a nursing home, the police and even their children, Elina and Dan have their hearts set on living their lives to the fullest, at least what is left of it.

3. Unseen by Travis Taute and Daryne Joshua

South African adaptation of a Turkish drama series called, Fatma. It follows the main character Zenzi, on her quest to find her husband, Max, but it only leads her down the path of violence, endangerment and threats from a criminal syndicate.

4. Tuiskoms by Nina Swart, Louis Pretorius and Albert Snyman

Aside from the exquisite locations and feel-good atmosphere, Tuiskoms feels like a South African Nancy Meyers series, unravelling the tumultuous but beautiful journey of a single mother, Fleur, who lost her job, and is trying to find a new way of life for herself and her daughter, Kelly. However, with that comes the challenge of finding herself, adapting to change in familial and general settings, and love unexpectedly knocking on her door.

5. Sibongile and the Dlamini's by Shirley Adonisi and Piet Matipa

The show follows Sibongile, a young woman whose life flips upside down when she’s drawn into the Dlamini family’s glamorous and dangerous world. Love, ambition, and survival collide as she navigates their empire. Over two million viewers were hooked in Season 1, and now it’s back for more on Showmax. Drama this good should come with a warning label!

COMING-OF-AGE TV SHOWS

Gen Z’s are taking over the world one tv show at a time. With Hollywood being at the forefront of what’s trending in society and depicting an ideal of what life should be like, it’s refreshing knowing South African filmmakers and showrunners are taking the coming-of-age genre and putting our own twist on it. Having relatable characters that look like you, are in familiar settings and environments, and interact with each other in mannerisms similar to yours, it makes the show all the more engaging. It’s about time we start romanticising the lives we actually live in, instead of the ones we think we should have based on western ideologies.

6. Blood & Water

Currently on its fourth season, Blood & Water walked so the shows under coming-of-age could run. It opened the path of possibility for South African content to expand into genres more relatable and engaging for the youth. Puleng has lived in the shadow of her sister, kidnapped at birth. A chance encounter at a party sparks a suspicion- could popular athlete Fikile actually be her missing sister? Puleng transfers to an elite school to get answers, but what she finds is a web of secrets, lies, and betrayals. It’s fast, scandalous, and very bingeworthy- the kind of show you press “next episode” on without even thinking.

7. Youngins

Showmax’s hard-hitting teen telenovela set at a boarding school in Jozi. There’s no drama like the drama from Jozi, let alone high school drama. After a family tragedy, a teen from rural KZN arrives in Johannesburg hoping for a fresh start. Instead, she’s pulled straight into secrets, drama, and a scandal big enough to rock the entire school. It’s messy, bold, and the perfect show to demonstrate how intense life is when you are a teenager trying to keep on top of your school work but are interrupted by external factors that come with the territory of being in a high school in Joburg.

8. Reenboogrant

Think SPUD! But maak dit Afrikaans. Reënboogrant seems like an expansion on the kind of narrative Spud told, only through the eyes of a young girl, Shani Brink. It’s fun, it’s witty, it’s reminiscent of the good old days before adulting came along. Get ready for a wild ride of real teenage drama- the messy kind filled with family clashes, love, dreams, and rivalries that cut deep. Adapted from Louise van Niekerk’s hit coming-of-age book series, it’s raw, relatable, and addictive.

The Highly Anticipated Documentary: Beauty & The Bester

Set to release on Netflix on 12 September 2025.

The crime/thriller limited documentary series that is going to take South Africa by storm. A tale that will certainly be as old as time, but this kind of love is not swoonworthy like that of Belle and the Beast… “South Africa’s Most Wanted Facebook Rapist and South Africa’s Golden Girl”, perhaps our very own Jeffrey Epstein & Ghislaine Maxwell? A match that truly shocked the country, Nandipha Magudumana and Thabo Bester’s twisted love story, in BEAUTY & THE BESTER.

The limited docu-series will reveal how a glamorous celebrity doctor got tangled up with a convicted rapist and killer. Beauty and the Bester tracks a scandal that sparked with a mall sighting and ended in international headlines. From staged public appearances to the shocking Mangaung prison escape, it all unraveled in none other than Jozi’s most beloved mall, Sandton City. Arrested in Tanzania, their story captivated the nation. Featuring unseen courtroom footage, exclusive investigations, and candid interviews with friends and family. Set your reminders for this one!

With all this Mzansi magic, who even needs Hollywood? Supporting local TV and films is how South African storytelling stakes its claim on the global stage—and shows the world just how rich, colorful, and unapologetically dramatic our rainbow nation truly is.