Die Stories van Afrikaans
Channel: kykNET (DStv 144)
TX Time: 20h00
Genre: Documentary Series, Afrikaans
Everyone who speaks Afrikaans as a mother tongue knows a story about where they and their language come from, but these stories are as diverse as the people who shaped and created the language.
The series celebrates and explores all these facets across eight episodes.
Featuring rich archival material and over 100 influential voices, the series traces the true stories of the characters, clashes, loves and epic journeys that have shaped the language over four centuries on African soil – from the melting pot of the Cape, where three continents met, to the turbulent present, where the language sparks both excitement and concern.
To build this grand puzzle, pieces are added to the picture that have only been discovered, rediscovered or acknowledged for the first time during the past few decades.
At times, it unfolds like an indigenous Greek tragedy, but often, it tells a story of stubborn hope, perseverance, joy and resourcefulness.
Each episode is narrated by an actor, and the eight artists lending their voices are Sandra Prinsloo, Zane Meas, Albert Pretorius, June van Merch, Dean Balie, Frank Opperman, Lee-Ann van Rooi and Tinarie van Wyk-Loots.
Research and content direction were led by two journalists: Erns Grundling (also a co-producer) and poet Danie Marais.
Two seasoned linguists, Prof. Hein Willemse and Prof. Wannie Carstens, served as independent consultants.
Carstens' two comprehensive volumes, Die Storie van Afrikaans, were among several sources consulted.
Other contributors include writer Kirby van der Merwe and TV presenter and director Kabous Meiring.
Return of the Predators
Channel: Nat Geo Wild (DStv 182 / StarSat 221)
TX Time: 18h00
Genre: Wildlife, Documentary
After 30 years of war and destruction, Gorongosa National Park in Mozambique has undergone a remarkable restoration.
Herbivores once again bound across the plains, but hunters have been slower to return, leaving the park out of balance... until now.
Texas Metal 5
Channel: Discovery Channel (DStv 121)
TX Time: 21h00
Genre: Reality Makeover, Reality, Motoring
This series rides into the heart of Texas to bring car fans inside the clever custom creations of mastermind Bill Carlton and his team.
As the owner and innovator behind Houston's Ekstensive Metal Works, Carlton pushes his team to build the best one-off cars and trucks for people from around the country.
Texas Metal follows their work as they make the ordinary extraordinary using everything from rusted out wrecks to top of the line vehicles including a 1955 Chevy Truck, a 2014 Porsche 911, a 1967 Lincoln Continental, a 1966 Chevrolet C10 and more.
Bill Carlton is a third-generation welder.
His father purchased the property where Extensive Metals Works now sits 40 years ago and it's where Bill grew up building cars including his first out of a small shop on the property.
Now in that same spot in north Houston, Ekstensive cranks out wild, top-notch customisations that are the envy of car lovers everywhere.
In the Season 5 premiere, "Jeep Splits and Foreign Whips": Bill and the gang split a nearly perfect 1960 Willys Jeep into four pieces to make it longer, wider and meaner.
Drop shipped from halfway around the world, a 1998 AMG G-Wagon gets overhauled into a hand-built masterpiece.
Township Terror
Channel: eExtra (Openview 105 / StarSat 489 / DStv 195)
TX Time: 21h30
Genre: True Crime, Documentary
2001 saw a terrifying sequences of crimes committed for drug money - mass killings rapes hijackings and armed robberies were frighteningly commonplace.
In 2005 the self-confessed killer, Asanda Baninzi, was handed 19 life sentences and an additional 189 years after pleading guilty to a checklist of appalling crimes.
This documentary investigates the motivation for committing such crimes and how the police tracked their man down.
Guy's Grocery Games 33
Channel: Food Network (DStv 175)
TX Time: 17h00
Genre: Reality Competition, Food
Guy Fieri sends four talented chefs running through the aisles in a high-stakes, high skills, grocery store cooking competition.
From students to grannies to celebrities, the competition is always fierce.
Each episode sees the chefs hit by real-world challenges like finding workarounds when all the essential ingredients are suddenly "out-of-stock," or having to create a masterpiece when they can only cook with "5 items or less" or on a $10 budget.
In the end, the food does the talking, as the last chef standing has the chance to make some serious cash.
In the Season 33 premiere, "All-Star Double Whammy": It's the most prank-filled competition ever as Guy asks the judges and son Hunter to select the unappetizing whammy ingredients that the all-star competitors must use to make an appetizer and entrée.
Then, Guy declares a chef swap, and the judges find themselves cooking with the whammy ingredients they chose, and Hunter discovers that he'll be competing against all-star chefs.
In a final twist, Guy takes a seat at the judges' table.