Isono: The Sin
Channel: BET (DStv 129)
TX Time: 21h30
Genre: Telenovela
Telenovela set in Vosloorus which tells the story of a heroic son - born into a dysfunctional family - who searches within himself for the strength to stand up against a powerful and evil matriarch who will stop at nothing to serve her own needs.
BET's first original telenovela revolves around the character of Mary Ndlovu (Nthati Moshesh), affectionately known in her community as "Mother Mary".
Mary hides in plain sight, pretending to be a philanthropic socialite who takes in unwanted delinquent children and cares for them in House of Grace, a centre for "at risk" youth in Vosloorus on the East Rand of Johannesburg.
But behind the façade lurks a cold-hearted criminal; a woman who is not above fraud, murder, or trafficking children in an illegal adoption ring.
She is untouchable. Or so she thinks.
Mary Ndlovu is running away from her traumatic past. A past that she believes is safely buried.
She is a narcissist to the core and a staunch believer in Christ. Yet she launders her illegal money through the church, among many other illicit dealings.
Mary has one biological child, a daughter - the musically talented and idolised Esther (Didintle Khunou) - and two adopted children: Simon (TK Sebothoma), who is devoted, talented and troubled; and her favourite son and right-hand general, Gabriel (Bohang Moeko), who is resourceful, damaged and brooding.
As the series begins, Gabriel is facing a crisis of conscience.
Secretly he wants to walk away and become a force for good, but a tragic set of events force him to question the life of crime in which he was raised.
However, Mary's powerful grip keeps pulling him back towards the dark side.
He has started feeling like he needs to separate from the toxicity of the home he was raised in. But leaving is not going to be so easy.
Into this world arrives Abednego (Senzo Radebe), a violent, amoral man and a former House of Grace child who ran away after a physical romance with the young Gabriel.
The series starts with his return into the world of Mary and her children after a 10-year absence.
With the return of Abednego comes the opportunity for Mary to infiltrate the network of a rival criminal, using Gabriel and Abednego as foot-soldiers.
She is not above distracting her prey with seduction.
Her daughter, Esther, is struggling with a once-promising performing career in music that is now nose-diving due to an escalating drug problem.
Mary, on the other hand, is about to be honoured as a role model of the nation for her work in rescuing vulnerable children.
TVSA Show Page: Isono: The Sin
Mrs. America
Channel: M-Net (DStv 101)
TX Time: 21h30
Genre: Drama, Period Drama
The true story of the movement to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), and the unexpected backlash led by a conservative woman named Phyllis Schlafly, aka "the sweetheart of the silent majority".
Through the eyes of the women of the era – both Schlafly and second wave feminists Gloria Steinem, Betty Friedan, Shirley Chisholm, Bella Abzug and Jill Ruckelshaus – the series explores how one of the toughest battlegrounds in the culture wars of the '70s helped give rise to the Moral Majority and forever shifted the political landscape.
Cate Blanchett headlines as Phyllis Schlafly, leading a cast portraying some of the most iconic women of the era.
These include Rose Byrne as Gloria Steinem, Margo Martindale as Bella Abzug, Uzo Aduba as Shirley Chisholm, Elizabeth Banks as Jill Ruckelshaus and Tracey Ullman as Betty Friedan.
The Rocketeer
Channel: Disney Junior (DStv 309)
TX Time: 17h00
Genre: Kids, Comedy, Animation
A comedic, animated adventure series featuring a young girl named Kit Secord, who takes to the skies to protect her community after becoming the surprise recipient of a rocket-pack that gives her the ability to fly.
Inspired by Dave Stevens' superhero comic books and Walt Disney Pictures feature film, the series stars Kitana Turnbull (A Series of Unfortunate Events) as Kit, and Billy Campbell and Kathy Najimy as her parents, Dave and Sareena Secord.
Set in the idyllic small town of Hughesville, each episode is comprised of two 11-minute stories that follow Kit as she embarks on a high-flying adventure to help save her community and its residents from trouble - usually brought on by the many comedic villains who will be featured throughout the series.
As with most superheroes, Kit has a team to help her pull off her heroic adventures and keep her identity hidden from the masses.
Her best friend, Tesh, serves as Ground Control when Kit takes to the skies and is also the inventor of the hi-tech gadgets and upgrades for her rocket-pack; and her grandfather, Ambrose Secord, works at the Hughesville Airport and serves as her mechanic.
Also along for the ride is Kit's loyal bulldog, Butch.
In the premiere episode, Kit receives a surprise package on her birthday containing The Rocketeer's helmet, which Grandpa Ambrose immediately recognises as belonging to the famed superhero.
With that, he unveils the rocket-pack which he was told to hang on to until the next Rocketeer was chosen.
As Kit learns the ropes of becoming a flying superhero, Grandpa Ambrose and Tesh help with her training.
Whose Vote Counts, Explained
Channel: Netflix South Africa
TX Time: 10h00 (all episodes)
Genre: Documentary Series
The right to vote is at the foundation of America's democracy. But not every vote is created equal. How does the system work, and can it be fixed?
Fears about the voting process being rigged — by powerful donors and corporations, gerrymandering, the Electoral College, voter suppression, fraud at the ballot box, and the ways votes are counted — are untangled in this docuseries.
Leonardo DiCaprio, Selena Gomez and John Legend lend their voices to this deep dive into US voting.
Downton Abbey
Channel: BBC Brit (DStv 120)
TX Time: 16h45
Genre: Drama, Period Drama
Period drama set in the fictional Downton Abbey, the Yorkshire country house of the Earl and Countess of Grantham, which follows the lives of the aristocratic Crawley family and their servants during the reign of King George V.
In 1912, England was teetering on the brink.
Apparently placid, still rooted in the traditions of many centuries, it would be less than 10 years before the First World War and the Jazz Age had ripped every certainty to shreds.
This is the moment when we enter the world of Downton Abbey, the great house of a great family, where the Granthams and their daughters preside over a household in the charge of Carson, the butler, and Mrs Hughes, the housekeeper.
All these people must, in their different ways, deal with the changes that are coming.
The Downton Abbey estate stands a splendid example of confidence and mettle, its family enduring for generations and its staff a well-oiled machine of propriety.
But change is afoot at Downton — change far surpassing the new electric lights and telephone.
Downton is the home of the Crawleys, who have been the Earls of Grantham since 1772.
In the drawing rooms and library and beautiful bedrooms, with their tall windows looking across the park, lives the family, but below stairs are other residents, the servants, as fiercely possessive of their ranks as anyone above.
Some of them are loyal to the family and are committed to Downton as a way of life, others are moving through, on the look out for new opportunities or love or just adventure.
The difference being that they know so many of the secrets of the family, while the family knows so few of theirs.
A crisis of inheritance threatens to displace the resident Crawley family, in spite of the best efforts of the noble and compassionate Earl, Robert Crawley; his American heiress wife, Cora; his comically implacable, opinionated mother, Violet; and his beautiful, eldest daughter, Mary, intent on charting her own course.
Reluctantly, the family is forced to welcome its heir apparent, the self-made and proudly modern Matthew Crawley, himself none too happy about the new arrangements.
As Matthew's bristly relationship with Mary begins to crackle with electricity, hope for the future of Downton's dynasty takes shape.
But when petty jealousies and ambitions grow among the family and the staff, scheming and secrets — both delicious and dangerous — threaten to derail the scramble to preserve Downton Abbey.
For more about the characters and episodes, as well as actor bios and pictures, go here:
TVSA Show Page: Downton Abbey