We’re a few days into May already, so let’s not waste any time. Here are our personal highlights from the series and movies coming to streaming service Showmax this month. You can find the full release schedule (subject to change) here.
Series
Of the returnees, fans of local content can indulge in all the drama of reality shows Living the Dream With Somizi Season 5, and the two-part reunion special for The Real Housewives of Durban Season 2. On the scripted front, saucy comedy drama Troukoors is back from 5 May.
Of the international series debut, we’re most excited to catch The Girl from Plainville. This eight-episode miniseries is based on real-life events, and focuses on the unprecedented “texting suicide case,” where teenager Michelle Carter was charged with involuntary manslaughter after encouraging her boyfriend Conrad Roy to kill himself. Elle Fanning, Colton Ryan and Chloë Sevigny star. The Girl from Plainville starts streaming from 23 May.
For intensity of a different kind, there’s five-part The North Water, based on Ian McGuire’s acclaimed 2016 novel. In 1859, a disgraced ex-army surgeon (Jack O’Connell) signs up as ship’s doctor on a whaling expedition to the Arctic. The ill-fated expedition brings the doctor into conflict with a brutal, sociopathic harpooner (another transformative turn from Colin Farrell). Far away from Victorian society, their struggle plays out alongside a harsh battle for survival. Watch The North Water now.
Also on the historical front, there’s Catherine the Great. This four-part HBO miniseries isn’t exactly new – it debuted back in 2019 – but African audiences can finally experience the sumptuous drama that centres on Russia’s most famous female leader. Dame Helen Mirren plays the 18th-century Empress Regnant at the end of her influential, and highly independent, reign. Also starring are Jason Clarke and Rory Kinnear. Stream Catherine the Great in its entirety now.
Also notable series debuts on Showmax in May: divisive Sex in the City sequel And Just Like That (stream it now), and BBC crime drama The Pembrokeshire Murders with Luke Evans (watch now).
Movies
In terms of movies, this May horror fans can catch the first two Conjuring films (from 12 May), inspired by the cases of real-life paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren; while slapstick comedy enthusiasts have the complete National Lampoon Vacation boxset – including National Lampoon’s Vacation (1983), National Lampoon’s European Vacation (1985), National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989), National Lampoon’s Loaded Weapon 1 (1993), National Lampoon’s Vegas Vacation (1997), and Vacation (2015) – to dive into from 23 May.
Meanwhile, if you’ve never got around to witnessing it, Oscar-winning fan favourite Mad Max: Fury Road will be on Showmax from 26 May; and 2021’s Mortal Kombat maaay hit home screens from 30 May. We can’t confirm it’s not the 1995 video game adaptation though.
Anyway, South African sci-fi horror comedy Fried Barry caught our eye last year, and after a successful run on the international film festival circuit, it’s landing on Showmax this month. In Ryan Kruger’s Fried Barry, Barry (Gary Green) is a drug-addled degenerate who has his body taken over by an alien. What follows is a wild joyride through Cape Town. This instant cult classic is the most critically acclaimed South African sci-fi film since District 9, and winner of 17 awards around the world. Watch Fried Barry from 19 May.
Finally, Megan Fox gives the best performance of her career in Till Death, a surprisingly well-received thriller. A woman must fight for her life after she is left handcuffed to her dead husband as part of a sick revenge plot, complicated by the arrival of brutal thieves in search of a diamond stash. Stream Till Death right now.