My Identity
Channel: Star Life (DStv 167 / Openview 110)
TX Time: 20h00
Genre: Telenovela
An illegitimate child, Avni, sets out to create an identity for herself amidst numerous hurdles created by her own grandmother, Dayavanti.
Ashish has to meet Avni and her mother Asha in secret because his mother Dayawanti is a deeply religious Hindu woman and Avni's mother is Muslim.
Dayawanti disapproves of the relationship bigtime and regards Avni as illegitimate.
Later, she - along with Neil, her love interest - grapples the harsh realities of life.
The series is inspired by the 1998 film Zakhm, which was based on the life of filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt, who produced and directed the movie.
MORE:
Star Life's new series My Identity in five flash facts
My Identity Teasers - December 2020
Empire of the Tsars
Channel: Curiosity Channel (DStv 185)
TX Time: 22h00
Genre: Documentary Series, History
Lucy Worsley travels in the footsteps of the Romanovs, the all-powerful dynasty who ruled Russia for more than three centuries.
She introduces us to a roll call of extraordinary characters: Peter the Great, the visionary who transformed a country into an empire; and Catherine the Great, the minor princess from Germany who became the mightiest woman in the world.
Then there's the last tsar, Nicholas II, the loving father and husband who provoked a revolution.
This is the story of a glittering family, whose spectacular palaces hide stories of betrayal, scandal and murder.
In the series premiere, "Reinventing Russia": Lucy investigates the beginning of the Romanovs' 300-year reign in Russia.
In 1613, when Russia was leaderless, 16-year-old Mikhail Romanov was plucked from obscurity and offered the crown of Russia.
Mikhail was granted absolute power and began the reign of the Romanovs as the most influential dynasty in modern European history.
Lucy also charts the story of Peter the Great, the ruthless and ambitious tsar who was determined to modernise Russia at the end of the 17th century.
Lucy traces Peter's accession to the throne as a nine-year-old, when he witnessed a revolt led by royal guards and the slaughter of his uncles and close advisors.
Sixteen years later, Peter would vengefully execute a thousand rebellious guards.
Throughout his reign, Peter would demonstrate an unwavering commitment to establishing Russia as a naval power - Lucy explores the lengths to which Peter would go to ensure this became a reality, including the creation of a new maritime capital, St Petersburg.
Lucy shows how the Romanovs embraced and sponsored the arts on an astonishing scale - from building spectacular palaces to commissioning grand artworks - that all still dazzle today.
As well as studying this unique royal family, Lucy also considers the impact the Romanovs had on the lives of ordinary Russians, who were often little better than slaves to the elite.
The Good Fight 4
Channel: M-Net City (DStv 115)
TX Time: 20h50
Genre: Legal Drama
Season 4 finds Reddick, Boseman & Lockhart navigating a very different landscape.
After they lost their biggest client, Chumhum, and their founding partner's name was tarnished, Reddick, Boseman & Lockhart was forced to accept an offer by a huge multi-national law firm, STR Laurie, to become a small subsidiary.
Suddenly, all of their decisions can be second-guessed by the giant firm that is literally on top of them.
While STR Laurie initially seem like benevolent overlords, we find Diane Lockhart and her colleagues chafing at their loss of independence.
In the Season 4 premiere, "The Gang Deals with Alternate Reality": Diane Lockhart finds herself living in an alternate reality where Donald Trump was never elected and Hillary Clinton is the current president of the United States.
While Diane's liberal self is overjoyed, she soon realises how a different outcome of the 2016 election might have unexpected consequences.
Stacey Dooley: Locked Up with the Lifers
Channel: BBC Brit (DStv 120)
TX Time: 22h05
Genre: Documentary, True Crime
Stacey Dooley travels to Iowa to investigate one of the most radical women's prisons in America.
The Correctional Institute for Women is a new 80-million-pound facility which houses more than 700 female offenders, from drunk drivers to violent murderers.
For the last three years, the prison has been run by Sheryl Dahm, a warden with a difference.
Rather than placing discipline and punishment at the heart of her regime, she tries to instil in the women a sense of purpose and self-esteem.
She permits the women all kinds of freedom: therapy dogs, make-up and – if they behave – the chance to move freely around the prison.
Stacey gets to know one particular group - the lifers, who make up around 10 percent of the prison population. They are the mothers, daughters, sisters and wives who have said goodbye to the ones they love forever.
These are women hidden from mainstream society, leading parallel existences behind bars.
All of the lifers have been convicted of first-degree murder and many of the women open up for the first time to Stacey about the nature of their crimes and their remorse.
Stacey probes the women about their feelings towards the victims. What would they like to say to them now?
