As spilt by TVSA in August, FOX Life launches on DStv and StarSat soon. It was originally scheduled to launch in September but was pushed back a month and now both DStv and StarSat have confirmed that it goes live at 18h00 on Monday, 3 October.
It replaces FOX Crime on DStv on channel 126 and will be available on the Premium, Extra, Compact, Family and Access bouquets.
It's also going to replace FOX Crime on Starsat but there's not a word about what channel number it will be on. StarSat has been 100% silent on what's happening with it. We'll keep you posted once they work out what's going on.
As for what to expect from it... here's an overview of the primetime schedule for a week of Monday to Friday to give you a perspective on the shows.
MONDAYS
Grey's Anatomy 9
On: Mondays to Fridays at 17h00 from
Tuesday, 4 October 2016.
(It starts airing on Mondays from the channel's second week on air)
The season begins with the doctors of Seattle Grace facing the consequences of the plane crash that ended Season 8.
Blood Ties
On: Mondays to Fridays at 18h00 from Monday, 3 October 2016
(The first show to air on the channel when it goes live at 18h00).
A dubbed Portuguese telenovela about two young girls who are swept downriver by a current. Their father manages to save Inês, the older sister but dies trying to save the younger one whose body never comes ashore. Many years later, the “dead” sister comes back to life on a revenge mission.
She promises herself that she'll take everything away from her sister (from her material goods, to her boyfriend) and live the life that she believes her sister stole from her.
#TwistedSister
Black Money Love
On: Mondays to Fridays at 19h00 from Monday, 3 October 2016
A dubbed Turkish telenovela about devoted police officer Omer Demir and wealthy jewelery maker Elif Denizer whose lives entangle in an illegal scheme after both their beloved relatives are found dead together.
On Elif's birthday, her father is found shot alongside a woman who was Omer's fiancée. They were both shot in the head. Once Omer finds out, he is determined to find the murderer. He meets Elif and soon after, they both fall in love. He finds out that his own brother is the murderer, and was given orders by Elif's father's closest friend Tayar.
Real Housewives of Atlanta Season 1
On: Mondays and Tuesdays at 20h00 from Monday, 3 October 2016
The Atlanta housewives live their outrageous lives in Georgia's capital city in this incarnation of the reality franchise. Relationships, a staple of the "Real Housewives" shows, take centre stage as usual as the ladies' love lives experience ups and downs. The women's entrepreneurial spirits are also in full bloom as they juggle their personal and professional lives, along with their busy personal calendars.
Pitch
On: Mondays at 21h00 from Monday, 3 October 2016
Repeats on: Wednesdays at 22h00
A drama about a young pitcher who becomes the first woman to play Major League Baseball.
Playing in the major leagues is a goal hard enough for anyone to achieve - except this player is also a woman, who happens to be the most important historical figure in sports since Jackie Robinson.
Beautiful, tough and gifted athlete, Ginny Baker (Kylie Bunbury of Under the Dome) is vaulted into instant fame when she’s called up by the San Diego Padres to make her Major League debut.
Like any rookie, Ginny must prove herself to her teammates. Foremost among them is Mike Lawson (Mark-Paul Gosselaar - Franklin & Bash, NYPD Blue), the team’s ruggedly handsome star catcher. There’s instant chemistry between them, although neither dares to admit it because of his status on the team and the fact that a few of his players don’t even want Ginny on the field.
One of the players watching Ginny’s back is centre fielder Blip Sanders (Mo McRae of Sons of Anarchy), an old friend from the minor leagues, and his wife Evelyn (Meagan Holder - You Again, Bring it On: Fight to the Finish).
Guiding her is her agent/confidante, Amelia Slater (Ali Larter - Legends, Heroes). Amelia saw Ginny’s star potential early on and left her previous job as a Hollywood publicist to concentrate on the young phenom, bringing along her young assistant Eliot (Tim Jo - The Neighbors).
Although groomed for this moment by her demanding father, Bill Baker (Michael Beach - Sons of Anarchy), the end of Ginny’s improbable journey is the beginning of an almost impossible one: representing her gender as she embarks on a successful baseball career under the glare of the white-hot media spotlight.
