The first Showmax Original true-crime series, Devilsdorp, launched on Thursday, 29 July 2021 to five-star reviews, topping Showmax’s SA Top 20 and setting a new record for the most hours watched in its first four days of launch of any film or series ever on Showmax – outperforming the likes of Game of Thrones, The […]

From gang-infested Bonteheuwel on the Cape Flats, South Africa, where drug wars and random killings limit the choices and futures of young people, comes a story of inspiration and beating overwhelming odds to realise a virtually impossible dream. At the age of eight, Tamika van As has become the 2021 Juvenile South African National Figure […]

You can watch Carte Blanche on Sunday 25 July in South Africa on DStv Now or stream it overseas in most countries from Tues 27 July on Showmax International. This is what’s coming up this week: Vigilantes Amid the Violence As Durban emerges from the smoke and ashes of looting and unrest, deep-seated divisions – […]

If you sign up for Showmax Pro before 31 August 2021, you’ll receive two months of access for the price of one.  After more than a year’s wait, the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 kicks off today – 23 July – until 8 August. And whilst the Tokyo 2020 event will be unlike any other Olympic […]

Tonight’s episode of Carte Blanche is packed with must-watch items – from the violent protests of the past week to the impact of the Delta variant, an uplifting story of hope with another South African medical breakthrough… and the plight of KZN’s vervet monkeys. You can watch the show on Sunday 18 July in South […]

South African sailors Alex Burger and Benji Daniel have set sail for Tokyo under the expert guidance of their coach, double Olympian Asenathi Jim. Theirs is a uniquely South African story – athletes from vastly different backgrounds united through a common passion behind one goal – Olympic gold. TOKYO 2021 – Sailing for Olympic Gold While […]

Jacob Zuma today, Friday 2 July, made a last-minute attempt for freedom as Sunday rapidly approaches, by which time he has to hand himself in to Nkandla Police Station to serve a 15-month prison sentence. Don’t miss Carte Blanche this Sunday at 7pm (or Showmax on Tuesday if you’re abroad) as the current affairs show […]

The incidents of hunting with dogs is escalating across South Africa, particularly in rural KwaZulu-Natal (KZN). This week, Carte Blanche investigates to find out: is it an innocent traditional pastime fuelled by poverty… or a brutal, self-serving gambler’s game? Hunting with Dogs In a controversial practice that is increasing across the country, participants in so-called […]

For the first time in history, the entire country of South Africa may soon be lit up. Eskom has never been able to provide power to 100% of the population. And while the state-owned enterprise has battled to keep existing lights on, it has been unable to spend the time and energy needed to resurrect […]

On Johannesburg’s West Rand, over 1700 hectares of waste piles and open pits have been left behind after the 2018 liquidation of the Australian company Mintails Mining South Africa. Click here if you’re looking for the latest update on what’s coming up on Carte Blanche this Sunday. With an ongoing legal battle relating to a […]

Here are the highlights of the hot new series, movies, doccies – and of course, one special that’s big, big news – and streaming on Showmax in June. Don’t be left out in the cold – watch Friends: The Reunion and more of the most-talked-about shows streaming right now, from Kate Winslet’s bleak, brilliant Mare […]

It’s been three and a half years since the epic crash of retailing giant Steinhoff – the biggest corporate scandal in South Africa’s history… which wiped more than R200 billion off the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. The company has admitted unlawful conduct, yet there have been no charges and no prosecutions. Currently, Steinhoff faces about 90 […]

“The idea of a woman marrying more than one man has been the subject of heated debates over the last few weeks (in South Africa),” says Carte Blanche presenter Claire Mawisa. There have also been memes and video jokes posted with many men finding the idea “preposterous” and women joking that who would want to […]

For all South Africans wondering where you can watch the Friends Reunion in SA, MultiChoice announced today that Friends: The Reunion will premiere on M-Net exclusive to DStv on Sunday, 30 May at 20:00 and will be available on streaming service Showmax from Monday, 31 May 2021. Friends stars Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew […]

At least 400,000 South Africans have been arrested over the past year for breaking COVID-19 lockdown regulations like not wearing a mask… and many are now left with life-damaging criminal records. Last year, Carte Blanche reported on allegations of unwarranted brutality and violence when police arrested people for breaking these lockdown regulations. This week, the […]

Rugby, travel, cycling and a pair of mad-cap adventurers. What could possibly go wrong? A whole lot, although in the case of the intrepid James Owens from the UK and Ron Rutland from South Africa, their extraordinary journey to the 2019 Rugby World Cup held the ‘key’ to an amazing adventure that was remarkable for […]

SA Agriculture Minister Thoko Didiza has called an attack on farmers in South Africa an attack on the country’s food security. A Rural National Safety Plan has long been mooted, but, Carte Blanche asks this weekend, where are the results? With 15 recorded murders on KwaZulu-Natal farms in the last year, farmers are coming together […]

Cape Town, South Africa, doubles for a lawless 1870s San Francisco in the kick-ass martial arts action series Warrior, which now has two seasons available to binge on Showmax. Shot in Cape Town with Moonlighting 100% critics rating for S2, Rotten Tomatoes Nominated for Best Action Series at 2021 Critics Choice Super Awards “The most […]

Carte Blanche first broadcast the Cooke Report exposé on canned lion hunting in 1997. Two decades later, the captive lion industry has expanded in scope and brutality – cubs are removed from their mothers, hand-reared, petted, then bred for the bullet or their bones. But these practices began to damage Brand SA… By 2019, the […]

Many South Africans have watched DStv telenovela moms for years, and cried with them and learnt from them. Dawn Thandeka King and Kgomotso Christopher are two of these telenovela moms, best known for their years of dedicated service to the television industry and for playing their roles so convincingly that they became surrogate moms to all who watched them. This Mother’s […]

At a time when athletes should be excitedly preparing for the Olympics, South Africa’s Olympic committee – SASCOC (SA Sports’ Confederation and Olympic Committee) – is mired in allegations of sexual abuse and financial mismanagement, and accused of not protecting the very athletes it’s meant to present. Carte Blanche digs deeper this weekend to find […]

South Africa is literally drowning in potholes. This year’s summer of heatwaves and rain poured the perfect cocktail, cracking up the country’s tar roads. SA’s Pothole Pandemic Dodging dongas has become the new normal rendering trips to work, school, or hospital treacherous and often deadly. A social media call-out for viewer testimonies yielded over 400 […]

The Snail and the Whale, directed by Max Lang and South Africa’s Daniel Snaddon, has won the Annie Award in Los Angeles for Best Special Production, which recognises excellence in animation. Animated in Cape Town by Triggerfish and produced by Magic Light Pictures, The Snail and the Whale (which is currently streaming on Showmax across most […]

As of this week, Showmax mobile subscribers across Africa will pay on average 20% less for access to the full Showmax catalogue on a single mobile device. Showmax reduces cost for its mobile-only entertainment plan while all other prices remain unchanged. Speaking about the price change, Yolisa Phahle, MultiChoice Group CEO for Connected Video, says: […]

For 32 years, there’s never been a dream that the Reach for A Dream Foundation has not tried to fulfil for children with life-threatening illnesses… until COVID-19 struck. Reach for Virtual Dreams Believing in the power of a dream and the imagination to fight disease and hopelessness, the foundation has brought joy to children from […]