Innholdsfortegnelse for 12/17/2020 i TV Plus English

Iconic sci-fi captain William Shatner (he played James T Kirk in the ’60s Star Trek TV series and movies) is back on South African screens Friday nights on History (*186) at 21:05 with his paranormal documentary series The UnXplained With William Shatner (2019-now). He’s investigating anything and everything mysterious, from werewolves to Japan’s infamous Suicide Forest, hoping to explain the phenomena and what’s behind it. “The UnXplained deals, obviously, with things that have no explanation. And to go on a bit, we’re surrounded by mystery. You know, life after death being the big one, what started the universe and that kind of thing. Those are the big mysteries,” muses William. “One of the episodes is about premonition. What is premonition? How do people know what might happen in the future?…

Manhunt: Deadly Games Season 2 Tuesdays (from 22 December) M-Net (*101) 21:30 Explosive anthology series Manhunt (2017-now) continues its bomber theme in season 2, tackling the real-life terror attack at 1996’s Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia that left one person dead and 111 injured. But rather than the victims, Manhunt: Deadly Games focuses on the police investigation and hunt for the attacker. And it reveals a worrying trend that we are exposed to daily almost 30 years later. “Fake news as a term is modern, but this police hunt was almost ruined by false information in 1996,” says Carla Gugino (Olivia Crain in horror series The Haunting Of Hill House, 2018). She plays reporter Kathy Scruggs from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution newspaper and adds that “innocent people were impacted by the…

Africa Modern Season 1 Mondays Home Channel (*176) 16:00 It’s always exciting and inspiring to go inside the world of Africa’s rising stars – from fashion and architecture, to décor and technology. In her new series Africa Modern (2020-now), host Ayanda Thabethe (Aliyah in drama series Rockville, 2013-2018) has been chatting to the creatives about their work, inspirations, vision for the future, and their journeys to success. “It’s been clear to see that Africa is no longer waiting for the world or the world’s approval, like we have been in the past. Our creatives aren’t shouting, ‘Look at us!’ – they are simply doing what they know, what they have been taught, and what they do best. And the world is coming to them, the world is coming to Africa.…

Christmas is just around the corner but villainous Jack Mabaso (Vusi Kunene) may not survive long enough to enjoy the festivities. And it’s all thanks to the constant thorn in his side Walter Nkaba (Nimrod Nkosi, host of lifestyle show Breaking New Ground, 2009-now). Shady politician Nkaba has returned in the hopes of grabbing a lucrative nuclear power tender, but Nimrod says that his character can’t do it alone and he turns to the one person who has all the connections. “He needs Jack to set up or find a viable shell company and it’ll be all systems go. They could make billions out of this deal.” CHRIS CROSS With just two days to put together a tender bid, the frenemies get to work. But while they dot their i’s…

Thokozile (Nqobile Sipamla) finds out that sins have a nasty way of biting back. She ordered a hit this year on MaZulu (Leleti Khumalo) for stealing her high school sweetheart Ngcolosi (Tony Kgoroge). “Thokozile had held this grudge that goes back to their school days. She fell pregnant with Ngcolosi’s son Nkululeko (Nkanyiso Mchunu) but had to give the baby up. MaZulu was always the one spreading nasty rumours about Thokozile, who resented MaZulu for that. Their bad blood lasted until now.” As her hatred festered, Thokozile sent Mpanza (Bonginkosi Kulu) to shoot MaZulu in August. But the hit was a miss and Mpanza unknowingly killed Ngcolosi, who in MaZulu’s car. Worryingly for Thokozile, Mpanza returns after realising his mistake. WORST NEWS EVER Mpanza’s revelation that he shot her love…

When childhood trauma is left untreated, a single trigger could send someone over the edge. For years, impassive medical intern Thandekile Zondo (Fanele Luthuli) hid her past hurt. “She has trained her brain to brush her emotions aside. Thandekile is so good at it that everyone describes her as brash and robotic,” explains Fanele. But when Thandekile’s ailing mother MaMkhize (Bongekile Ndaba, who she hasn’t spoken to in a while, arrives at Durban Gen for treatment, the medical star is disorientated. “For the first time, we see Thandekile behave out character. She didn’t expect to see her mother at her workplace, not by a long shot,” adds the actress. Now Thandekile is left with no choice but to face MaMkhize and address their issues that she’s been running from. THE…

