uBettina Wethu
Channel: SABC1
TX Time: 19h30
Genre: Telenovela, Comedy-Drama
An adaptation of the Colombian telenovela Yo soy Betty, la fea, also known as Ugly Betty.
The series follows the journey of a wholesome, intelligent-but-gawky people-pleaser with a dated, unsophisticated sense of style, who finds her self-worth and image challenged when she is employed at Nubia, a brand management company, where people value image over substance.
Bettina Sikhakane is a kind-hearted, smart, career-focused woman, with a dream of running her own company.
When she lands a job as the PA to Nubia's new MD, she has to contend with her colleague's assumption that because of her quirky style and kindness, she must be stupid.
She has to battle her growing love for her boss, clouding her already blurred boundaries and posing a risk to a job that means everything to her.
The series stars Farieda Metsileng as Bettina Sikhakane, Zweli Dube as Dingaan Jiyane, Tsholo Mashishi as Linda Jiyane and Lesego Tlhabi as Zaza Moloi.
MORE:
Starring and supporting cast revealed for SABC1's comedy-drama uBettina Wethu
New! uBettina Wethu Teasers - April 2021
TVSA Show Page: uBettina Wethu
DiepCity
Channel: Mzansi Magic (DStv 161)
TX Time: 20h30
Genre: Telenovela
Telenovela that explores the struggle of four young women who were forced into crime while in high school just to make ends meet, trying to make their way in the world.
The world comes crumbling down for small-time house burglar Nox (Nozuko Ncayiyane) after her bright, straight-A student younger brother Sibusiso (Tshiamo Molobi) is fatally shot during a house robbery he was not supposed to be part of in the leafy suburbs of Johannesburg.
The robbery was set up by rogue security guard and low-level gangster Elliot (Mduduzi Mabaso) and carried out by Nox and her crew.
After doing time behind bars following her arrest, Nox returns to find her family still living in a shack after her alcoholic father Bonga (Hamilton Dlamini) lost his job, while her mother Thandiwe (Dawn Thandeka King) - who has not forgiven her for Sibusiso's death - continues to work as a domestic worker.
Will Nox manage to mend relations with her parents? Will her circumstances force her back into a life of crime or will she turn her life around?
MORE:
Mzansi Magic's new telenovela DiepCity: who's in it and what it's about
New! DiepCity Teasers - April 2021
TVSA Show Page: DiepCity
The Estate
Channel: SABC3
TX Time: 19h00
Genre: Telenovela
Telenovela which revolves around a gated suburban community which begins to feel less secure when a neighbouring township launches a land claim against the estate.
The series tackles issues such as land and identity, corruption, patronage, money (old and new), power, class and equality, all told through a colourful mix of South African families that fight for their space in these topical debates.
The storyline centres around the gated suburban community haven Echelon Estate.
Beautiful homes line the landscaped green parks of the golf course. There is a clubhouse, a gym, and the entire Estate is surrounded by an eight-metre-high brick wall and tight security.
There are families that live within the walls – a diverse cross-section of South African society from all walks of life, from the super elite to the struggling middle class trying to keep up with the Joneses - as well as the working class of labouring visitors in this 'wonderland'.
Meanwhile, trouble brews outside the iron gates of suburbia as growing pressure around a land claim concerning The Estate from the neighbouring Thembalethu township community intensifies.
The ever-present threat of 'the peasants storming the castle' looms over the privileged Estate residents, while long buried secrets are about to be unearthed (literally) as a terrible Faustian deal between two men is revealed.
The series deals with themes such as identity and heritage, historical disempowerment and the fight for true economic freedom, truth vs lies, corruption and its consequences and other social issues that have relevance and resonance, in the current state of South Africa.
In the series premiere: Property mogul Muzi Phakathwayo launches the extension of the Estate at a lavish party, breaking a sacred promise he made to Shadrack.
Slay queen, Gigi, makes a play for Muzi, and an unexpected guest arrives at the party to shake things up.
MORE:
Who's who on SABC3's all star telenovela The Estate
New! The Estate Teasers - April 2021
TVSA Show Page: The Estate
Karakter
Channel: kykNET (DStv 144)
TX Time: 20h30
Genre: Documentary Series, Afrikaans
South Africa is a wonderfully diverse country. We might be on the southern most tip of Africa, but have tasted success in many fields.
It is our people, however, that makes South Africa unique.
