Flip the Strip
Channel: HGTV (DStv 177)
TX Time: 21h00
Genre: Reality Makeover, Home Improvement, Reality
The sweltering Las Vegas heat is nothing compared to the smouldering stars of the male revue stage show Australia's Thunder from Down Under, who have a home renovation business.
Headliners by night and expert tradesman by day, Ben Cleary, Dan Paterson, Liam Black and Malik Wills-Martin will work with celebrated interior designer Kelly Stone to turn their clients' humdrum homes into glitzy desert oases.
The six hour-long episodes will feature over-the-top casino-inspired style, including decadent chandeliers, imaginative bar setups, custom statement balustrades and one abstract art piece involving paint and a shirtless dancer that must be seen to be believed.
Along the way the guys will drop some "Aussie-isms" into their vernacular that will illustrate the ups and downs of each renovation.
In addition to their dancing skills, each of the guys will have a renovation role to play - Dan doubles as the project manager; Ben is a skilled carpenter; Liam is a talented painter/finisher; and Malik is a demo and "do-it-all" ace.
In the series premiere, "Vegas Glam": Kelly and the foursome will work together to create a beautifully cohesive space for homeowners Melissa and Kelsey, who are at odds when it comes to the design of their shared home.
The team will update the dark kitchen and build out a Vegas-worthy entertaining area complete with a new bar and custom fireplace, all while making it dog-friendly for the couple's three golden retrievers.
Life on Our Planet
Channel: Netflix South Africa
TX Time: 10h00 (all episodes)
Genre: Wildlife, Nature, Documentary Series
Life's extraordinary journey to conquer, adapt and survive on Earth across billions of years comes alive in this groundbreaking nature docuseries, narrated by Morgan Freeman.
The docuseries, executive produced by Steven Spielberg, combines natural history with world-class visual effects.
This is the story of life's epic battle to conquer and survive on planet Earth.
Today there are 20-million species on our planet, yet what we see is just a snapshot in time — 99% of Earth's inhabitants are lost to our deep past.
The story of what happened to these dynasties — their rise and their fall — is truly remarkable.
In partnership with Industrial Light & Magic, the series uses the latest technology and science to bring long extinct creatures back to life.
Hougaard: Liefling van Loftus
Channel: kykNET (DStv 144)
TX Time: 20h00
Genre: Sport, Documentary Series, Afrikaans
Springbok kicker, Currie Cup winner and Super Rugby lucky charm – Derick Hougaard has been a household name in South African rugby.
Everybody has a lot to say about him, but now he has decided to tell his side of the story and bare all in Hougaard: Liefling van Loftus.
The boy from the Boland with a special talent for sport had the world at his feet at one stage.
Today, the man who was known as the "Liefling van Loftus" is a shadow of his former self.
His triumphant rugby career was cut short by several injuries.
In the following years, his high profile divorce, numerous scandals and his recent harrowing stay in hospital, where he was in a coma at death's door for many days, was all over the media.
The series follows Hougaard on the journey he undertakes, against the background of rugby, to find out what the root causes of his personal problems are.
Since his glory days as Blue Bull legend and Springbok, Derick was caught in a downward spiral characterised by numerous scandals and gossip stories.
For the first time, Derick talks very intimately about his life and pays a visit to, among others, ex-players whose lives have also been irrevocably changed by rugby.
After telling his story in his own words, Derick wants to turn the page and start a new chapter.
Jan
Channel: S3
TX Time: 18h00
Genre: Food, Lifestyle, Reality, Afrikaans
Michelin star chef Jan Hendrik van der Westhuizen is back on home soil and has turned a small 1712 farmhouse in a lavender field into something magnificent.
Now he is inviting some of his best guests for the food experience of a lifetime.
He uses his home country as inspiration for the dishes in his restaurant in Nice, France.
Where he usually finds ideas in old South African cooking books or unique products from European markets, he now turns to the people he meets and spends time with for inspiration.
In this show, togetherness is the running theme that Jan celebrates.
He sets the table for legendary guests in the renovated farmhouse and a union of cultures and memories follows.
Ciao House
Channel: Food Network (DStv 175)
TX Time: 18h00
Genre: Reality Competition, Reality, Food
Food Network takes 10 up-and-coming chefs on the journey of a lifetime to Tuscany in this series hosted by Chef Alex Guarnaschelli and Tuscan-born Chef Gabriele Bertaccini.
Shot on-location in Italy, the series welcomes 10 rising culinary stars who will live together in a breathtaking Italian villa and compete against each other as individuals and in teams to prove their mastery of Italian cooking techniques and dishes.