Girlpower has stamped its autho rity on the TV world during the year, with the older guard stepping aside for their successors to show off. From drama and comedy series, to reality shows and biographical movies in the WWE ring, Showmax is wowing with talented new women to stream. DANIELLE MACDONALD Australian actress Danielle never let her plus-size shape stand in her way even though she’s been taunted about it since junior school. Instead, she’s used it to drive her ambitions and prove her naysayers wrong. In 2018 dramedy movie Dumplin’, she plays Willowdean Dickson, an overweight teenager who rebels against the establishment by mocking her beauty pageant-winning mother Rosie (Jennifer Aniston, Rachel in comedy series Friends, 1994-2004) by entering a beauty pageant in their small town. It’s not that…

Jane The Virgin Season 1 Saturdays (from 26 December) SABC2 (*192) 20:30 A visit to the gynaecologist for a routine pap smear procedure changes 23-year-old waitress and varsity student Jane Villanueva’s (Gina Rodriguez, Gloria in action movie Miss Bala, 2019) life forever in drama comedy series Jane The Virgin (2014-2019). She is mistakenly artificially inseminated with her wealthy boss and childhood crush Rafael’s (Justin Baldoni, Kevin in 2017 in political drama series Madam Secretary, 2014-2019) specimen and not too long afterwards, she learns that she’s pregnant. “Jane is mortified,” says Gina. For Jane, carrying a married man’s child isn’t the worst bit. It’s that she’s a virgin and she had planned to have sex with her good-guy cop fiancé Michael (Brett Dier, Jacob in romcom film The New Romantic, 2018)…

The Blacklist Season 7 Wednesdays (from 23 December) M-Net (*101) 21:30 The longer that twisty action series The Blacklist (2013-now) has gone on, the deeper and more complex the lies being told by master criminal Redd Reddington (James Spader, Robert from 2011-2012 in comedy show The Office US, 2005-2013). The good news is that know-it-all Redd will be answering some of your questions in the first two episodes of season 7 – he’s still being held hostage by ex-KGB agent Katarina Rostova (Laila Robins, FBI Agent Deakins in drama series Deception, 2018), who’s the mother of Redd’s profiler bestie Liz Keen (Megan Boone, Lauren Stanton in single-season drama series Law & Order: LA, 2010-2011) and he’s in a bad way, tied up and drugged. “The audience is sort of in…

Whenever Thathe’s stubborn Chief Azwindini and his rival Tenda (Gabriel Temudzani and Nat Ramabulana) are in the same room, you can expect fireworks. With Azwindini’s youngest wife Mpho (Azwi Rambuda) pregnant with Tenda’s child, it brings their hatred and intense business rivalry bubbling to the surface again. “Azwindini was initially ecstatic when he found out that Mpho was pregnant as the ancestors told him that he won’t have a child with her, but when he found out it was actually Tenda’s child, he is filled with rage and ready to teach his enemy Tenda a lesson,” admits Gabriel. OVER THE MOON Tenda, of course, is elated that he is going to have a child. “Children means power for a Venda man, and when he finds out he is going to…

As if gangster couple MaNgcobo and Nkunzi (Dawn Thandeka King and Masoja Msiza) haven’t been through enough this past month, they receive an early Christmas surprise from their so-called “reformed” pimp enemy Amos (Bongani Madondo, Sifiso on soap Skeem Saam, 2011-now, see p20). “Amos returns in a wheelchair and with one thought in mind: to settle the score with the family,” warns Bongani. The former pimp has a bone to pick with the Mhlongo couple: the last time viewers and the family saw Amos, he was played by Ernest Msibi (Mohato on telenovela Gomora, 2020-now, see p34), who was shot in both knees by MaNgcobo during their standoff in 2017. Amos is ready for war. With guns blazing, he forcibly takes over Nkunzi and MaNgcobo’s shisanyama while he schemes to…

Christmas in Ruiterbosch is known for the fancy party held at the stately mansion of businesswoman Bridgette October (Denise Newman). “This year, the Daniels boys Ty and Wade (Maurice Paige and Dean John Smith) want something casual. Along with their housemate Justin (Eden Classens) they insist on Lee-Ann (Portia Joel), Bridgette’s sister and Ty’s girlfriend, helping them host a party at their modest home,” says Maurice. The men are excited about the party, but they underestimate the hard work that such an opportunity requires, especially after leaving everything ’til the end. TIME IS TICKING Bridgette is upset when she finds out that the Christmas party won’t be held at her house. “She wants to stop their plan because she thinks it’s a ridiculous idea,” says Maurice. But after Bridgette thinks…