In Karakter we follow presenter Rian van Heerden as he travels across the country searching for the most unique people.
They are the eccentrics that get communities talking; the outsiders that don't worry about what others think about them and live their lives the way they want to.
There is Rusty Pool, a former prison guard who takes tourists on trips through Cullinan with a coffin hitched to his three-wheel motorbike.
There's also Rita Woodall-Terblanche - a former nudist, member of the AWB and a Lotto winner who recently married herself.
Vanessa Faarking Jarvis rode naked on a white horse through the main street of Clarens to celebrate the fact that she was cancer free - and owns the cannabis store in town.
John Wayne is a tattoo artist who has spent more than 200 hours on his own body art, including on his face.
Meteorite Men
Channel: Curiosity Channel (DStv 185)
TX Time: 21h00
Genre: Docu-Reality, Nature
For thousands of years meteorites have slammed into the Earth's surface, carrying an invaluable record of the origins of our solar system.
But finding meteorites on Earth, some buried over centuries by thick layers of dirt and sediment, is no easy task.
Meteorite hunters Steve Arnold and Geoff Notkin travel to some of the most remote locations around the world to explore the scientific and financial value of meteorites.
The duo uses inventive, cutting-edge technologies to detect these treasures from space as each are often buried over centuries by substantial amounts of dirt and sediment.
Featuring treks in Chile, Sweden, Australia, the US, Mexico and more, these meteorite men meet with top scientists, geologists, astronomers and meteorite experts to reveal a deeper understanding of how meteorites have helped to build our solar system and shape our planet.
Billions 5
Channel: M-Net City (DStv 115)
TX Time: 20h50
Genre: Drama
In Season 5, Bobby Axelrod and Chuck Rhoades see their vicious rivalry reignited, while new enemies rise and take aim.
Social impact pioneer Mike Prince (Corey Stoll) poses a true threat to Axe's dominance, and Chuck feuds with a formidable district attorney.
Taylor Mason is forced back to Axe Capital, where they must fight to protect their employees and their assets.
Wendy Rhoades reevaluates her loyalties and forges surprising new alliances that put her at odds with both Chuck and Axe.
This season, the struggle for power becomes a struggle for survival, and all characters must adapt or risk extinction.
Julianna Margulies will play Catherine Brant, an Ivy League sociology professor and bestselling author.
In the Season 5 premiere, "The New Decas": Bobby Axelrod reaches a major milestone. Chuck struggles to get his bearings, and he and Wendy navigate a new normal.
Tensions are high at Axe Cap now that Taylor Mason is back. Axe faces off against new rival Mike Prince. Taylor wrestles with a decision.
TVSA Show Page: Billions 5
Hot Market
Channel: The Home Channel (DStv 176)
TX Time: 15h00
Genre: Docu-Reality
Canadian real estate agents Odeen Eccleston, Rizwan Malik, Rana Khaled, David Cinelli and Stephanie Adams navigate highly competitive housing markets.
Catch them in each episode as they hustle to land the biggest listings, find their buyers the most luxurious dream homes, and earn their clients top dollar through transformative renovations and staging.
Each of the five realtors has a line on the hottest homes, and brings a range of clients and budgets to the table: multi-million dollar penthouses in the sky, mansions in Forest Hill, McMansions in the suburbs and sprawling cottage estates in Muskoka.
Valerie's Home Cooking
Channel: Real Time (DStv 155)
TX Time: 12h00
Genre: Food
Valerie Bertinelli is known as a successful actress (Hot in Cleveland, Touched by an Angel) but she is also a homegrown whiz in the kitchen.
Influenced by family recipes, many passed down from one generation to the next, Valerie's cooking is modern, easy, relatable and satisfyingly delectable.
Join Valerie as she shares her time-tested passion for cooking delicious meals for her friends and family.
In the series premiere, "Dinner for My Best Friend!": After a long photo shoot, Valerie kicks back and cooks for her best friend and husband, Tom Vitale.
She makes an Italian meal of bruschetta, herb-roasted baby beets, chicken cutlets with arugula and lemon dressing, and for dessert, a chocolate mint sundae with homemade chocolate sauce.
Tom contributes his special Italian spritz cocktail.
In the second episode of the weekday double bill, "Hot in Cleveland... One More Time": Valerie invites her Hot in Cleveland co-stars Betty White, Jane Leeves and Wendie Malick to her house for some girl talk and a cozy lunch.
