20 Pound Dream
20 Pound Dream, the new movie from TED fellow, CLAM magazine founder, and Relentless director Andy Amadi Okoroafor, is now streaming first on Showmax.
Africa Movie Academy Award winner Gideon Okeke (BBNaija, Tinsel, Relentless) stars as Kene, who owns a kung fu studio in Nnewi. He is a disappointment to his family, who want him to help his father run the trading and manufacturing business he founded on a 20-pound dream after the Biafran War.
Kene’s lover, Nnenna (Chioma Idigo from Halita), convinces him to take a job as a police department informant at the other end of the world: Yokohama, Japan. The Afro-Chinese triad is making inroads into the ports there, so the police need a fresh face who has never been to Japan before, someone they can mould discreetly into their force as a ghost to the community.
In Yokohama, Kene is lost, badly informed and ill-prepared for what he needs to do as an informant. He is also soon torn between his long-distance relationship with Nnenna and the possibility of a new life with Mio (Tomoko Hayakawa) in Yokohama. His police work and its bloody consequences will take him to the darkest part of himself and back home to Nnewi for revenge.
“It’s a film about self-discovery, destiny, choice and how family can be the catalyst for the good and the bad that eventually happens to us,” says Andy. “Kene’s life and dreams are far away from the 20 pound dream his father and uncle restarted their lives with after the Biafran war, but, as we will discover, everything is tied to that dream.”
Shot on two continents, in Yokohama, Enugu, Nnewi, Onitsha, and Awka, the arthouse drama also stars Africa Movie Academy Award nominees Obi Okoli (Men on Hard Way), Tina Mba (The Set Up, Isoken), and Swanky JK (Living in Bondage); Senegalese-born Cesar nominee Aïssa Maïga (The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, The African Doctor); and Japanese cast Kenjiro Otani and Shinsho Nakamaru.
Other Nollywood titles to look out for include Rant Queens and Annie which are now showing from, A Couple Temptations out December 12, Miz Behaviour from December 13, Too Old For This December 19, Deep Cover December 20, Unknown Ghost December 26 and Her Match December 27.
These movies all come to Showmax express after they air on Africa Magic, so you can stream them online or watch them on your phone.
Africa Magic Yoruba
Fans of Yoruba movies can catch some of the biggest actors including Odunlade Adekola, Wumi Toriola, Bimpe Oyebade, Kemi Afolabi and more.
There’s a new movie every weeknight at 19:00, blockbusters including Torera, Omo Williams, Kumapayi, Wasted, Imisi, Irele, Lucifer, Iran Meta and Eji Owura every Saturday at 19:00 and Sunday at 19:30, plus episodes of Battleground every day of the week at 18:00. And don’t miss Mr and Mrs Kogeregbe from 18 December at 11:05 every weekday.
International series
POWER BOOK II: GHOST | Now streaming
Watch the trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XkTP1QTRWDA
Ghost St Patrick and his endless tricks kept Nigerians thrilled for six seasons (all available for binging on Showmax) and now the adventure continues in Power Book II: Ghost which picks up right after the earth-shattering events of season six.
The show centres around Tariq St Patrick (BET Award nominee Michael Rainey Jr.) as he grapples with a new world order: his father dead and his mother, Tasha, facing charges for the murder her son committed.
Last time we saw Nigerian-American, Rotimi who plays drug dealer Andre Coleman on the show, his cell was getting razed in season six, it however remains to be seen if he’ll be making cameo appearances in Power Book II: Ghost.
Executive produced by Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson (who also produced Power and For Life), Power Book II: Ghost has already been renewed for a second season.
FOR LIFE S1 | Now Streaming
Watch the trailer: https://youtu.be/y_Y1r8yfB9M
For Life was nominated as Outstanding Drama at the 2020 Black Reel Awards, where star Nicholas Pinnock was nominated for Best Actor for his performance as a prisoner who becomes a lawyer in jail and fights to overturn his life sentence for a crime he didn’t commit.
Executive produced by Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson (Power), For Life has an 86% critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes, where the critics’ consensus says, “Guided by Nicholas Pinnock’s powerful performance, For Life eschews procedural pitfalls with a sturdy, empathetic script and an impressive ensemble to bring it to life.”
