The Red Room
Channel: S3
TX Time: 19h30
Genre: Telenovela
NOTE: this series started on S3 in April but only two episodes aired before the show was pulled without explanation. It begins again now from scratch.
The Red Room tells women's stories at a time when the world is waking up to the challenges faced by those living oppressed lives in a patriarchal system.
The stories play out in a therapist's office in Istanbul where vulnerable women, men and children pass through to get treatment and handle their traumas and problems.
At the same time we witness personal dramas involving the main cast of characters, and see how their relationships develop while they help those in need of their clinical support.
The series is based on the real experiences of an Istanbul doctor and writer Gülseren Budayicioglu.
The episodes are built around harrowing stories of the patients, while at the centre of the drama is the team of therapists in the clinic, and their own personal issues.
MORE:
Step into SABC3's The Red Room
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Big Timber
Channel: Netflix South Africa
TX Time: 10h00 (all episodes)
Genre: Docu-Reality
A no-nonsense logger and his loyal crew battle brutal elements and finicky machines to chop and transport valuable lumber on Vancouver Island.
The series follows the dangerous work of logger and sawmill owner Kevin Wenstob as he and his crew go to extremes to keep the family sawmill, and their way of life, alive.
Kevin's logging a remote timber claim high up the steep, rugged slopes of Klitsa Mountain, deep in the majestic heart of Vancouver Island.
It's home to some of the best wood in the world and Kevin's making a big bet to get it.
The claim has a thousand truckloads waiting for him and his first goal is to get 200 truckloads off the mountain before winter shuts him down, but the mountain won't give up without a fight.
That's only his first obstacle though, as he finds out close to winter that he has to clear his whole claim, all one thousand loads, as soon as he can get back up there in the spring.
He'll be stuck with millions of dollars in penalties if he can't do it.
With his wife Sarah, his son Erik, and his right-hand man Coleman by his side, Kevin will do whatever it takes to get that big timber.
Nou Toer Ons
Channel: kykNET (DStv 144)
TX Time: 17h30
Genre: Reality, Travel, Sport, Afrikaans
They represented South Africa on the rugby field and for the last couple of years they have become known as TV presenters.
But there is another thing that Toks van der Linde and Breyton Paulse have in common: a love for travel.
In Nou Toer Ons, Toks and Breyton take you on tour through South Africa and Namibia for 13 episodes.
With a special guest every week, they visit a wide range of attractions, take part in fun activities and experience the beauty and hospitality of southern Africa.
In each episode a special guest will share more about themselves, talk about their goals in life and partake in several action-packed – and sometimes humorous – activities.
In the series premiere: Toks and Breyton are in Namibia, where they stayed at the Strand Hotel in Swakopmund and got to know each other even better.
Is there really something that they don't know about each other, even after all these years?
Other highlights in the series include when the duo explore the area around the Mokute Etosha Lodge with the former Namibian rugby player Jacques Burger, as well as a day on the dunes and in the sea around Swakopmund in the company of 2007 World Cup hero Ruan Pienaar.
Michael Palin's Travels
Channel: BBC Earth (DStv 184)
TX Time: 19h00
Genre: Travel, Documentary Series
Michael Palin's Travels sees the much-loved TV traveller revisit four of his famous documentary series: Around the World in 80 Days, Pole to Pole, Full Circle and Sahara.
In intimate conversation, and using his personal archive, he reflects on how he got addicted to travel, and reveals the challenges he faced making these series.
In addition, famous fans including Simon Reeve and Joanna Lumley explain how Michael inspired them to go on adventures of their own.
The first episode explores how the ex-Monty Python comic became an accidental traveller when he accepted an offer to go around the world in 80 days, following the route of Phileas Fogg in the classic Jules Verne story.
He looks back on the programmes and his diaries to reveal how the series was made and the impact it had, while fans and friends - including Sir David Attenborough, Joanna Lumley and Simon Reeve - reflect on his achievements.
