After a one-week break, The Wife is back this Thursday, 17 February 2022, as Season 2 kicks off on Showmax, with Khanyi Mbau (Unmarried, Happiness Is A Four-Letter Word) and Mondli Makhoba (Umkhokha) stepping up into the lead roles as Zandile and Nkosana.  

Zandile had already served 10 years in jail for the murder of her mother when the love of her life, Nkosana, finally broke her out of jail at the end of Season 1. Being on the outside is a big adjustment, but not as big a challenge as winning back her children’s love, rebuilding her marriage, and establishing herself as matriarch in a crime family where another woman, Hlomu (Mbalenhle Mavimbela), has been calling the shots in her absence.

Today’s trailer also gives us a first glimpse of International Emmy nominee Lerato Mvelase (Home Affairs, the Oscar-shortlisted Life, Above All), who joins the cast this season, in good company with Bonko Khoza as South Africa’s disgraced national husband, Mqhele; Abdul Khoza and Zikhona Sodlaka as Nqoba and Mandisa; Kwenzo Ngcobo as Qhawe; and Sipho Ndlovu as Sambulo. 

Produced by Stained Glass, Season 1 of The Wife opened to rave reviews in November 2021, becoming the most watched launch on Showmax ever. The show trended at the top of Twitter every Thursday during its run, for 13 consecutive weeks. 

The Wife is inspired by the bestselling books by Dudu Busani-Dube, which tell the story of the eight Zulu brothers, a formidable crime family, through the eyes of the wives they marry. Season 1 was inspired by Hlomu The Wife; Season 2 by Zandile The Resolute. 

We caught up with Khanyi to find out more: 

Which Zulu brother do you think has the best swagger?

Well, I don’t know. The only Zulu brother I’m exposed to is Nkosana. So I have to be biased and say it’s him. It’s the voice, man. Have you heard that guy’s voice?

How’s the chemistry between Zandile and Nkosana?

I’m happy that Season 2 comes out in February, which is the Month of Love, because they have such a beautiful love story. They serve couple goals from the get go, even in prison.

For the viewer, one thing they’ll truly enjoy is their language. Nkosana is very poetic, how he uses his words, and how he relays love to her. Nkosana makes the Zulu language so romantic; he makes it sound like French. 

How easy was it to see yourself in Zandile? 

Out of all characters that I’ve ever played, Zandile is the most complex one. She challenges me. 

She is not an open book; I am still in the process of trying to find who she is. She’s very cold and detached and disconnected from reality. She doesn’t cry. She speaks with the same tone. She never lifts her voice. So she frustrates me and she is going to frustrate the viewers, to the extent of almost disowning her because she seems indecisive and manipulative. 

You can never pinpoint what she’s going to wake up like the next day. I think even her husband struggles with that. 

But she has one thing about her that I like: she loves deeply, which is something that she has in common with her husband. 

How would you describe your character’s fashion style? 

One thing about Zandile: she can dress. She would rather starve but look nice. 

Do you think Khanyi and Zandile would be friends?

They’d be friends. They would probably shop together, because as Khanyi, I see why I played the part. It’s my look.

If there was something that you personally, theoretically speaking, would be in jail for, what would that be?

My daughter. If I had to go to prison, it would be me protecting my daughter. If you really want to test me, go there…

What’s your favourite flavour of ice cream?

I don’t eat dairy. I don’t know how Mqhele does it. Doesn’t he fart?

Watch the Season 1 critics trailer: 
https://youtu.be/IbFhUFOUiHo

Binge the first episodes of The Wife S2 on Showmax on Thursday, 17 February 2022, with new episodes added weekly. The 40-episode first season is also available to binge.

EUPHORIA S2 | Binge eps 1-4 now; new episodes every Monday  Euphoria topped multiple “the most anticipated shows of 2022” lists, from Complex to Esquire, Mashableto Polygon, as well as IMDb‘s Most Popular TV Shows list last month.  Sam Levinson’s ground-breaking, adults-only hit series stars Zendaya (Chani in Dune, and MJ in the Tom Holland Spider-Man movies) as teen addict Rue. Her performance made her the youngest ever actress to win an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series, not to mention the People’s Choice Award for Favourite Drama TV Star, among other accolades. Trans superstar Hunter Schafer and 2021 AP Breakthrough Entertainer Sydney Sweeney (The White Lotus) lead the impressive supporting cast. Season 2 has an 82% critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes, where the critics’ consensus hails it as “as wilfully provocative as ever.” As Mashable says, “Euphoria grows up in smart, spectacular Season 2… Triumphant… Stupefyingly bold… Euphoria’s intoxicating blend of striking music, visuals, and supercharged feeling makes for a dream-like watch… Zendaya is at a career-best with a performance so dazzling they might as well engrave her trophies now… An electrifying ride you won’t want to wait for.”

