Umbuso
Channel: Mzansi Magic (DStv 161)
TX Time: 20h00
Genre: Drama
Drama series which revolves around two former prison friends trying to establish legacies in post-Apartheid South Africa through a low-income housing project.
It's a tale of a daughter's search for the truth, how the past impacts the present of crime, politics and the lengths that people will go to protect those they love, and what they believe is theirs.
Street-smart businessman Ma E and people's politician Tiny are determined to secure a post-struggle legacy for themselves and their families.
However, after a brutal and bloody murder that shakes everyone to their core, a long-hidden and dark secret is finally revealed, cutting to the heart of both families.
At the centre of it all is Thembelihle, a daughter trying to keep her family – and its business – together.
Umbuso promises intrigue, mystery, scheming, twists and turns as secrets are revealed and legacies tarnished.
The series stars Bheki Sibiya, Zinzile Zungu, Kwanele Mthethwa, Sandile Mahlangu, Makhaola Ndebele, Bathabile Mashigo and Khojane Morai.
Additional cast members include Lillian Dube, Mzwandile Ngubeni, Christopher Jafta, Omuhle Gela, Sphamandla Dhludhlu and Bahumi Mhlongo.
Main Characters
Ma E Nyandeni (Bheki Sibiya)
Ma E is an old-school township gangster who built his criminal empire on the dagga trade and has dominated his community with street smarts, muscle and strategic generosity.
These days he uses his connections and business savvy to run a (mostly) legitimate construction empire.
Ma E forged a brotherhood with Tiny while they were in prison together and Ma E was making his reputation as a boxer under the name Stimela.
Ma E's mom, Gogo Lil (Lillian Dube), is the family's wise keeper of secrets and the classic iron fist in a velvet glove.
She is by far the most ruthless member of Ma E's family.
Mpho (Zinzi Zungu)
Ma E's beloved wife and mother to their children has been the glue that has bonded Ma E and Tiny's families together for over 25 years.
When she is murdered on her birthday, it throws both families' lives into an uproar.
Thembelihle is devastated because her mom was her best friend, and she gets pulled into the investigation to find her killer and their motive, but her search uncovers some devastating family secrets.
Thembelihle (Kwanele Mthethwa)
Ma E's daughter, Thembelihle, is everything a man could want in an heir.
She is smart, educated, feisty and driven.
To understand Thembelihle and her world, you must understand her family and their long-lasting bonds with Uncle Tiny's family, who are connected in every way but blood.
Thembelihle is trapped in a loveless, (fortunately) childless marriage with Mothusi (Sphamandla Dhludhlu), a superficially charming businessman working in the NGO sector.
Mothusi is an emotionally abusive serial cheater who wants a Thembelihle to be a traditional wife while offering none of the respect that role would involve.
She secretly still loves Uncle Tiny's son, Tshepiso.
Samora (Sandile Mahlangu)
Thembelihle's passionate, sensitive and fragile young twin brother is as much an artist as she is an entrepreneur.
As a result, he and his dad, Ma E, have seldom seen eye-to-eye, which has left Samora feeling like everything that he does disappoints dear old dad.
His mom, Mpho, has always played peacekeeper between them.
Samora was named after Uncle Tiny's favourite politician.
Tiny Matlala (Makhaola Ndebele)
Tiny has turned his shared criminal and prison past with Ma E into the colourful foundation story for his political career.
These days, he's eyeing a mayoral chain and head office.
Tiny is a charming, hard-working political animal but becoming mayor might mean he has to distance himself from Ma E publicly.
And there's plenty at stake.
He and Ma E could win a lasting legacy for their families if they manage to secure the rights to build a new low-income housing project.
Tiny has a spectacular temper and he's fearsome to behold when he flies off the handle.
Bridget (Bathabile Mashigo)
Tiny's fierce wife, Bridget, is the family matriarch and the power behind the throne.
It's her push and determination that have driven Tiny's political career.
She is capable of absolutely anything and utterly ruthless.
She might or might not like Tiny, but she does love the doors that her marriage to Tiny opens for her, and the hidden power that marriage allows her to wield.
Tshepiso (Khojane Morai)
Tiny's son is Thembelihle's oldest friend.
They were always close and once, briefly, almost dated until both families objected.
Unfortunately, that choice pushed both Tshepiso and Thembelihle into unhappy marriages, in which they are each other's lifeline.
