How the Tudors Lost their Heads
Channel: National Geographic Channel (DStv 181 / StarSat 220)
TX Time: 21h00
Genre: Documentary Series, Docu-Drama, History, Factual
Historians Dan Snow and Professor Suzannah Lipscomb investigate the lives and deaths of some of Tudor England's most fascinating figures including Anne Boleyn, Mary, Queen of Scots and Perkin Warbeck, who claimed to be one of the famed Princes in the Tower.
Dan and Suzie seek clues in spectacular castles and palaces across Britain and rest of Europe, gain rare access to archives and reveal new evidence that helps expose the truth behind the executions.
Were these iconic figures architects of their own downfall or casualties of ruthless political power plays?
The series combines cinematic storytelling with cutting-edge research as we reassess some of the Tudor era's most notorious, controversial and misunderstood individuals.
If you want to understand the Tudors, get to know who they executed - and why.
In the series premiere, "Mary, Queen of Scots": For centuries, Mary, Queen of Scots has been cast as impulsive and self-destructive.
Now, through new evidence and rare access, Suzannah and Dan uncover deeper layers to this most famous historical figure; a queen who confronted violence, adversity and cunning enemies, and who skillfully played a perilous political game to the end.
Note: this series is also available on Disney+ from today.
Seven Days on Mars
Channel: S3
TX Time: 17h00
Genre: Science, Technology, Documentary
Professor Brian Cox fulfils a childhood dream by going behind the scenes at Nasa's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), mission control for Mars 2020 – one of the most ambitious missions ever launched that may finally reveal if life ever existed on the Red Planet.
In 1980, a young Brian Cox wrote to JPL asking for photos from some of their missions to the planets.
The pictures they sent him from Voyager and the Viking mission to Mars were a source of inspiration that set him on the path to becoming a physicist.
Now, over 40 years later, he has been granted privileged access to JPL, including key mission areas that are usually off-limits to film crews.
Brian spends a week following the team who guide the Perseverance rover and the Ingenuity helicopter - the first powered aircraft ever sent to another planet - across the surface of Mars during a critical stage of the mission.
Perseverance's goal is to search for signs of long extinct life on the surface of Mars in an area called Jezero Crater, which, 3.8-billion years ago, was filled by a vast lake.
If it finds evidence of that life, it could change everything we know about life in the universe - and even transform our understanding of our own origins.
Nelly and Ashanti: We Belong Together
Channel: Bravo Africa (DStv 124)
TX Time: 19h00
Genre: Docu-Reality, Music
Get an intimate look at one of music's most beloved couples and how they balance life in the spotlight with the realities of marriage, parenthood and a growing family.
Superstar music couple Nelly and Ashanti open their lives to the world as they rekindle their love after a 10-year separation.
Now married and with a baby, they navigate their different parenting styles and disagreements about where to live.
The series follows the couple as they throw blowout birthday bashes, sing at the World Series and work to blend their new family.
Along the way, they face the challenges of managing thriving careers and parenthood.
Through it all, Nelly and Ashanti learn how to pick their battles and make compromises for each other.
Can this unstoppable duo prove that their love truly can conquer all?
Follow for a fun-filled exploration of love's second chances.
In the series premiere, "Break Up 2 Makeup": Nelly and Ashanti reunite after a 10-year separation, now married and with a baby.
Ashanti isn't sure she can leave the baby when she performs across the country.
In the second episode of the double bill, "Work It": Ashanti struggles to balance work and motherhood, as she leaves the baby for the first time to perform at the Motown Christmas Special.
Nelly headlines Atlanta's ONE Musicfest and shares the sacrifices he is making for Ashanti and the new baby.
The series premieres with a double bill this evening. New single episodes follow every Sunday culminating in a two-episode season finale on 11 October.
Make Yourself at Home
Channel: HGTV (DStv 177)
TX Time: 21h00
Genre: Reality
Maddie Moate explores unique homes across the globe that reflect their owners' personalities, passions and philosophies for life.
These visionaries dared to dream, build and live differently - challenging the way we see home.
In the series premiere, "England": Maddie explores three unique and innovative homes in England, and meets the owners who are challenging the way we see home.
She visits a pioneering plant-based house, a shape-shifting self-build and a historic watermill-turned-dwelling.
In the second episode of the weekly double bill, "New England": Maddie explores three wonderful homes in scenic New England.
Featured are a cabin that brought the homeowners closer to Mother Nature, a house that is the keystone to a community and a place that connects three generations to their family history.
Wedding Chefs 2
Channel: SABC1
TX Time: 18h00
Genre: Reality Competition, Reality, Food
Each week an engaged couple gets to choose from three wedding chefs to cater their wedding.
For 10 weeks, the series pits three aspiring wedding chefs each week against each other, in a competition to win the attention and taste buds of a couple on the verge of matrimony.
A wedding happens once, and every couple on the verge of marriage looks forward to the best that they can possibly have - including a delightful culinary experience for their wedding.
Each week, the story of the couple's romance marries food, nervous chefs and the wedding jitters and traditions which come with the diversity that is our country.