RAISED BY WOLVES S2 | Binge 3 episodes from 4 February; new episodes every Friday
Season 2 of the biggest series ever filmed in Cape Town sees android partners Mother (Danish actress Amanda Collin) and Father (BAFTA nominee Abubakar Salim), with their brood of six human children, join a newly formed atheistic colony in Kepler 22 b’s mysterious tropical zone. But navigating this strange new society is only the start of their troubles as Mother’s “natural child” threatens to drive what little remains of the human race to extinction.
Season 1 was one of Showmax’s 10 Most-Watched of 2021 and was nominated for three Critics’ Choice Super Awards: Best Science Fiction/Fantasy Series, Best Actor: Sci-Fi (Vikings’ Ragnar, Travis Fimmel) and Best Actress: Sci-Fi (Collin), as well as Emmy, Writers Guild of America and Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films awards.
Season 2 has a 100% critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Inverse calls Raised by Wolves “Ridley Scott’s best sci-fi since Alien” and Decider hails it as “the most exciting sci-fi show since Battlestar Galactica.”
Look out for South African star Kim Engelbrecht (Reyka) as Decima this season.

DEXTER: NEW BLOOD | Binge now
In his old life, Dexter Morgan was a Miami forensics expert, spending his days solving crimes, and nights committing them. Torn between his deadly compulsion and his desire for true happiness, Dexter is a man in profound conflict with the world and himself.
Set 10 years after Dexter went missing in the eye of Hurricane Laura, Dexter: New Blood finds everyone’s favourite serial killer living under an assumed name in the small town of Iron Lake, New York. Dexter may be embracing his new life, but in the wake of unexpected events in this close-knit community, his Dark Passenger beckons… The original Dexter won a People’s Choice Award as Favourite TV Obsession and four Emmys, including Best Director, with Michael C Hall nominated as Best Actor in a Drama five times in a row. Hall also won Screen Actors Guild and Golden Globe awards. All eight seasons are available to binge on Showmax. Dexter: New Blood has an 8.4/10 rating on IMDb. As The Wrap says, “Hall, as the ultimate good bad guy, is as riveting to watch as ever.”

THE GOOD FIGHT S5 | Binge now
In the fifth season of the cult legal drama The Good Fight, Diane (Christine Baranski in an Emmy-nominated role) questions whether it’s appropriate for her to help run an African American law firm with Liz (Audra McDonald in a Critics’ Choice-nominated role), after the firm loses two top lawyers. Meanwhile, Marissa (multi-award-winner Sarah Steele) and the firm become entangled with Hal Wackner (Emmy winner Mandy Patinkin from Homeland), a regular Chicagoan who decides to open his own courtroom in the back of a copy shop.
Baranski, McDonald and Patinkin are all nominated for their roles at the 2022 Critics’ Choice Awards, where the show is up for Best Drama. Baranski was also up for Best Actress in a Drama at the 2022 Golden Globes, while The Good Wife was nominated for a 2022 NAACP (The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) Image Award for Best Writing. 
A much funnier spinoff from The Good Wife, The Good Fight has a 91% critics’ rating for Season 5 on Rotten Tomatoes, where the consensus says, “The Good Fight‘s fifth season continues to confront challenging current events with its singularly absurd style.”

BROOKLYN NINE-NINE S8 | Binge now
If you’ve been sleeping on one of the best comedies on TV, Brooklyn Nine-Nine follows the exploits of the hilarious Detective Jake Peralta (Emmy winner Andy Samberg from Palm Springs) and his diverse, lovable colleagues as they police the NYPD’s 99th Precinct. 
The eighth and final series of the Emmy-winning cop comedy series was nominated as The Comedy Show of 2021 at the People’s Choice Awards, where Samberg was also up for The Comedy TV Star of 2021. 
Season 8 has an 89% critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes, where the critics’ consensus says, “Brooklyn Nine-Nine faces big topics with poise in a fittingly complicated final season that attempts to meet the moment without losing its sense of humour.”