The cast includes Indira Varma (Game of Thrones, Rome), Black Reel nominee Joy Bryant (Antwone Fisher, Parenthood), and MTV Movie Award nominee Mary Stuart Masterson (Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Blindspot).
THE BOLD TYPE S4 | First on Showmax | Now Streaming
Watch the trailer: https://youtu.be/hfkQ_lnKZtk
The Bold Type follows the lives and loves of three young women who work at a fashion magazine. Beneath the glam, this forthright millennial-favourite drama series is a story of real friends sticking together, working their butts off and finding their way in the world as young adults.
Aisha Dee, Katie Stevens and Meghann Fahy have all been nominated for Teen Choice Awards as besties Kat, Jane, and Sutton respectively. Emmy nominee Melora Hardin (The Office) plays Scarlett’s former editor Jacqueline.
The third season ended on a bombshell, so we can’t wait to see how the women pick up the pieces.
The Bold Type has a 95% critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes, an 8/10 score on IMDb, and has been nominated for seven Teen Choice Awards, including three for Best Summer TV Show, two Best TV Actor noms for Dee, and one each for Fahy and Stevens. Glamour calls The Bold Type “one of the most delightful shows on TV,” while The New Yorker says it’s “a show to warm a jaded heart.”
THE GOOD FIGHT S4| Now streaming
Watch the trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38hG2Xu43iQ
Diane Lockhart (Christine Baranski in an Emmy-nominated role) and Lucca Quinn (Cush Jumbo in a Critics’ Choice nominated role) continue the fight for justice in The Good Wife spin-off series, The Good Fight.
Season 4 finds Reddick/Boseman/Lockhart navigating a very different landscape. After they lost their biggest client and their founding partner’s name was tarnished, they were forced to accept an offer by a huge multinational law firm, STR Laurie, to be a small subsidiary. Suddenly all of their decisions can be second-guessed by the giant firm that is literally on top of them.
Nigerian-American actor, Nyambi Nyambi who plays investigator Jay DiPersia also makes a return in season 4 helping Diane with the mysterious Memo 618.
Nominated for Outstanding Drama at the 2020 Television Critics’ Association Awards, the seven-episode fourth season has a 100% critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
What else is streaming?
There’s also Season 1 of Council of Dads, starring Sarah Wayne Callies (The Walking Dead, Prison Break), A Million Little Things S2, which centres around the lives of a group of carefree friends from Boston and the change they deal with when one of them shockingly dies.
Steve Harvey’s Funderdome is a combination of classic ‘thunderdome’ styled games and fundraising.
The Affair (all seasons) follows a struggling novelist and a young waitress who strike up an extramarital relationship and miniseries, and The Third Day starring Jude Law (The Young Pope) and Naomi Harris (Skyfall) chronicles the individual journeys of a man and woman who arrive on a mysterious island at different times.
Best of Africa
LEBO M – COMING HOME | Showmax Original | First 5 episodes now streaming
Watch the trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-66IYorTY1I
Grammy-award winning South African composer best known for his work on The Lion King, Lebo M is the star of Showmax reality series, Lebo M – Coming Home which will be streaming through December.
The 10-part series promises fans a front-row seat to his career as he creates new music with the likes of Zahara, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Judith Sephuma, and his daughter Refi, but it also turns the spotlight onto his biggest dream: bringing his family together.
The show highlights stories of his life including how he got his musical break as a nine-year-old, his memories of the 1976 Soweto uprising, his “accidental” exile in Lesotho as a teenager, his time living on the streets in the USA, and how he’s stayed clean since overcoming his alcohol addiction. Plus, insider stories from his legendary career. The first five episodes are out, with more dropping on 9 and 15 December.
Live Sport
English Premier League | Weekends
As usual, catch some of Nigeria’s biggest football exports including Alex Iwobi and Kelechi Iheanacho as they bring on the heat alongside their teammates in the English Premier League. Stream Premier League matches live on the Showmax Pro plan every weekend.
Also, stream the biggest Nigerian local channels including NTAi, Channels and Silverbird television live on Showmax.