From real-life nonnas showcasing how they make pasta from scratch to a lesson with the head butcher of a three centuries-old family butcher business, each challenge is accompanied by a local experience steeped in tradition.
The competitors must also navigate alliances and rivalries as they pick their own teams and each week, the losing team must vote off one of their own.
In the end, only the last chef standing wins the grand prize: an immersive culinary education across Italy, training with renowned Italian master chefs.
In the series premiere episode, "Welcome To Ciao House!": To start off the experience, each competitor must show Alex and Gabriele what Italian cuisine means to them by creating a dish that demonstrates who they are as a chef.
Two chefs receive a huge advantage going into the next round and one chef must say "ciao ciao" to the villa.
Eight weeks of Tuscan-centric challenges including three-course truffle and wine pairings, visit to an Italian cheese cave and creating a wild boar dish culminate in the finale, where Alex and Gabriele preside over a cooking duel to determine who wins the ultimate grand prize.
Explorer: Lake of Fire
Channel: National Geographic Channel (DStv 181 / StarSat 220)
TX Time: 19h00
Genre: Documentary, Nature
An elite team of adventurers and scientists attempt a daring first ascent up an unexplored volcano on a remote Antarctic island to investigate a mysterious boiling lake of lava that is unexplained by science.
In 2018, satellite imagery captured a mysterious thermal anomaly on an unexplored volcano at the ends of the Earth.
What lies inside could provide new clues to help predict volcanic eruptions around the globe.
But the island is so remote, with conditions that are so extreme, no one has ever been able to reach the top to investigate what lies inside... until now.
S.W.A.T. 6
Channel: M-Net (DStv 101)
TX Time: 20h00
Genre: Police Procedural, Drama
Inspired by the television series and the feature film, S.W.A.T. stars Shemar Moore as a former Marine and locally born and raised S.W.A.T. sergeant, tasked to run a specialised tactical unit that is the last stop in law enforcement in Los Angeles.
Torn between loyalty to where he was raised and allegiance to his brothers in blue, Daniel "Hondo" Harrelson strives to bridge the divide between his two worlds and acclimate to his new duties as the legal guardian of a teenager.
Hondo's elite unit includes David "Deacon" Kay, an experienced S.W.A.T. officer and dedicated family man who always puts the team first.
Then there's Christina "Chris" Alonso, a skilled officer and the team's canine trainer; and Dominique Luca, an expert driver who gets them in and out of high risk situations.
Also on the team is Victor Tan, who started in the LAPD Hollywood Division and uses his confidential informants in the community to help the team.
Finally there's Jim Street, the team's cocky newest member who is re-instated to S.W.A.T. after being fired for compromising the unit.
Responsible for the management of all Metro Division S.W.A.T. units is Commander Robert Hicks, a senior LAPD official with the Special Operations Bureau.
Following Captain Jessica Cortez's departure for the FBI, the Mayor assigns Lieutenant Piper Lynch to SWAT as a tactical consultant, where she challenges the team's field strategy, which raises questions about her loyalty.
With Hondo leading the charge, these dedicated men and women bravely put themselves at risk to protect their community and save lives.
In the Season 6 premiere, "Thai Hard": During a trip to Bangkok to train alongside Thailand's premiere S.W.A.T. team, Hondo and his former military buddy stumble upon a wide-ranging heroin operation with ties to Los Angeles and find themselves on the run from a powerful drug kingpin.
What We Do in the Shadows 5
Channel: Disney+
TX Time: 00h01
Genre: Comedy, Horror, Mockumentary
What We Do in the Shadows, based on the feature film, documents the nightly exploits of vampire roommates Nandor, Laszlo, Nadja and Colin Robinson as they navigate the modern world of Staten Island with the help of their human familiar, Guillermo, and their vampire bureaucrat acquaintance, The Guide.
In Season 5, Nandor feels his familiar (and sometimes friend) Guillermo slipping away as he seems to be spending much more time with Laszlo, whose skills as a gentleman scientist are put to the test as he tries to solve the mystery of the strange and very secret changes Guillermo is going through.
Nadja, suffering the effects of a previously-undiagnosed supernatural hex, reconnects with her family - or at least, a family - from the Old Country.
Colin pursues the path of so many energy vampires before him by running for political office and The Guide tries to figure out where she fits in as the relative newcomer to this tightly-knit group who've known each other for centuries.
In the Season 5 premiere: The vampires discover the mall.