Other lifers are cagier about their crimes though. Barbara Pasa has only just arrived in prison to start her life sentence and remains adamant she has been the victim of a miscarriage of justice.
The film broadens out to follow the women through their ups and downs.
Judy White has been inside for more than 40 years for murder, even though she wasn't even present when the crime took place.
Her lawyer is now fighting to get her a hearing in front of the parole board to see if her sentence could be commuted.
Stacey is on the shoulder of the warden when she gives Judy some dramatic news about her case.
Stacey also learns that the main disciplinary problem in the prison is not fighting or drugs, but sex.
Interviewing counsellor Mia Williams, Stacey hears about the innovative ways in which the women make sex toys and try to avoid being spotted by guards.
In one dramatic scene, the film crew are with an officer when two women are found in bed together.
But the film also follows some deep romantic relationships develop amongst the women.
Judy, more than 40 years into her sentence, has been in a relationship for more three decades with the wise-cracking Pops, who explains how their bond has developed from sex to just being grateful for their health.
But relationships can become very complicated in prison. Tatiana Dixon – serving life for murder – has been in a long-term romance with a woman who left the prison two years ago.
Tatiana has to wrestle with the fear that her girlfriend Kristen could at any point stop seeing her as she enjoys her freedom.
Stacey is there on visitor's day to see Tatiana and Kristen enjoy one of only two meetings they are permitted every year.
Stacey documents the unique experience of being a female lifer, with all the drama, emotions, twists and turns that that brings.
Amidst the pain, guilt and suffering, there is humour, kindness and resourcefulness in this documentary.
The Bachelorette Australia 5
Channel: Vuzu (DStv 116)
TX Time: 20h00
Genre: Dating Game Show, Reality Competition
Angie Kent is Australia's next Bachelorette.
Sweet yet sassy, this 29-year-old Bachelorette is wide open to falling in love, but also isn't afraid to tell Mr. Wrong to hit the road.
Known for being one half of a Googlebox screen critic duo, Angie's infectious smile, sharp wit and courageous attitude recently carried her far in the most recent season of I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!
Across the series, Angie became a pillar of the jungle family, where she formed a very close bond with Richard Reid and cemented herself as a firm fan favourite.
Now, after years of taking care of the other people (and the rescue dogs) in her life, it's time for Angie to put matters of the heart first and take the leap into a bed of roses.
The fifth season of The Bachelorette Australia will follow Angie as she navigates a world full of handsome suitors, cheese platters and extravagant dates all in the name of finding Mr. Right.
With a Bachelorette this loveable, the competition is going to be tough.
The Truth About... Cosmetic Treatments
Channel: BBC Earth (DStv 184)
TX Time: 19h00
Genre: Documentary Series
The cosmetic treatment industry is open for business again.
As lockdown eases, demand is on the rise for new non-invasive procedures like injectable fillers and fat freezing.
But the UK is one of the only countries in the world where this industry is almost completely unregulated.
How do we know if these treatments work, and if they are safe?
In this two-part programme, medical journalist Michael Mosley teams up with blogger and journalist Mehreen Baig to scrutinise the science and safety of cosmetic treatments - and put them to the test.
The first episode is all about treatments for the face. Mehreen finds out what a surgery-free nose job involves, and if it really works.
She also follows an experiment that pits three skin-tightening treatments against each other - microneedling, CO2 laser and collagen supplements - and she meets a woman undergoing a cutting-edge stem cell facelift.
Meanwhile, Michael investigates the dangers of unregulated injectable fillers and meets a woman whose lip treatment went horribly wrong.
He also discovers whether preventative Botox is safe and effective when it comes to the signs of ageing, and he tests the latest antiwrinkle technology on his own crow's feet.
And, in a unique psychology experiment, he asks whether cosmetic treatments like fillers and Botox really make us any more attractive.
NCIS: New Orleans 7
Channel: M-Net (DStv 101)
TX Time: 19h30
Genre: Drama, Police Procedural
Drama about the local field office that investigates criminal cases affecting military personnel in the Big Easy, a city known for its music, entertainment and decadence.
Leading the team is Special Agent Dwayne Pride (Scott Bakula), aka "King," a native of NOLA who is driven by his need to do what is right.
This colourful city that harbours a dark side is a magnet for service personnel on leave, and when overindulgence is followed by trouble, Pride's team is at its best.
In the Season 7 premiere, "Something in the Air: Part I": As New Orleans grapples with the effects of COVID-19, Pride sends Tammy and Carter to investigate a suspicious death aboard a humanitarian ship offshore, where they learn that some crew members are infected with the deadly disease.
Also, Wade is overwhelmed by the high volume in the morgue due to COVID-19.