Tshepiso is married to political powerhouse Bassie, who works with his mom, Bridget.
Bassie is far more interested in Tiny's career than Tshepiso is, and she is floored by Tshepiso's apparent lack of ambition.
She could do worse, though. Tshepiso's sister Refilwe (Bahumi Mhlongo) is the real family trainwreck...
TVSA Show Page: Umbuso
Is'phindiselo
Channel: e.tv
TX Time: 20h00
Genre: Drama
Drama series loosely based on the story of Alexandre Dumas' novel The Count of Monte Cristo, about a young man who is falsely imprisoned, escapes and uses a hidden treasure to exact his revenge.
Re-imagining the story in Johannesburg against the backdrop of a corrupt construction company, Is'phindiselo deals with the themes of hope, justice, vengeance, mercy and forgiveness.
The series focuses on a man who is wrongfully imprisoned, trained by a ruthless mentor, escapes from jail, acquires a fortune and sets about taking revenge on those responsible for his imprisonment.
However, his plans have devastating consequences for the innocent as well as the guilty.
In addition, it is a story that involves romance, loyalty, betrayal and selfishness as the characters slowly reveal their true inner nature throughout the series.
Secrets will be revealed, hearts will be broken, and lives will be lost as Is'phindiselo weaves its way from the streets of Pimville to the jungles of the Congo.
In the series premiere: Benny Ngwenya (Zamani Mbatha), a young man with a bright future and a perfect family, is unwittingly caught up in a world of high-stakes corruption and ends up paying the ultimate price.
The series stars Amahle Khumalo as Phumzile, Baby Cele as Thabile, Lindani Nkosi as Vusimuzi, Mamarumo Marokane as Letti, Robert Mpisi as Temane, Siyabonga Sepotokele as Chris, Warren Masemola as Jerry, Zamani Mbatha as Benny and Zikhona Bali as Khethiwe.
TVSA Show Page: Is'phindiselo
Side Dish 2
Channel: SABC1
TX Time: 20h00
Genre: Drama
Side Dish is a drama series which revolves around a group of women who go on holiday and accidentally murder a Ben 10.
Season 2 sees the reunion of three friends Amanda, Sli and Joyce, who are bound by a series of tragic events.
Amanda (Refilwe Madumo) escapes from prison with the help of her accomplice Vero (Gcinile Nkosi).
Meanwhile, Sli (Jo-anne Reyneke) and Joyce (Amanda Seome, replacing Matshepo Maleme in the role) thought they had escaped for a fresh start in Eswatini, but are forced to return to South Africa when they find out that their children have been kidnapped.
Apollo (Ntando Mncube) has been looking for them and wants more than just an apology - he wants all of them to face the wrath of the law for their crimes.
Apollo will stop at nothing to make sure they end up behind bars.
Just when he thinks he has finally got them they out-manoeuvre him, and he ends up injured and hot on their heels.
It's a bittersweet moment for him because only Joyce surrenders, whereas Amanda decides to make a run for it and Sli is indecisive on what she should do.
To what lengths will these ladies go and how many more people have to die for them to not get caught?
TVSA Show Page: Side Dish 2
Waarheid met Max
Channel: kykNET (DStv 144)
TX Time: 20h00
Genre: Actuality, Interview Show, Afrikaans
Veteran journalist Max du Preez talks to five journalists and one whistleblower about state capture and crime in South Africa.
Forthright interviews with six of the best in their field give us a closer look at their work and their lives.
There are six episodes in the series and in the first episode Max visits Jacques Pauw, writer of the book The President's Keepers.
Jacques, who started the newspaper Vrye Weekblad with Max in the late 1980s, wrote about the creation and functioning of a "shadow mafia state" created by and surrounding former president Zuma.
Johann van Loggerenberg worked at SARS and is the writer of Rogue (2016), Death and Taxes (2017), Tobacco Wars (2019) and Cop under Cover and is Max's guest in the second episode.
The journalist Pieter-Louis Myburgh is up next when he discusses his book Gangster State, about the former Free State premier Ace Magashule.
In the fourth episode Pieter du Toit talks about his book The Stellenbosch Mafia and the mighty men of this beautiful town.
Caryn Dolley and her book To the Wolves is the topic in the fifth episode, in which she examines bad cops and politicians and the impact organised crime has on South African society.
In the last episode Max talks to Anneliese Burgess about Heist, her book about cash-in-transit heists in South Africa.