Empire First Look
On: Monday, 3 October 2016 at 22h00
A behind-the-scenes look at the phenomenon of Empire with a preview of Season 1.
Empire: The SA Tour
On: Monday, 3 October 2016 at 22h30
A screening of the lead stars Taraji P. Henson and Terrence Howard’s visit to South Africa to promote the show’s third season.
TUESDAYS
Maliposa
On: Tuesdays at 21h00 from Tuesday, 4 October 2016
Repeats: Fridays at 22h40
A Zambian drama that deals with the story of a family in which woman are brutalised and exposed to gender discrimination after the death of the head of the family. Maliposa means butterfly in Spanish and refers to the family's metamorphisis as they fight to rise above discrimination and abuse.
Make Me Fab
On: Tuesdays at 21h25 from Tuesday, 4 October at 21h25
Repeats: Fridays at 21h50
A reality show by Nollywood actress Stephanie Linus. The show focuses on real married couples who are in the midst of drifting apart. Steph and her team plan a series of daylong events, including makeovers to help rekindle their love.
WEDNESDAYS
America’s Next Top Model 7
On: Wednesdays to Fridays at 20h10 from Wednesday, 5 October 2016
Repeats: Thursdays to Saturdays at 01h30
The seventh season of the reality modelling search.
Cuppy Takes Africa
On: Wednesdays at 21h00 from Wednesday, 5 October 2016
Repeats: Tuesdays at 21h50
A reality documentary series that follows DJ Cuppy’s adventures across eight African countries: South Africa, Senegal, Nigeria, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and Ghana.
THURSDAYS
Wrath
On: Thursdays at 21h00 from Thursday, 6 October 2016
Repeats: Fridays at 22h15
A drama series about teenage love gone wrong and an avenger who becomes as bad as the villain. The series is also about motherhood, love, loss, anger and what a mother will do to not lose her son.
Travel Diaries
On: Thursdays at 21h25 from Thursday, 6 October 2016
A travel show that explores Kenya with presenters Eve D’Souza and Nick Wangondu who swim with dolphins, walk with elephants and get up close with the rare white rhino.
The series is described as a show that knows what your travel agent doesn’t and that keeps budget travellers in mind. It showcases hassle-free ways of discovering Kenya’s vitality and character as a means of planning memorable, affordable trips.
House of Payne 6
Double bills on: Thursdays at 21h50 from Thursday, 6 October 2016
Season 6 begins with Calvin Payne fighting for his life after being shot. The family huddles around Calvin with their continuing faith and support and Calvin must face internal demons. He copes with his anger over being shot and his continued failures to make a better life for his family.
This frustration eventually causes a rift between him and his wife, Miranda Payne. Ella Payne takes the Help Centre from strength to strength along with the help of her husband, Curtis Payne, who continues to adjust to life as a civilian.
Atlanta
On: Thursdays at 22h40 from Thursday, 6 October 2016
Repeats: Fridays at 23h05
A comedy-drama that follows two cousins on their way up through the Atlanta rap scene, where their opposing views on art, commerce, success, and race make their quest anything but easy.
FRIDAYS
Empire
On: Fridays at 21h00 from Friday, 7 October 2016
Repeats: Mondays at 22h00
A run of Empire from Season 1.
Empire centres round Lucious Lyon (Terrence Howard), an immensely talented artist, the CEO of Empire Entertainment and a former street thug whose reign has been unchallenged for years. But all this changes when he learns he has a disease that is going to render him crippled and incapacitated in a matter of three years.
The clock is ticking, and he must groom one of his three sons to take over his crowning achievement, without destroying his already fractured family.
As Lucious prompts his sons to vie for the empire, his plans are thrown into chaos when his ex-wife, Cookie (Taraji P. Henson - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Person of Interest), mysteriously emerges seven years early from prison, where she’s been for almost two decades.
Brash and fearless, she sees herself as the sacrificial lamb who built an empire with Lucious and then took the fall for running the drugs that financed Lucious’ early career.
SATURDAYS AND SUNDAYS
The weekend schedule has marathons of series from the week including Black Money Love, Grey's Anatomy and Blood Ties.