Droogte
Channel: kykNET (DStv 144)
TX Time: 21h30
Genre: Documentary, Nature, Afrikaans
This documentary about the worst South African drought in history shows the suffering of the farmers and their animals, and how humanitarian sources are used to make a differences.
The film also explores the causes of this disaster and the devastating consequences of global warming.
Good Bones 5
Channel: HGTV (DStv 177)
TX Time: 20h35
Genre: Reality Makeover, Home Improvement, Reality
Crumbling roofs, bug-infested walls and rotted floors are no match for HGTV's mother/daughter duo Mina Starsiak Hawk and Karen E Laine in the new season of Good Bones.
In the series, cameras follow Mina, a real estate agent and soon-to-be mom of two, and Karen, a lawyer, as they buy the most dilapidated properties in their favourite Indianapolis neighbourhoods, demo them down to the studs and completely transform them into gorgeous, functional family homes.
This season also spotlights very personal moments for both mother and daughter - Mina shares her emotional IVF journey that results in her second pregnancy while Karen announces she is retiring from the day-to-day operations of the family renovation business.
In the Season 5 premiere, "Fountain Square Flashback": Mina and Karen buy their most expensive house to date - a bungalow in the trendy Fountain Square neighbourhood that needs serious updates.
To retain the home's original charm yet stick to a strict budget and maximize the resale value, they must expertly fix the foundation issues, replace the plaster walls and restore the original hardwood floors.
Throughout the season, the duo incorporates creative design elements in every home to attract younger buyers, such as pet-friendly spaces, custom metal staircase art and refurbished antique chandeliers.
Unboxed with Nikki Chu 2
Channel: The Home Channel (DStv 176)
TX Time: 18h30
Genre: Reality Makeover, Reality, Home Improvement
Celebrity designer Nikki Chu helps homeowners transform their space from outdated and dysfunctional to beautiful and on point.
In each episode, Nikki presents two mystery boxes, each box containing design elements that represent two different designs.
The home owners are then allowed choose one box, and from its contents, Nikki will base all of her design decisions.
Each transformation is completed in two days, while the owners are away. Then comes the time for the big reveal.
Will they love the design that's unboxed?
Now Nikki returns for a second season with bigger and more dramatic forward trending transformations.
Not only does she answer calls for design help from fans, there's added pressure when she takes on her celebrity friends' spaces that are in need of a design intervention.
There is no favouritism, and the makeover rules remain the same in each episode.
Nikki presents two boxes filled with inspirational items, but they can only choose one. When the decision is made, they have to leave their home and all the design decisions up to Nikki.
Get the inside scoop on how she uses inspiration from curated objects to create stylish transformations while participants have no idea of what's going on until two days later, when the design is complete and they walk through the door to see Nikki's vision unboxed.
Song Exploder: Volume 2
Channel: Netflix South Africa
TX Time: 10h00 (all episodes)
Genre: Documentary Series, Music
Get inspired as musicians dig deep into the creative process of songwriting and reveal their intimate thoughts in a series based on the hit podcast.
Based on the podcast of the same name, and from host Hrishikesh Hirway and filmmaker Morgan Neville, each episode of Song Exploder features some of the world's greatest musicians as they reveal how they brought one of their songs to life.
The series weaves together in-depth interviews, archival footage and raw recordings as each artist breaks down their song, layer by layer, sharing intimate insight into the personal inspiration behind the music and lyrics.
This season Dua Lipa, The Killers, Nine Inch Nails and Natalia Lafourcade take you inside their songwriting process.
NCIS: Los Angeles 11
Channel: M-Net City (DStv 115)
TX Time: 19h10
Genre: Police Procedural, Drama
Set in the high stakes world of the Office of Special Projects, this division of NCIS is charged with apprehending dangerous and elusive criminals that pose a threat to America's security.
By assuming false identities and utilizing the most advanced technology, this team of highly trained agents goes deep undercover, putting their lives on the line in the field to bring down their targets.
In the Season 11 premiere, "Let Fate Decide": Callen and Sam work with Navy Capt. Harmon Rabb, Jr. (David James Elliott)
to apprehend spies aboard the USS Allegiance.
Also, Hetty partners with Marine Lt. Col. Sarah "Mac" Mackenzie to neutralise a missile attack in the Middle East, and Kensi and Deeks are trapped in a mobile CIA unit in Iraq while under attack by ISIS.
In the second episode of the weekly double bill, "Decoy": Faced with multiple cases worldwide, the NCIS team splits up, with Callen and Sam working with Mossad Agent Eliana Sapir in Tel Aviv, and Kensi partnering with DOJ Agent Lance Hamilton in Los Angeles.
TVSA Show Page: NCIS: Los Angeles 11