Max started his career as a journalist in 1982 and has won several accolades including two honoury doctorates, a Louis M. Lyons Award from Harvard University, the 2006 International Journalist of the Year from Yale University, the Nat Nakasa Award and the Ahmed Kathrada Award for leadership.
His latest book, A Rumour of Spring, won the Alan Paton prize, a South African literary award that has been conferred annually since 1989 for meritorious works of non-fiction.
Abraham Lincoln
Channel: HISTORY (DStv 186)
TX Time: 19h25
Genre: Miniseries, Period Drama, Docu-Drama
This three-part documentary miniseries is a definitive biography of the 16th president, the man who led the United States during its bloodiest war and greatest crisis.
From the impoverished childhood of Lincoln to his days as a young prairie lawyer and budding politician, through his unlikely election to the presidency and his assassination only five days after the end of the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln offers new and surprising insights into the man consistently ranked by historians and the American people as the country's greatest president.
We will learn of the lesser-known aspects of Lincoln's life and leadership through dramatic live-action scenes where his humility, empathy, resilience, ambition, political acumen and humour are on full display.
Combined with expert interviews, including President Barack Obama, archival photos and news accounts, Lincoln's letters, writings and speeches, and remembrances from his contemporaries, this miniseries provides a fresh, present-day understanding of the complexities of young Abraham Lincoln who grows to become President Lincoln, the man who saved the Union, won the war and secured emancipation.
In the series premiere, "The Railsplitter": Through a poverty-ridden childhood on the American frontier, Abraham Lincoln is determined to leave his mark on the world.
He rises to become President of a nation on the verge of tearing itself apart.
Trevor Noah Presents Josh Johnson: # (Hashtag)
Channel: Comedy Central (DStv 122)
TX Time: 21h00
Genre: Comedy, Special
Josh Johnson's debut one-hour stand-up special, presented by Trevor Noah.
In the special, the comedian and The Daily Show writer discusses the pandemic's effects on interpersonal relationships, the three things women can expect from their partners, and whether or not his friend's bird is a racist.
Josh Johnson is a stand-up, writer and performer from Louisiana by way of Chicago.
He is currently a writer on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah and is a former writer and performer on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, where he made his late-night debut.
As a stand-up, Johnson has performed at clubs, colleges and festivals around the world and was named New York's Funniest Comic at Caroline's during the New York Comedy Festival.
On screen, Johnson has appeared on CONAN, Comedy Central Stand-Up Presents, and Netflix as part of The Comedy Lineup.
2 Dope Queens
Channel: Me (DStv 115)
TX Time: 22h00
Genre: Comedy
The comedy podcast 2 Dope Queens, featuring Jessica Williams and Phoebe Robinson, was produced for HBO in February 2018 as a series of four themed hour-long specials.
Guests include Uzo Aduba (Orange Is the New Black), Tituss Burgess (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt), Sarah Jessica Parker (Sex and the City) and Jon Stewart (The Daily Show).
Taped before a live audience at Brooklyn's Kings Theatre, the show features these fun, fearless queens dishing on Cocoa Khaleesis, dating white baes, sex, New York living, which borough has the best pizza and so much more, as well as showcasing some of the ladies' favourite stand-up comedians.
The four themed episodes are:
Show #1: New York
Jon Stewart joins the Queens to share early memories of living in New York, and Phoebe and Jessica test Jon's pizza knowledge.
Plus: comedians Michelle Buteau, Mark Normand and Baron Vaughn.
Show #2: Hair
Phoebe and Jessica break down black hairstyles for Sarah Jessica Parker.
Plus: comedians Aparna Nancherla, Rhea Butcher and Sheng Wang.
Show #3: Hot Peen
Phoebe shares her failed attempts to hook up with a famous celeb, and the Queens are joined onstage by Tituss Burgess, who talks about channeling Beyoncé.
Plus: comedians John Early, Jackie Kashian and Kevin Barnett.
Show #4: Black Nerds (aka "Blerds")
Phoebe and Jessica discuss their fashion inspirations, and are joined onstage by Uzo Aduba to talk about their nerdy obsessions.
Plus: comedians Naomi Ekperigin, Al Jackson and Gary Gulman.
Hitler's Secret Sex Life
Channel: eReality (Openview 108)
TX Time: 21h40
Genre: Documentary Series, History, Factual
Docuseries exposing the myriad rumours, theories and disputed historical accounts of Adolf Hitler's sexual psychology.