TRANSPLANT S1 | Binge now
Transplant centres on Bashir “Bash” Hamed (Hamza Haq from This Life), a refugee of the Syrian Civil War who’s trying to rebuild his career as a doctor in the ER unit at the fictional York Memorial Hospital in Toronto.
The medical drama’s cast includes BAFTA nominees John Hannah (The Victim, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) and Ayisha Issa (12 Monkeys), a former Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu World Champion. 
Wall Street Journal calls Transplant “the best medical show on American television”, with Globe and Mailpraising its depiction of the “terror and frustrations that immigrants experience, trying to use their skills in a new country”, and Haq’s performance as “a solid leading man, giving Bashir a frazzled soulfulness, but never making him saintly.” 
Already renewed for a second season, the hit series won four 2021 Canadian Screen Awards – Best Dramatic Series, Best Lead Actor in a Drama Series (Haq), and Best Direction and Best Writing in a Dramatic Series for multi-award-winners Holly Dale (Dexter, The Americans) and series creator Joseph Kay (This Life) respectively. 

4400 | Binge now
Over the past hundred years, 4400 overlooked, undervalued, or otherwise marginalised people vanished without a trace. Now they’ve all been returned in an instant, having not aged a day and with no memory of what happened to them.
A reboot of the Emmy-nominated 2004 hit series, 4400 has a 82% critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with Decider saying, “All of what made The 4400 a cult hit back in the 00s is at play in this remake… but with a twist: A mostly Black cast and undertones of racial inequality driving the mystery.”

B POSITIVE | Binge now
B Positive revolves around Drew (Emmy nominee Thomas Middleditch from Silicon Valley), a therapist and newly divorced dad. He needs a kidney donor when he runs into Gina (Annaleigh Ashford), a rough-around-the-edges woman from his past who volunteers her own. Together, they form an unlikely and life-affirming friendship as they begin a journey that will forever impact both of their lives.
Season 1 was nominated for two 2021 Emmys, including Outstanding Directing for A Comedy Series, and has an 85% critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes, where the critics’ consensus says, “B Positive‘s familiar sitcom trappings are elevated by its charming cast – especially the weird and winsome comedic stylings of Tony winner Annaleigh Ashford.”
B Positive is from award-winning executive producer, writer and creator Chuck Lorre (The Big Bang Theory) and Marco Pennette (Ugly Betty). 

C.B. STRIKE: LETHAL WHITE | Binge now
Based on the best-selling novel by Robert Galbraith (aka J.K. Rowling), C.B. Strike: Lethal White stars Tom Burke (Orson Welles in Mank) as private detective Cormoran Strike, a former Special Investigation Branch investigator and war veteran. 
Together with his assistant, Robin Ellacott (Critics’ Choice nominee Holliday Grainger from The Capture), Cormoran tackles cases that have, so far, baffled the police. 
C.B. Strike has an 82% critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes. As John Doyle wrote in The Globe and Mail,“Heavens, what a love story, with a tangled mystery thrown in. Readers, I was smitten. What a great diversion.”

A.P. BIO S4 | Binge now
When Harvard professor Jack Griffin (Glenn Howerton from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia) fails to get his dream job, he reluctantly moves back to Ohio to work as a high school Advanced Placement Biology teacher, but he makes one thing clear—he will not be teaching one bit of biology. With a room full of honour roll students at his disposal, he uses the kids for his own benefit while Principal Durbin (Emmy winner Patton Oswalt) struggles to control the force of nature that is Jack Griffin.
Emmy-winning SNL writer and Mapleworth Murders actress Paula Pell, who Salon.com calls the “scene-stealing… queen of comedy”, returns as certifiable school secretary Helen, and horror-comedy legend Bruce Campbell (Ash vs Evil Dead) puts in a cameo this season as Jack’s dad.   A.P. Bio holds an 88% critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with Decider calling it “one of the flat-out funniest shows on television…”

