From fresh episodes of I Am LAYCON dropping to the return of Nigerian Idols, reality TV is big on Showmax in the month of March.
On the international front, look out for exciting new shows like Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist, new seasons of Superstore, and the Gabrielle Union and Jessica Alba-led police procedural drama, LA’s Finest, amongst others.
Here are all the exciting shows coming to Showmax this month.
LOCAL CONTENT
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I Am LAYCON / Now showing
The first 5 episodes of I Am LAYCON broke streaming records for Showmax, recording the most first-day views for a Nigerian show on the platform, beating out the likes of Mercy & Ike and Big Brother Naija.
Now, the drama continues as fresh episodes of the show hit the screens this March. Join Big Brother Naija season 5 winner Laycon and friends as they navigate new found fame while trying to earn a place for him on the global music stage.
Nigerian Idol | March 28th
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Music reality show Nigerian Idols is back with a bang, with media personality IK Osakioduwa as host, and creative entrepreneur Obi Asika, multiple award-winning artiste Seyi Shay and DJ Sose as judges. Who will walk away with the grand prize package worth 50 million naira?
The show kicks off on March 14 at 6pm with a special airing of the most memorable and entertaining moments from the audition available for streaming on Showmax. The main episodes will air weekly starting Sunday, March 28 at 7pm.
Nigerian Idol will also air on Africa Magic Showcase, Urban and Family.
BEST OF AFRICA
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Crime & Justice | New episodes every Monday
Kenyan actress Sarah Hassan popped up on the Nigerian radar when she starred opposite Daniel Etim Effiong in the Kenyan-Nigerian romcom, Plan B. Now she’s back as Makena, a Nairobi Metropol Police detective, starring opposite Alfred Munyua (Poacher, The First Grader, Sense8), on Kenya’s first Showmax Original and Showmax’s first co-production with global broadcaster CANAL+.
The pair investigate some of Nairobi’s most shocking crimes, as the show follows one ripped-from-the-headlines case per episode, all the way through to the courtroom verdict.
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Tali’s Baby Diary | Last 6 episodes available March 12th
It’s all laughs in the South African mockumentary, Tali’s Baby Diary, a follow-up to Tali’s Wedding Diary, the first ever Showmax Original that went on to become the most awarded comedy at the 2019 South Africa Film and Television Awards (SAFTAs), taking home five prizes, including Best Comedy.
Tali’s Wedding Diary introduced viewers to Tali Shapiro (Julia Anastasopoulos), aka South Africa’s most famous bridezilla, a self-obsessed Joburg princess who just moved to Cape Town and is filming the build-up to her wedding to her property-agent fiance Darren (Anton Taylor).
Now in Tali’s Baby Diary, an unexpected pregnancy forces Tali into a desperate pivot from Insta-influencer to wholesome momfluencer. Enjoy stunning views of Cape Town as Darren and side-kick, Rael navigate the choppy waters of the city’s property game. But as the nine-month clock ticks down, Tali and the boys are forced to face the bigger questions about life, love and parenthood.
INTERNATIONAL SERIES
Superstore Season 5 | Binge now
There’s more workplace drama and comedy in season five of the Critics Choice Television award-nominated show, Superstore.
Golden Globe winner America Ferrera and her team are back at work at supersized megastore Cloud 9. The fifth season of the ever-popular workplace comedy opens with immigration officers coming for Mateo and the arrival of a robot (named Glen) that’s designed to replace some of the staff.
The fifth season has racked up a 100% critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes. “In terms of laughs per minute and laughs per character, no show comes close to touching Superstore’s large cast,” says Decider. “This is the biggest, funniest cast since The Office, and they are at the height of their power.”
Hightown Season 1 | Binge eps 1-4 from March 12th, eps 5 – 8 from April 9th
Murder mystery Hightown, set in the beautiful but bleak Cape Cod, follows Jackie Quiñones, a hard-partying addict whose journey to sobriety is overshadowed by a murder investigation.
The series is executive produced by multiple-Emmy winner Jerry Bruckheimer, who’s produced everything from the CSI franchise and worldwide reality phenomenon The Amazing Race to the Pirates of the Caribbean movies and Armageddon.