There is no shortage of experts on Hitler's sex life who consider the Fuhrer's predilections to be a barometer of the dictator's twisted psyche.
From incest to stalking women as a youth, from masochism to murder as he tried to hide his sexual past, Hitler's Secret Sex Life delves deeper than ever before into the primal mindset of history's most destructive man.
Were Hitler's famed oratory skills, when he worked himself into an orgiastic frenzy, a factor of, or substitution for low sexual drive?
If so, what was the source of this asexuality? Was it his purported monarchism - one testicle - that caused shame and suppression of sexual energy?
Or did it enhance the rage, which Hitler used in his blistering speeches to shape the will and morals of an entire nation?
For every theory there is a counter theory and for every expert opinion, there are others, in hot dispute.
Some are salacious gossip; some are the work of respected professors of History.
Hitler's Secret Sex Life puts each theory to the blowtorch of factual analysis, asking the simple question 'true or false' and with reenactments, historical archives and interviews, delivers the final verdict on each claim and theory.
Hitler's Secret Sex Life offers an original and sex-laden insight into the motivations of the monster.
Each episode will address a specific time period of Hitler's alleged and proven sex life and explore the role it played in shaping Hitler's behaviour.
Reconstruction: America After the Civil War
Channel: HISTORY (DStv 186)
TX Time: 21h35
Genre: Documentary Series, History
A four-hour documentary executive produced and hosted by Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
Professor Henry Louis Gates presents the definitive history of one of the least understood chapters in American history - the transformative years following the American Civil War when the nation struggled to rebuild itself in the face of profound loss, massive destruction and revolutionary social change.
Reconstruction: America After the Civil War takes a broad view of the Reconstruction era and its aftermath, beginning with the hopeful moment of war's end and emancipation in 1865 and carrying through to 1915, when the nation was fully entrenched in Jim Crow segregation.
In the aftermath of the Civil War, the nation was devastated by death and deconstruction.
Members of the US Congress endeavoured to reunite North and South while granting citizenship rights to newly freed African Americans, in a plan started by President Abraham Lincoln prior to his assassination.
Millions of former slaves and free black people sought out their rightful place as equal citizens under the law.
The dream of an interracial democracy was brief, and the broken promises of the Reconstruction era haunt the country to this day.
Though tragically short-lived, this bold democratic experiment was, in the words of W.E.B. Du Bois, a "brief moment in the sun" for African Americans, when they could advance and achieve education, exercise their right to vote and run for and win public office.
The film tells the real story of Reconstruction, honouring the struggle of the African Americans who fought their way out of slavery and challenged the nation to live up to the founding ideals of democracy, freedom and equality.
But it also tells the tragic story of the sustained and often violent pushback against Reconstruction's determination to secure equal rights for black people, and the subsequent rise of white supremacy leading to the implementation of Jim Crow segregation.
More than 150 years later, this struggle continues.
The first half of the series centres on the pivotal decade following the Civil War rebellion, charting black progress and highlighting the accomplishments of the many political leaders who emerged to usher their communities into this new era of freedom.
The series' second half looks beyond that hopeful decade, when the arc of history bent backwards.
It became increasingly clear that many Southern white people were not willing to accept this new social order and that the federal government was not prepared to provide African Americans with consistent or enduring protection of their new rights.
While tracing the unraveling of Reconstruction and the rise of Jim Crow segregation in the closing years of the nineteenth century, the film looks at the myriad ways in which black people continued to acquire land, build institutions and strengthen communities amidst increasing racial violence and repression.
Less than 30 years after black men filled state legislatures, one by one, the Southern states began drastically restricting the vote while drawing a stark colour line that divided white and black America.
Glam Guru 22
Channel: kykNET (DStv 144)
TX Time: 17h30
Genre: Reality Makeover, Afrikaans
Hannon, who has been one of kykNET's most popular faces since 2008, returns with his popular makeover transformations with tips to inspire every woman as well as give them a new energy for life.
He will be assisted by Julius Swart, who will talk about skin care; and Robyn Poole, who will demonstrate make-up techniques.
The show has undergone a makeover this season and comes with a brand new set.
In the Season 22 premiere: Rina du Toit offers modern science classes, but feels like a history lesson.
She had to survive by working in a vegetable garden and wants to be able to face life again.