Little did he know the resulting series would become a huge hit, changing the face of TV travel programmes.
Journeying from London to Venice, Michael first encounters the grubby side of that famous city, as he does a shift with its refuse collectors.
Then it's on to Egypt, where he's thrown into the maelstrom of Cairo life and starts to get a taste for the unexpected.
From being nervous about the scale of the undertaking, Michael gradually sheds his inhibitions and embraces the joy of travelling.
After a detour overland across Saudi Arabia, he experiences a magical voyage on an open-topped boat called a dhow, across the Arabian Sea to India.
On board, he discovers a natural talent for engaging with people from completely different backgrounds - a style of presenting that became his signature.
India presents huge challenges, but a train journey from Bombay to Madras also offer a chance to meet more local people, and capture the character of this huge country.
From here, it's on to Hong Kong and into Communist China, which at the time was a closed and mysterious land to most Westerners.
Michael's journey through China reveals a country and a people most of his viewers had never seen in this way.
Finally, after crossing the Pacific, the USA and the Atlantic, Michael arrives home, to find England greyer, and less friendly than he would have hoped.
But he has completed the challenge in 80 days, and with it he has discovered his passion for travel.
Die Kliek 10
Channel: VIA (DStv 147)
TX Time: 21h00
Genre: Dating Game Show, Afrikaans
Die Kliek returns for a new season with the show's original presenter Schalk Bezuidenhout back as host.
In each episode, a panel of eight single women have a chance to meet he man of their dreams.
But before they meet him in person, they get to snoop through his social media.
Those who like what they see get a chance to get to know him better and — by way of a series of question-and-answer sessions — get a bit closer to going on a date with him.
Critter Fixers: Country Vets
Channel: Nat Geo Wild (DStv 182 / StarSat 221)
TX Time: 18h00
Genre: Wildlife, Docu-Reality
This six-part series showcases the heartwarming, interesting and often complex veterinary work done by Dr Terrence "T" Ferguson and Dr Vernard Hodges, who together run the Critter Fixers veterinary practices in rural Georgia.
The series premieres with a double bill, with one episode airing per week thereafter.
Dr. Ferguson and Dr Hodges are not only extraordinary vets, but also lifelong friends.
Together with their loving staff, these animal doctors bring real heart, soul and a lot of humour to their treatment and care of more than 20,000 patients a year across their two locations.
Between emergency visits to the office and farm calls throughout rural Georgia, this team is constantly bombarded with unique cases.
From adhering Tilapia scales to save an attacked dog to assembling a splint on a rare South American bird, for the Critter Fixer team, there is no such thing as normal.
Dr. Ferguson grew up in rural Talbotton, Georgia and discovered his caring nature for animals at a young age, bringing strays in off the streets and actually nursing a dog back to health after it had been hit by a car.
With his family's encouragement, he embarked on a career in veterinary medicine long before college, spending his summers volunteering at local veterinary clinics.
Dr. Hodges was raised in Peach County, Georgia, growing up around lots of animals and developed a passion early on for understanding and helping them.
He initially studied fisheries biology. However, soon after graduating, he realized his passion for animals expanded well beyond aquatic species, so he went on to study Veterinary Medicine.
After graduating, these two remarkable vets formed a partnership and nearly 20 years later, the Critter Fixer Veterinary Hospital is still going strong.
In the series premiere, "Tortoise and the Hair... Less Cat": Drs Hodges and Ferguson work to save a bunny that has been attacked by the family cat and then perform an emergency C-section on a bulldog.
In the second episode of the double bill premiere, "Goose on the Loose": Dr. Hodges is in surgery when an emergency comes to the office.
He orders his staff to begin treatment on a newborn baby goat in distress as he finishes surgery on a dog.
Meanwhile, Dr. Ferguson handles a snake with pneumonia, and then both doctors head out to treat a goose with a broken leg.