ARE YOU AFRAID OF THE DARK S2: CURSE OF THE SHADOWS | Binge now
The Midnight Society returns with a new set of storytellers, and a terrifying new tale about a cursed seaside town that’s being haunted by a mysterious figure named the Shadowman.
Nominated for a 2020 Fangoria Chainsaw Award for Best Series, the hit Nickelodeon show has a 100% critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Common Sense Media gives it five stars, recommending the series for ages 11+ and calling it, “Shivery, quivery fun for tweens and teens who like scares,” saying, “Most of what scares here is the power of suggestion… [but] the scares are real.” This season’s cast includes Bryce Gheisar (The Astronauts, Wonder), Malia Baker (The Baby-Sitters Club), Joey Award winner Beatrice Kitsos (Child’s Play) and Miranda Edwards (Snowpiercer, The Magicians, Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency).

JOHN WAYNE GACY: DEVIL IN DISGUISE | Binge from 4 February
John Wayne Gacy: Devil In Disguise follows the chilling story of one of the world’s most notorious serial killers, as told through the words of Gacy himself, those who were forever changed by his unspeakable deeds, and those who believe that the full truth remains concealed to this day.
Directed by Emmy-nominated producer Rod Blackhurst (Amanda Knox, Welcome to Earth), this six-part documentary series details the case that shook the world, drawing on a multi-hour death-row interview with Gacy himself, most of which has never been seen before, along with exclusive audio and video interviews. Almost 50 years after the crimes took place, new questions are emerging about what really happened, and who else may have played a part in the deaths of Gacy’s 33 victims.
The true crime docuseries has a 100% critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with AV Club saying, “John Wayne Gacy is dead, and Devil In Disguise is correct in that whatever is left to say about him isn’t a horror story about an evil criminal mastermind, but a cautionary tale of a serial predator who went unpunished because he looked and acted like the men who were supposed to stop him.”

RECENT AWARDS FOR SHOWMAX CONTENTIn January 2022, Showmax content featured prominently at The Golden Globes, with Successionwinning Best Drama, Best Actor (Jeremy Strong), and Best Supporting Actress (Sarah Snook); Hacksnamed Best Comedy or Musical and Best Actress (Jean Smart); and Mare of Easttown taking home Best Actress: Limited Series (Kate Winslet).
Perhaps more importantly, Showmax content also shone at Rotten Tomatoes‘ Golden Tomato Awards, where Mare of Easttown was named the best drama series of 2021, with Succession in second place.Hacks was named the second best comedy series and new series of 2021; What We Do In The Shadowsthe fourth best returning series and Insecure the seventh; Resident Alien the fourth best sci-fi and fantasy series; Chucky the fifth best horror series and The Stand the ninth; and The Crime of the Century the sixth best docuseries.

EVERYTHING ON SHOWMAX IN FEBRUARY 2022To see everything on Showmax in February 2022, including the Showmax Originals The Wife S2 and Sex in Afrikaans, the critically acclaimed Showmax film Glasshouse, the Oscar-winning Judas and the Black Messiah, and the family blockbuster Tom & Jerry, click here. Please note this release schedule is subject to change. 

https://youtu.be/JdwZwrs8Qt0

• Euphoria topped multiple “the most anticipated shows of 2022” lists, from Complex to Esquire, Mashable to Polygon

• “Euphoria grows up in smart, spectacular Season 2… Triumphant… Stupefyingly bold… Euphoria’s intoxicating blend of striking music, visuals, and supercharged feeling makes for a dream-like watch… Zendaya is at a career-best with a performance so dazzling they might as well engrave her trophies now… An electrifying ride you won’t want to wait for.” Mashable

• Winner of three Emmys: Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series (Zendaya), Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics, and Outstanding Contemporary Makeup

• Zendaya also won the 2019 People’s Choice Award for Favorite Drama TV Star and the 2020 Black Reel Award for Outstanding Actress, Drama Series

• The two-part 2019-2020 Euphoria special was nominated for a Peabody Award and three 2021 Emmys, for Cinematography, Make-up and Costume 

Euphoria topped multiple “the most anticipated shows of 2022” lists, from Complex to Esquire, Mashable to Polygon. Now the first episode of its long-awaited second season is streaming on Showmax, with new episodes coming express from the US every Monday. 