This includes Quiche Valerie, Betty's favourite Italian tuna salad, a Jane-inspired grilled romaine with balsamic dressing, and panna cotta with frutti di bocca.
Orphans of a Nation
Channel: SABC3
TX Time: 18h30
Genre: Telenovela
Laila is a Syrian victim of a bombing who agrees to marry a powerful sheikh in exchange for money to save her little brother's life.
However, plans change due to the tragic death of the child and Laila and her family flee to start a new life in distant lands.
Abandoned and enraged, the sheikh sends Jamil, his right-hand man, in search of the bride, but could not imagine he would fail to obey his command and fall madly in love with her.
This forbidden love will be tested when the sheikh's daughter decides to take revenge after her father's mysterious death.
From Emmy winners Thelma Guedes and Duca Rachid, Orphans of a Nation tells a beautiful love story in the current context of refugees from around the world.
MORE:
Your one-stop guide to SABC3's new Emmy winning Orphans of a Nation
New! Orphans of a Nation Teasers - April 2021
Basketball Wives LA 6
Channel: BET (DStv 129)
TX Time: 18h30
Genre: Docu-Reality, Sport
This season, several new faces will join series veterans Evelyn Lozada, Tami Roman, Jackie Christie, Malaysia Pargo and Shaunie O'Neal.
Evelyn is reunited with longtime friend Shaunie O'Neal, but she quickly discovers that Tami and Jackie are not on the welcoming committee.
With the drama swirling, Malaysia Pargo returns to Los Angeles wondering if there will be anything left of the friendships she once knew.
Brandi Maxiell also makes an unexpected return to check if her "services are (still) no longer needed."
After being labeled the "side chick" in a highly publicised celebrity relationship feud, newcomer Keonna Green is ready to move past the tabloid drama.
Between buzzy relationship scandals with some of basketball's biggest stars and their sisterhood, the Metoyer Sisters (Aja, Cristen and Melissa) bring their own baggage this season.
Also joining the cast is Bonnie-Jill Laflin, the league's first female scout, who may struggle with running into her famous friends' exes.
Gold Rush: Dave Turin's Lost Mine 3
Channel: Discovery Channel (DStv 121)
TX Time: 21h00
Genre: Reality
Veteran miner, Dave Turin, is an expert gold hunter. He has spent years working alongside Todd Hoffman, earning the nickname 'Dozer Dave' after relentlessly bulldozing for gold.
Now, after two years out of the game, he's using his expertise and the backing of financiers to help families who want to resurrect their failing mines and turn a profit.
In this series he crosses the USA, from north to south, on a mission to prospect multiple lost and abandoned sites, hoping to find the one that will make a fortune.
From the Yukon to the Nevada Desert, Dave meets people with the most incredible stories, and they all have one thing in common: no matter how tough the conditions or how big the gamble, they won't give up on their quest for gold.
This season kicks off on a Colorado lost mine with the highest gold potential ever.
Armed with a brand new washplant, Dave and the team are determined to win the season - but unwanted attention from the local community threatens to shut down mining before it starts.
And, as the operation gets going, Dave faces devastating family news.
It's a season like no other for Team Turin, but one thing is certain: no matter how tough the conditions or how big the gamble, they won't give up on their quest for gold.
The Station
Channel: Mzansi Magic (DStv 161)
TX Time: 20h00
Genre: Drama
Dama series which revolves around the scheming and backstabbing between four employees who suddenly become shareholders of a filling station.
When Don (Owen Sejake) leaves his station to his four employees, power dynamics come into play as they all try to take control of the station.
But a clash of personalities and the fact that they are working against each other threatens to destroy the legacy left by Don, their ex-boss who was known as a successful businessman with a passion for giving back to the community.
The series also stars Sphamandla Dhludhlu as Caesar, a young man determined to see the business succeed to improve his socio-economic conditions and support his father Themba (Ernest Ndlovu), who is wheelchair-bound.
But with Diliza (Aubrey Mmakola) threatening to take control of the filling station and run it to the ground, will husband and wife team Cynthia (Lerato Mvelase) and Fix (Sello Maake Ka-Ncube) - along with Caesar and Sli (Sibulele Gcilitshana) - be able to stop him?
The Station is produced by Taproots Media, a production company belonging to series star Sello Maake Ka-Ncube.
