Soul City: Let's Rise
Channel: SABC1
TX Time: 19h30
Genre: Drama
Drama series following five young women navigating ambition, relationships, family expectations, identity, power and the challenges of growing up in contemporary South Africa.
It is a spin-off from the series
Soul City, which aired on SABC1 from 1994 to 2015.
Set in Katlehong, the series combines drama with edutainment storytelling to explore intimate partner violence, gender equality, violence prevention, mental health, young women's agency and community action.
At the centre of Soul City: Let's Rise are five young women whose lives intersect as they navigate the hopes, pressures and contradictions of growing up in Katlehong Township.
They dream of education, successful careers, love, independence and better lives.
But along the way, they encounter relationships and systems in which money, status, gender, culture, faith and influence can be used to limit their choices and exercise power over them.
Their journeys explore what happens when young women begin to recognise that what they have been taught to accept as normal may not always be healthy and what becomes possible when they find the courage to choose differently.
Through their friendships, families and community, Soul City: Let's Rise tells a story not only about the danger's young women face, but about their agency, resilience and power to shape their own futures.
The cast stars Pule Buys as Samke, Lufuno Mdau as Rhulani, Bohlokoa Nkalai as Neo, Asibonge Ntuli as Thando and Neo Malaka as Siza.
Through these five young women, we will encounter different but interconnected experiences of growing up, finding one's identity and negotiating power in contemporary South Africa.
Their stories explore ambition, sisterhood, family, love, education, social media, mental health and emotional wellbeing and the pressures placed on girls and young women; while confronting the realities of intimate partner violence, coercive control, grooming, unequal relationships, social and generational expectations, faith, culture and the importance of community action.
Samke is ambitious, charismatic and determined to turn her growing social-media influence into opportunity.
Rhulani's journey brings mental health and emotional wellbeing into focus, exploring the consequences of trauma and the importance of seeking support.
Neo adds another perspective to the experiences of young women navigating relationships, identity and belonging.
Thando is determined to pursue her education and choose her own future, even as family, cultural and religious expectations threaten to determine it for her.
And Siza emerges as a force for collective action, creating spaces where young women can support one another and challenge the conditions that make violence possible.
Together, they represent what Let's Rise is ultimately about: young women refusing to be defined only by what happens to them but discovering the power to determine what happens next.
At the heart of the series is a simple but urgent question: What becomes possible when young women are supported to recognise their own power and rise together?
Soul City: Let's Rise is produced by Mindset Concept, supported by the Soul City Institute.
TVSA Show Page: Soul City: Let's Rise
Made in Italy
Channel: M-Net (DStv 101)
TX Time: 17h15
Genre: Drama, Period Drama
An exploration of the birth of the Italian fashion industry during the 1970s through the story of Irene Mastrangelo, who gets a job at fashion magazine, Appeal.
The birth of great Italian fashion in Milan in the '70s is told through the story of Irene, a young journalist who will go a long way.
In the series premiere: Student Irene Mastrangelo gets a job at fashion magazine, Appeal.
She gets along with photographer Jon Sassi, but a surprise visit from her boyfriend Luigi leads to a row.
Uncharted Amazon with Ash Dykes
Channel: BBC Earth (DStv 184)
TX Time: 19h00
Genre: Reality, Adventure
British explorer Ash Dykes and his team battle the untamed jungles of Suriname in a daring adventure in one of the world's most remote wildernesses.
Suriname, the world's greenest country, is 94% jungle.
Ash and his team set out on an epic journey through remote jungle, across treacherous rivers and towards the country's dramatic Table Mountain.
Battling wildlife, exhaustion, storms and injury, the team faces an unforgiving environment as they attempt to complete a pioneering route through the rainforest.
Their adventure culminates in a gruelling final push to the Atlantic Ocean, paddling for 36 hours non-stop to complete their remarkable expedition.
In the series premiere, "In Search of the Source": Ash, Jacob Hudson, Dick Clark and Matt Wallace spend three days tracking the ins and outs of the Coppename River and trek through the rainforest to find its source, a world's first to the start of their adventure.
Spinners
Channel: Mzansi Magic (DStv 161)
TX Time: 21h00
Genre: Drama
Drama series which follows a teenage driver working for a local gang who finds a possible way out via spinning, an extreme motorsport where he can put his driving skills to better use.
But the looming gang war jeopardises that hope.
Ethan (Cantona James) is a 17-year-old driver working as a driver with local Lavender Hill gang boss Damien (Elton Landrew).
But Ethan discovers a new stage for his driving skills when spinning crew mechanic Shane (Dillon Windvogel) shows him what you can really do with a set of wheels.
The concept of spinning is simple: send your car spinning in circles while still maintaining complete control – and then hop out and strike a pose while the car continues to encircle you in tyre smoke.
Ethan has to choose his future and his destiny, as he gets pulled deeper into both dangerous worlds when a gang war looms.
In the series premiere, "Blood And Smoke": Ethan, a 17-year-old driver for a gang, reconsiders his path when a raid sparks potential gang warfare.
While on a job, he meets Shane, who introduces him to spinning.
Spinners was filmed on location in Lavender Hill on the Cape Flats.
The third co-production between Showmax and CANAL+, Spinners' cast also includes Brendon Daniels, while DJ Ready D acted as music supervisor and composed several tracks for the series.
TVSA Show Page: Spinners