In 2020 animated series Mira Royal Detective, Shanti the Queen Of Jalpur (voiced by Freida Pinto, Vera in 2018 sci-fi series The Path) has appointed bright, observant 12-year-old Mira (voiced by 16-year-old Leela Ladnier, Lilly in 2019 comedy film Boris & The Bomb) as her official Royal Detective. Now Mira is on the case to solve all the court mysteries and the issues plaguing her friends, family and neighbours in the new Disney Junior (*309) animated series, weekdays at 18:00. It’s a tough job but Mira is smart, has a sharp eye for detail, and she has “help” in the form of her two keen mongoose friends. The delightfully colourful mystery adventure series is targeted at children aged 2-7. While they explore the clues to Mira’s cases with her, they…

The country – and some of the world – has been locked down for almost a year like naughty teens who’ve been caught misbehaving thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. If you’re in the mood to revolt like an angsty youngster, streaming platform Showmax is packed full of shows with characters somewhat in your shoes, ready to rebel and fight the good fight. RUNAWAYS SEASONS 1-3 The Marvel comic book adaptation series ran from 2017 to 2019 and follows a group of teenagers who fight back against their evil parents. No jokes – their parents are actual super-villains who’re plotting to take over the world. It’s the perfect show no matter where you fit into the social scheme of things because the Runaways are comprised of a rag-tag mix-’n-match group from…

Lip Sync Battle Live: A Michael Jackson Celebration Monday 28 December SABC1 (*191) 21:00 It’s not every day that four high-profile celebrities come together for any celebration. But they do when light-hearted music reality show Lip Sync Battle (2015-now) calls you. For an hour-long special dedicated to the late King Of Pop Michael Jackson, hosts LL Cool J (Sam Hanna in action show NCIS: LA, 2009-now) and Chrissy Teigen (host of talkshow The FABLife, 2015) invited Neil Patrick Harris (Barney on comedy series How I Met Your Mother, 2005-2014), Laverne Cox (Cameron in single-season legal drama Doubt, 2017), Taraji P Henson (Cookie in music drama series Empire, 2015-2020) and Hailee Steinfeld (Emily in historical drama show Dickson, 2019-now) to not just lip sync to songs by Michael (MJ), but to…

Fanie (Gift Mokhampanyane) is just about a professor when it comes to dodgy deals. He’s always taken shortcuts and found loopholes and he isn’t about to go on the straight and narrow after he is appointed interim manager of Café Rovuwa by owner Lehasa (Cedric Fourie). “He is getting used to being called ‘boss’,” says Gift. “Being manager is a big deal for Fanie. It’s a step toward one day having shares in the café, or even owning it! In fact, if he had the opportunity to own another business, he wouldn’t want to. He wants this specific café.” MAN WITH A PLAN To convince Lehasa that he’s deserving of taking control of the business, Fanie tries to win his boss’s favour by turning the eatery into the hottest place…

It’s no secret that there was no love lost between businessman James (Dingaan Mokebe) and his dead ex-wife Moliehi (Vatiswa Ndara). “Their marriage was never built on love. It was more of a business deal. When James left her for KK’s (Macdonald Ndou) girlfriend Marang (Sharon Seno), hell opened and rained brimstone on James,” Dingaan explains. “Moliehi made his and Marang’s lives a nightmare and James didn’t mince his words to Moliehi. Then she ‘died’ last year (secretly leaving the country), so of course the ex-spouse is a person of interest after she disappeared.” Now a year later, new evidence has emerged connecting James to his ex’s death he is arrested and charged with murder. “James is in total shock as he has never heard or seen this new evidence,”…

It was one thing when roommate besties Mampho and Jamaica (Itumeleng Bokaba and Mzamo Gcabashe) recently discovered that they’re both dating musician Nathi (Phila Madlingozi, Zolile in 2013 on drama series Intersexions, 2010-now). “The besties concluded that they were both going to dump him right away and continue with their lives,” says Itumeleng. But it’s another story when Nathi turns around and suggests that they enter a poly-amorous relationship. If the roomies agree, they’ll both be romantically involved with Nathi. “Mampho and Jamaica are taken aback at first. Before they decide, Nathi ‘allows’ them time to consider his proposal. He’s in no rush as he is emotionally invested in both of them,” adds the actress. Seeing that Mampho and Jamaica are lonely and they’re more than eager to date their…

If there’s one family who know about the hard life on TV, it’s the Peter-sons. It’s been a very difficult year for them after moving into Hillside in December 2019 after losing their home and possessions in their hometown of George in the Eastern Cape. They slept in their car for a while because Marvin (Duncan Johnson) and Ivy (Nazli George) were too proud to tell their son Romeo (Clint Aplon), who was already living in Hillside, what really happened. The Peterson parents were also dealing with their young twins Eddie and Vee (El-Kody Langeveldt and Zoey Volkwyn) being taken by social services. “They had to prove they could take care of the children,” Nazli explains of her character trying to find her feet. Ivy got a job at the…