The series is now hosted by Sipho "Alphi" Mkhwanazi (replacing Linda Majola).
Alphi will guide an elite group of 21 culinary masters as they battle through a gruelling elimination gauntlet to be crowned The Ultimate Wedding Chef.
This season you can expect a faster, more dramatic "Reality-First" experience, including a Blind Date, culinary surprises and a winner of the Grand Title.
Seen on Safari
Channel: Nat Geo Wild (DStv 182 / StarSat 221)
TX Time: 18h00
Genre: Wildlife, Reality, Clip Show
Wild animals engage in some of the fiercest battles and encounters, providing an unforgettable sight and experience for safari visitors.
The best safari sightings, all in one place. It's as close as you'll get without being there.
Epic encounters, amazing behaviour and fascinating info from an expert guide make this the safari of your life.
The highest rated wildlife encounters are wrapped up in a reality-based game-drive.
Keep your eyes peeled – in the African bush the most unexpected sighting is always just around the corner.
In the series premiere, "Baboons in Charge": Baboons face off with leopards, cheetahs and angry geese.
Lucky escapes and fascinating outcomes make this an action-packed and emotional ride.
In the second episode of the weekly double bill, "Expect the Unexpected": Safari action is unpredictable, unexpected and utterly raw.
Underdogs become heroes as nature's heartbreak can turn breathtaking in an instant.
The Khoekhoe Saga
Channel: eExtra (Openview 105 / StarSat 489 / DStv 195)
TX Time: 17h30
Genre: Documentary Series, History, Afrikaans
Presented by Arendsvlei stars Rehane Abrahams and Jolene Martin, The Khoekhoe Saga chronicles the untold story of the Khoekhoe herders.
The series explores the legacy of the forgotten people of one of South Africa's First Nations.
For many years they were believed to be extinct, wiped out by disease, a myth perpetuated by the colonial powers and the Apartheid regime.
This series uses a modern interpretation of historical records by historians, rock art and excavations from archaeologists to reveal a new narrative.
It's a story of the survival of one of the oldest cultures in the world, which faced an unexpected threat to its way of life in 1652 when the Dutch East India Company set up a refreshment station at the Cape.
The series affords the Khoekhoe herders a platform to tell their story from their perspective.
Rehane Abrahams spends time with descendants of the Hessequas and takes a country-wide journey to trace the trek of the Griquas.
She finally arrives in Kokstad, where she meets descendants of those that made the journey more than a hundred years ago.
Meanwhile, Jolene Martin takes a trip deep into Namaqualand to explore the ancient art of storytelling in Kommagas and meets some interesting characters.
The series traces the origins of the Khoekhoe in Northern Botswana and their distribution all over Southern Africa.
It also explains the difference between the Khoekhoe and the San (Bushmen).
In the series premiere, "Khoekhoe Origin and the Arrival of Colonists": The story of the migration of Khoekhoen herders from Botswana south until they reached the tip of Africa.
Through presenters Rehane Abrahams and Jolene Martin, we look at the route through interviews with historians and anthropologists such as Prof Andrew Smith and Prof Michael De Jongh.
Archaeologists give us proof of the presence of Khoekhoen herders in the Cape, and a migration from Botswana that started 2,000 years ago.
We revisit the arrival of Jan van Riebeeck and his interpreters: Krotoa, Autshumato and Doman.
The Curious Case of... 2
Channel: TLC Entertainment (DStv 135)
TX Time: 21h00
Genre: True Crime, Documentary Series
Featuring legal analyst Beth Karas, The Curious Case of... will dive into some of the most shocking true crime cases and unbelievable scandals.
Led by Karas, with her extensive legal expertise and insight, each story uncovers deceit, greed and manipulation and offers key access to shocking, first-hand accounts - proving the truth is much more chilling than fiction.
Season 2 will feature eight new episodes tackling bizarre, stranger-than-fiction cases filled with twists, turns and shocking revelations through unprecedented first-hand accounts.
The new season ventures even deeper into inconceivably shocking true crime stories that are filled with deception, obsession and the unbelievable.
The show continues to dive into the unique and strange including:
- an unbelievable scandal involving a con-woman who faked multiple illnesses,
- a high school principal obsessed with hypnosis,
- a Tourette's epidemic that took over a small community in upstate New York,
- the criminally twisted,
- a mysterious murder plot,
- and a skincare professional mired in a twisted harassment campaign that lands her in jail.
Led by Karas, each episode will uncover deceit, greed, and manipulation and prove the truth is much stranger than fiction.
In the Season 2 premiere, "Death by Detox?": This episode unpacks Dr. Robert O. Young, a former college tennis star and a descendant of Brigham Young, who lands on the national bestseller list for his ph Miracle book series.
He pushes an alkaline diet, the tentpole of which is an avocado-based green smoothie, that grows in popularity.
Suddenly, Young's business is booming - he's selling books like hot cakes, he creates his own holistic supplements, and his roster of wealthy, high-profile clients grows.
But despite his success and popularity, Young is no Doctor and his "miracle" cure has left broken hearts and devastated families in his wake.