Genius: Aretha
Channel: National Geographic Channel (DStv 181 / StarSat 220)
TX Time: 21h00
Genre: Drama, Period Drama
The next instalment in the award-winning anthology series Genius honours the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin.
Starring double Oscar-nominee Cynthia Erivo (The Color Purple) in the title role, Genius: Aretha will start with a special double episode event across the continent, with one episode per week thereafter.
Genius is an anthology series that dramatizes the fascinating stories of the world's most brilliant innovators and their extraordinary achievements with their volatile, passionate and complex personal relationships.
This third season will explore Aretha Franklin's musical genius and incomparable career, as well as the immeasurable impact and lasting influence she has had on music and culture around the world.
Franklin was a gospel prodigy, an outspoken civil rights champion and widely considered the greatest singer of the past 50 years, receiving countless honours throughout her career.
Genius: Aretha is the first-ever, definitive and only authorised scripted series on the life of the universally acclaimed Queen of Soul.
Without knowing how to read music, Franklin taught herself to play the piano; at the young age of 12, she began to record songs and sing on gospel tours with her father.
She signed her first record deal at age 18 with Columbia Records. In 1966, she moved to Atlantic Records, where she recorded many of her most iconic songs.
In 1979, she began a 40-year friendship and partnership with Clive Davis, which produced a number of hit songs, including the highest charting and bestselling song of her career, I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me), a duet with George Michael.
The legendary singer is one of the world's bestselling musical artists of all time, with more than 75-million records sold globally during her career.
Her voice was identified as a "natural resource" by her home state of Michigan.
In the Season 3 premiere, "Respect": Desperate for a hit, Aretha travels to Muscle Shoals in 1967 to record her first album with Atlantic Records.
After suffering the loss of her surrogate mother, Little Re braves her first solo in 1953, in her father's church.
Platteland Toe
Channel: VIA (DStv 147)
TX Time: 18h30
Genre: Travel, Docu-Reality, Afrikaans
In each episode of Platteland Toe we take a trip with adventure-seeking actor Viljé Maritz to popular towns to see what makes them so unique.
He visits restaurants, guesthouses and tourist attractions that lure people in a detour off the main highways into these towns.
Come and visit Parys, Greyton, Paternoster, Oudtshoorn, Bredasdorp, Clarens, Ficksburg, Dullstroom, Phalaborwa and Hluhluwe.
Join in for a road trip every Wednesday.
Shameless Hall of Shame
Channel: M-Net (DStv 101)
TX Time: 22h30
Genre: Comedy-Drama
After Shameless kicked off its eleventh and final season last night, you now have the chance to say a long goodbye to the comedy-drama with this companion series of six episodes.
The show features new, original Shameless scenes juxtaposed with a retrospective look at each character's journey over the prior 10 seasons.
The first episode features Ian (Cameron Monaghan) and Mickey (Noel Fisher), showcasing their unique relationship and its evolution from a teen fling into a loving, complicated marriage.
Home Again with the Fords
Channel: HGTV (DStv 177)
TX Time: 19h45
Genre: Reality Makeover, Home Improvement, DIY, Reality
Pittsburgh natives Leanne and Steve Ford will help families returning to their "Steel City" roots get fresh, modern home renovations in Home Again with the Fords.
The seven-episode series follows Leanne, an interior designer; and Steve, a licensed contractor; as they update old homes for clients who love the duo's imaginative style.
The siblings, who starred in the HGTV hit series Restored by the Fords, will again showcase their boundless creativity in every home renovation.
From adding customised steel details that honour a family's history in the local industry to restoring special items from childhood homes, the Fords will delight homeowners with every meaningful design twist.
Throughout the series, Leanne and Steve will address their clients' desired home updates, while honouring the properties' original charm.
In the series premiere, "Paris in Pittsburgh": The Fords modernise a farmhouse owned by the family since 1880.
The whimsical property boasts a mini-golf course and ice cream shop that Steve and Leanne frequented as kids, as well as a barn full of treasures Leanne can't wait to revive.
Kids Say the Darndest Things with Tiffany Haddish 2
Channel: 1Magic (DStv 103)
TX Time: 17h30
Genre: Variety, Comedy
The reimagined Kids Say the Darndest Things is a variety show hosted by Tiffany Haddish.
Based on the classic format, Haddish showcases her comedic talents using her singular voice, humour and life perspective to interact with real kids from across the USA in an unpredictable way.
The show features Haddish guiding kids through unrehearsed conversations to get their unfiltered opinions about their lives, interests and perspectives on the world.
In the Season 2 premiere, "Wigging Out": Tiffany finds kids "wigging" out when they realise one of her wigs on a shelf can communicate only with them.
In the second episode of the weekly double bill, "The Kids Price is Always Right": Tiffany and the kids make a special visit to the CBS game show The Price is Right where they take turns playing some fun pricing games with host Drew Carey.
Sophie: A Murder in West Cork
Channel: Netflix South Africa
TX Time: 10h00 (all episodes)
Genre: True Crime, Documentary Series
A shocking murder in rural Ireland sets off an increasingly convoluted quest for justice that spans decades and cuts across national borders.
This three-part series examines one of Ireland's most famous murder cases, the death of French producer Sophie Toscan du Plantier in the town of Schull, West Cork in 1996.
The brutal murder, which shocked the country, triggered one of the biggest murder investigations Ireland had ever seen and became a national obsession.
The documentary will chart the circumstances of her death, unravelling the extraordinary story from its beginning, 24 years ago to the present day.
With exclusive access to Sophie Toscan du Plantier's family, the series will bring together, for the first time, the views of her family with Ian Bailey, the man at the centre of the investigation.