TVSA Show Page: The Station
Survivor 36: Ghost Island
Channel: SABC3
TX Time: 21h00
Genre: Reality Competition
This edition, themed "Ghost Island," features 20 new castaways divided into two groups of 10, and centres around the bad decisions of past players.
In a new twist, players may be sent to a separate haunted island filled with Survivor relics from the previous 35 seasons of the show.
The question is: will these new players be able to learn from the past mistakes of others and "reverse the curse," or will the past come back to haunt them?
Showcasing the series' extensive history, Ghost Island is filled with real idols and advantages from previous seasons, including from Brazil, China, Africa and Australia, serving as a haunted graveyard for unfortunate choices made by former players.
This season, Ghost Island serves as a constant reminder that one bad decision can haunt a player forever.
These new castaways will be forced to compete against each other with the same ultimate goal: to outwit, outplay and outlast each other in an attempt to become the Sole Survivor.
This season's castaways include an Army veteran, a social media strategist, an emergency medical technician and a marine animal trainer.
Case Closed 14
Channel: Telemundo (DStv 118)
TX Time: 20h00
Genre: Court Show, Reality
Long-running court show in which Cuban-American lawyer Ana María Polo arbitrates cases for volunteer participants. The local run starts with Season 14.
The more scandalous, outrageous, controversial and shocking stories, the better.
In the Season 14 premiere: Rosaura was in Claudio's restaurant when the bandage of her amputated leg began to bother her. When she started changing it, Claudio kicked her out.
In the second episode, airing the next night: Fernanda evicted her friend Wendy from her house and now Wendy has returned for revenge, creating fake accounts with Fernanda's information.
Other bizarre cases include:
Whenever Juan has a sexual encounter with his wife, he literally tickles her. Barbara is fed up with this as she feels the tickling act is torture.
Marian married an older man who has money and has promised her residency in the country. But she recently discovered that the man is her grandfather.
Due to a brain injury, Rodrigo only has a few months left to live. He wants to give away all of his possessions, and gives random strangers money.
Gilles does not have a family. As his wedding date to Ana approaches, he hires actors to pretend to be his family members - but Ana finds out.
Carlos has decided to leave his house after discovering that both of his parents are making porn videos in their room.
Now or Never 8
Channel: SABC1
TX Time: 18h00
Genre: Reality, Docu-Drama
Follows South Africans who have reached a tipping point in their lives as they implement positive changes to forge new directions.
We all reach a tipping point at least once in our lives. This is the point we finally dig deep within ourselves to search for answers.
This is the point when we drop every thing to pursue that elusive dream.
It's that time when we are forced to take decisions that could change our lives forever, for better or for worse.
This is the point when we stop being stubborn and reach out to other people for help, advice, love, finances and prayer.
Now or Never turns the spotlight on South Africans as they institute changes in their own lives. We capture them in real time as they negotiate a way out of their own tipping points.
TVSA Show Page: Now or Never 8
Bone Detectives
Channel: Curiosity Channel (DStv 185)
TX Time: 18h00
Genre: Docu-Reality
An adventurous archaeologist journeys to the farthest reaches of the Earth on a quest driven by the belief that the secrets of the past have yet to be revealed.
Carefully preserved mummies and entombed skeletons are a link to ancient civilizations.
Each presents a mystery to unravel, a life to understand, a world to explore and a death to reveal.
But these long-hidden remains do not yield their secrets easily.
In the series premiere, "Orphan in Tiwanaku": Scotty Moore travels high in the Bolivian Andes to the site of the ancient city of Tiwanaku, where archaeologists have uncovered the body of a young girl buried in a trash pile in front of an ancient temple.
The Mel Robbins Show
Channel: SABC3
TX Time: 15h00
Genre: Talk Show
Mel Robbins is taking her distinctive brand of inspiration into our living rooms, giving viewers the action plan needed to get the lives they want and the futures they deserve.
Mel Robbins has spent the past decade inspiring, motivating, coaching and elevating people around the world.
Her practical, no-nonsense advice has changed the lives of millions, giving them a blueprint on how to take charge of their lives and conquer everyday challenges.
Now, she's poised to become a life coach to millions with The Mel Robbins Show.
Focusing on real people with real, authentic, relatable problems, this new series provides the audience with tangible action plans, concrete takeaways and practical advice.
Every episode promises to deliver something the viewer can use, along with lighthearted and funny moments everyone can relate to.