Pole to Pole with Will Smith
Channel: National Geographic Channel (DStv 181 / StarSat 220)
TX Time: 20h30
Genre: Docu-Reality, Nature, Wildlife
Will Smith takes you on the ultimate journey of discovery in the seven-part docuseries Pole to Pole with Will Smith.
Airing weekly in a double bill on National Geographic, it also airs on Disney+.
Five years in the making, the series follows Will across all seven continents, taking him from the icefields of Antarctica to the jungles of the Amazon, the mountains of the Himalayas, the deserts of Africa, the islands of the Pacific and the icebergs of the Arctic.
Inspired by his late mentor to explore life's big questions, Will throws himself into incredible challenges for 100 days: skiing to the South Pole, catching a giant anaconda, milking a venomous tarantula, climbing mountains and diving under the ice of the North Pole.
He will venture from pole to pole in the company of scientists, explorers and local experts.
Told with a cinematic scale, access and authenticity, this once-in-a-lifetime adventure blends cutting-edge science, environmental storytelling and bold exploration.
Guided by experts, scientists and explorers, Will helps make world-first scientific discoveries and forges profound human connections - from the Amazon's Waorani community to the Kalahari's San people,whose knowledge and resilience offer powerful lessons about our future on the planet.
Pole to Pole with Will Smith is an epic global undertaking defined by endurance, wonder and hope.
In the series premiere, "The South Pole": Will heads to the South Pole, where temperatures can drop below minus 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
He skis and treks across giant icefields and, faced with a giant cliff of ice in bone-chilling winds, struggles to climb to the top.
Only with the support of one of the world's best polar athletes, Richard Parks, does he succeed.
In one of the planet's most isolated research stations, scientists take ice cores deep under the surface and make incredible sacrifices to pursue their research.
In the second episode of the weekly double bill, "The Amazon: Deadly Creatures": Will, a man scared of spiders his whole life, ventures deep into the Ecuadorian Amazon on an expedition in search of deadly creatures.
Joined by professor Bryan Fry and local mountaineer Carla Perez, they abseil 200 feet into a cave network known as the "womb of the Earth," where they discover a giant tarantula.
Using cutting-edge techniques, they extract its venom, which could hold the key to saving millions of lives.
The Franchise
Channel: M-Net (DStv 101)
TX Time: 22h00
Genre: Comedy
A hopeful crew finds themselves trapped inside the dysfunctional, nonsensical, joyous hellscape of franchise superhero moviemaking.
The Franchise follows the crew of an unloved franchise movie fighting for their place in a savage and unruly cinematic universe.
The comedy series shines a light on the secret chaos inside the world of superhero moviemaking to ask: How exactly does the cinematic sausage get made?
Because every f*ck-up has an origin story.
In the series premiere, "Scene 31A: Tecto Meets Eye": First assistant director Dan struggles to solve endless problems on the set of Maximum Studios' superhero film Tecto: Eye of the Storm.
The Renovator
Channel: HGTV (DStv 177)
TX Time: 21h00
Genre: Reality, Home Improvement, Reality Makeover
Entrepreneur, designer and television personality Marcus Lemonis, who has made a career of fixing business chaos, will use his talents to improve families' lives and homes in The Renovator.
The series will follow Marcus tackling the business of home.
He identifies problems with their home, and through a series of honest conversations and activities framed by the design process, he will provide solutions for each family's physical surroundings and personal trials that will lead to spectacular reveals.
In the end, Marcus will get these houses in order - leaving families better connected and living in a beautifully renovated and functional home.
In the series premiere, "Against All Odds": This episode will follow Marcus to Orange Park, Florida, where he will help a family of six find solutions for their home's disorganised spaces, as well as its outdated style and cramped floor plan.
During the initial tour, Marcus will uncover the owners' very different household priorities and set out to resolve their tension through thoughtful design.
The three-bedroom house will be rearranged to better accommodate the kids, and the process will tear down both physical and emotional walls.
A dramatic backyard makeover completes the improvements, as the small home gets turned into a neighbourhood showpiece.
Hijack 2
Channel: Apple TV
TX Time: 10h00
Genre: Thriller, Drama
In the second season of Hijack, a Berlin underground train and its commuters are taken hostage, while authorities scramble to save hundreds of lives.
Sam Nelson (Idris Elba) is at the heart of the crisis on board, where one wrong decision could spell disaster.
Season 2 reunites the ensemble cast from the first season including Elba, Christine Adams, Max Beesley and Archie Panjabi.
The Murder Tapes 7
Channel: Investigation Discovery (DStv 171 / StarSat 223)
TX Time: 21h00
Genre: True Crime, Reality
This series uses body-cam footage from police departments across America to tell stories from the viewpoint of the detectives themselves as they are literally solving the case.
This intimate filming technique captures every thrilling moment of a whodunnit murder investigation, all from the eyes of the detectives tasked with catching the killer.
They experience every twist and turn, every false lead, and every breakthrough alongside the detectives, until the killer is captured and sentenced.
In the Season 7 premiere, "Head in a Bag": On a rainy night in a parking lot in Arkansas, a mysterious trash bag turns up in a truck.
Police come to the scene and find Connie Goodwin beheaded, and go into overdrive to find out who killed the grandmother and how her head ended up in a truck.