Air punch alert!
Five South African TV shows have been nominated for an International Emmy this year, the most nods for an African country since the inception of the awards in 1973.
It seems the Academy bigwigs are trying to make up for the
unforgivable snub of Shaka iLembe's first season last year, which troubles our minds to this day.
We. Do. Not. Forget.
Nothing can make up for it.
Season 2 didn't fall into the qualification timeframe of the awards this year. The nominated shows aired outside of America between 1 January and 31 December 2024.
Four of our nominees aired on DStv and Showmax and are still streaming.
They are: the doccos Chasing the Sun and School Ties, drama series Koek and true crime drama Catch Me a Killer, which earned leading actress Charlotte Hope a Best Actress nomination.
Charlotte's a British actress but the nomination is still credited to South Africa because it's a Showmax Original show.
DStv's Play Room has also received recognition for their kids show Play Room Live which currently airs on the channel (300).
We have the third highest number of nominations, after the UK and Brazil.
The awards are happening in New York on Monday 25 November 2025 and this is who we're up against:
Best Drama Series
Las Azules (Women in Blue) (Mexico)
Bad Boy (Israel)
Koek (Cake) (South Africa)
Rivals (United Kingdom)
Best Documentary
Hell Jumper (United Kingdom)
King of Kings: Chasing Edward Jones (France)
O Prazer é Meu (It’s My Pleasure) (Brazil)
School Ties (South Africa)
Best Sports Documentary
Argentina ‘78 (Argentina)
Chasing the Sun Season 2 (South Africa)
It’s All Over: The Kiss That Changed the Spanish Football (Spain)
Sven (United Kingdom)
Best Performance by an Actress
Charlotte Hope in Catch Me A Killer (South Africa)
Anna Maxwell Martin in Until I Kill You (United Kingdom)
Carolina Miranda in Mujeres Asesinas Season 2 (Mexico)
Maria Sid in Smärtpunkten (Pressure Point) (Sweden)
Best Performance by an Actor
Diljit Dosanjh in Amar Singh Chamkila (India)
David Mitchell in Ludwig (United Kingdom)
Oriol Pla in Yo, adicto (I, Addict) (Spain)
Diego Vasquez in One Hundred Years of Solitude (Colombia)
Best Kids: Factual & Entertainment
Auf Fritzis Spuren - Wie war das so in der DDR? (On Fritzi’s Traces - What was it like in the GDR?) (Germany)
Bora, O Pódio é Nosso (Brazil)
Kids Like Us (United Kingdom)
Play Room Live (South Africa)
Best Comedy
Chicken Nugget South (Korea)
Iris (France)
Ludwig (United Kingdom)
Y Llegaron de Noche (They Came at Night) (Mexico)
Best Non-Scripted Entertainment
Big Brother: Canada Season 12 (Canada)
Love is Blind: Habibi (United Arab Emirates )
¿Quién es la Máscara? Season 6 (The Masked Singer) (Mexico)
Shaolin Heroes (Denmark)
Telenovela
Deha (The Good & The Bad) (Türkiye)
Mania de Voc? (Crazy About You) (Brazil)
Regreso a Las Sabinas (Return to Las Sabinas) (Spain)
Valle Salvaje (Wild Valley) (Spain)
TV Movie/Mini-Series
Amar Singh Chamkila (India)
Herrhausen: The Banker and the Bomb (Germany)
Lost Boys & Fairies (United Kingdom)
Vencer o Morir (Victory or Death) (Chile)
Best Arts Programming
Art Matters with Melvyn Bragg (United Kingdom)
DJ Mehdi: Made In France (France)
Herchcovitch; Exposto (Herchcovitch; Exposed) (Brazil)
Ryuichi Sakamoto: Last Days (Japan)
Best Current Affairs
Dispatch: Kill Zone: Inside Gaza (United Kingdom)
Philippines: Diving for Gold (France)
Repórter Record Investigação: Desaparecidos Forçados (Enforced Disappearances) (Brazil)
Walk the Line (Singapore)
Best Kids: Animation
Bluey (Australia)
Lamput Season 4 (Singapore)
Lupi e Baduki (Brazil)
Muumilaakso Season 4 (Moominvalley) (Finland)
Best Kids: Live-Action
Fallen (United Kingdom)
Luz (Brazil)
Prefects (Kenya)
Shut UP (Norway)
Best News
Fantástico: El Salvador: Safety’s Somber Side (Brazil)
The Gangs of Haiti (United Kingdom)
Gaza, Search for Life (Qatar)
Syria - The Truth Coming Out (Sweden)
Best Short-Form Series
Beyond Dancing (China)
La médiatrice (The Mediator) (Canada)
My Dead Mom (Canada)
Todo se Transforma Season 4 (Change is Everything) (Argentina)