Sam Levinson’s ground-breaking adults-only hit series stars Zendaya (Chani in Dune, and MJ in the Tom Holland Spider-Manmovies) as teenage addict Rue, trying to find hope while balancing the pressures of love, loss and addiction.

It’s been two years since Season 1 concluded, and the mid-pandemic 2020/21 two-part special only made us miss it more, so it’s no surprise that the Season 2 trailer hit over 1 million views on YouTube within 12 hours when it dropped at the end of November last year. 

Euphoria isn’t for everyone, and Season 2 looks set to be as controversial as the first. But the fans are, well, euphoric. As Mashable says, “Euphoria grows up in smart, spectacular Season 2… Triumphant… Stupefyingly bold… Euphoria‘s intoxicating blend of striking music, visuals, and supercharged feeling makes for a dream-like watch… Zendaya is at a career-best with a performance so dazzling they might as well engrave her trophies now… An electrifying ride you won’t want to wait for.”
In addition to her 2020 Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series (which saw her breaking the record for the youngest ever actress to scoop the title), Zendaya also won the 2019 People’s Choice Award for Favorite Drama TV Star and a 2020 Black Reel Award for the role. 

Euphoria also won 2020 Emmys for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics and for Contemporary Makeup, while the two-part special bridging the pandemic-enforced gap between seasons was nominated for a Peabody Award and three 2021 Emmys, for Cinematography, Make-up and Costume.  Euphoria’s cast list reads like a who’s-who of rising young stars, and all our favourites are back this season, a little older, but not always wiser. Returning faces include trans superstar Hunter Schafer as Jules and 2021 AP Breakthrough Entertainer Sydney Sweeney (TheWhite Lotus), along with Black Reel nominee Algee Smith (Judas and the Black Messiah), Teen Choice nominee Storm Reid (The Invisible Man), Jacob Elordi (The Kissing Booth), Alexa Demie (Waves), Barbie Ferreira (Unpregnantand the upcoming Jordan Peele horror Nope), Austin Abrams (This Is Us, Paper Towns), Judd Apatow’s daughter Maude Apatow (The King of Staten Island), and People’s Choice Award nominee Eric Dane (Grey’s Anatomy). 

They’ve all been super careful to avoid spoilers of any kind ahead of the Season 2 launch, with most interviews devolving into a series of awkward “um”s as they dodged reveals of any kind. But we do know that there’s at least one love triangle on the cards this season, with singer-songwriter Dominic Fike coming in to further complicate things for Rue and Jules. 

The news initially upset both fans and the cast: “When Sam (Levinson) first kind of talked about the idea of this Elliot character, I wasn’t feeling it — as someone who ships ‘Rules’ to the bitter end,” Zendaya told Variety. “But, in retrospect, and also as someone who understands where the show needs to go and what needs to happen for these characters, it’s crucial that Elliot exist… [he’s] the catalyst for a lot of things that just have to happen.”

Which probably means, for those of us who’ve been hoping against all common sense for a magical happy ending for Rue and Jules, that there’s a rough rollercoaster of a season ahead. 
“While they are getting thrown back into the same spaces at the same parties, and reintroducing themselves to each other …, not everything that they were dealing with in Season 1 is resolved by any means,” Hunter told extratv. “They were emotionally elusive to each other in Season 1 and I think that, until it’s directly addressed between the two and they actually talk about their f***ing relationship, it’s probably going to stick around for a little bit. Which is… sticky, and tough.”
“No matter how hard life was, it got harder, and more complicated,” Rue warned us in a recent TV spot for Season 2. 

“I think all Rue is really searching for is a little bit of peace, a little bit of happiness, a little bit of consistency and stability,” Zendaya told extratv, “…[not just] in her life, but inside her own head. That’s something that she’s constantly trying to self-medicate… I think, when we’re heading into this second season, she’s trying to be a functioning drug addict… And I think we all know that’s not going to work, and it’s not going to last, and it’s probably going to come to a very painful end. But that’s something that she has to find and learn on her own, no matter how painful it is to have to watch her deal with. But I do want to maintain this sense of hope for her and for her future and for the things that she deserves in her life. She is worthy of a beautiful, beautiful future; I think she just has to feel that.”

Watch Euphoria first on Showmax and catch up on the two-part Euphoria special here.