Already renewed for a second season, Hightown stars Teen Choice nominee Monica Raymund (Chicago Fire, The Good Wife) and has an 80% critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with numerous critics praising Monica’s stellar performance. Also look out for Amaury Nolasco (Sucre from Prison Break).
LA’s Finest | Binge now
Gabrielle Union and Jessica Alba are back as Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) detectives in the second season of LA’s Finest, a spin-off of the Bad Boys movies.
Union reprises her Bad Boys 2 role as Marcus’s sister, Sydney “Syd” Burnett which earned her the 2019 Teen Choice Award for Choice Actress: Action in the show.
Syd, an ex-Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) agent is now working for the LAPD where she partners up with Nancy McKenna, a working mom, played by Jessica Alba in a Teen Choice-nominated performance.
LA’s Finest is executive produced by multiple Emmy winner Jerry Bruckheimer (Hightown, CSI).
INTERNATIONAL MOVIES
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Angel Has Fallen | Now Showing
Gerad Butler is unstoppable in the Fallen series and the action continues in Angel Has Fallen – the third instalment in the hit action thriller film series. Butler stars as Secret Service agent Mike Banning, who’s framed for a drone attack on the President of the United States (Morgan Freeman).
The cast includes Jada Pinkett Smith, Lance Reddick (Bosch) and Nick Nolte. The movie was nominated for a 2020 World Stunt Award while Observer calls it “a doom-invoking, cathartic and strangely satisfying head-trip.”
21 Bridges | March 11th
In one of his last roles before his demise, Chadwick Boseman (Black Panther) plays Andre Davis, an NYPD detective who shuts down the island of Manhattan to find two suspected cop killers.
The cast includes J.K. Simmons (Law & Order) and Sienna Miller (American Sniper, GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra) and is produced by Captain America and Avengers: Endgame directors Joe and Anthony Russo. The Observer said of the movie, “There’s a pulpy, comic-book noir to this highly enjoyable thriller.”
Official Secrets | March 18th
Keira Knightley stars as whistleblower Katharine Gun in this docudrama based on a true story. Gun exposed illegal spying operations by the US and British intelligence services ahead of the Iraq War.
Ralph Fiennes co-stars, alongside Matt Smith (The Crown); Matthew Goode (A Discovery of Witches); Indira Varma (Game of Thrones); and BAFTA nominee Rhys Ifans (Notting Hill).
Directed by BAFTA-nominated South African director Gavin Hood (Tsotsi, X-Men Origins: Wolverine), Official Secrets holds an 82% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with widespread praise for both Knightley’s understated performance and Hood’s co-writing and direction. As Financial Times says, “Hood knows how to crank the tension… a certain fury ticks under the story.”
Misbehaviour | March 18th
Keira Knightley also leads this 2020 British comedy-drama based on the true story of the women who disrupted and subverted the 1970 Miss World pageant.
Misbehaviour stars Gugu Mbatha-Raw (Belle), Lesley Manville (The Crown’s next Princess Margaret) and Greg Kinnear (Little Miss Sunshine).
The feelgood flick has an 85% critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes. As Guardian says, you’ll find “a very British sort of wackiness to this bizarre and farcical true story from the annals of pop culture, told here with charm and fun.”
Burden | March 22nd
Oscar-winner Forest Whitaker (The Last King of Scotland, Godfather of Harlem) is an idealistic reverend facing the Ku Klux Klan in the Sundance Audience Award-winning drama, Burden. Based on a true story, Burden also stars Garrett Hedlund (Mudbound) as KKK member Mike Burden, whose journey intersects with the reverend’s, bringing hope for redemption from hatred.
IndieWire said of the film, “Garrett Hedlund’s best performance anchors [a] searing true-life KKK redemption drama”, calling it “a wrenching and real story that’s both universal and eerily timely.”
NON-FICTION
Kobe: Life of A Legend | First on Showmax Pro only, 26 March; other Showmax packages 9 April
Kobe Bryant was one of the greatest basketball players of all time, and even though he is gone, his contribution will be remembered forever. This documentary looks at his beginnings, his impact on the game and his legacy.
