Couples Therapy
Channel: 1Magic (DStv 103)
TX Time: 21h00
Genre: Docu-Reality
Couples Therapy unlocks a hidden world: other people's relationships.
The documentary filmmaking intends to bring viewers into the authentic and visceral experience of weekly therapy with four couples.
Therapist Dr. Orna Guralnik guides the couples through the minefield of confrontation with each other and with themselves, revealing the real-life struggles - and breakthroughs - typically hidden behind closed doors.
In the series premiere: Annie and Mau revisit a traumatic birthday.
Elaine calls DeSean 20 times a day and he's fed up.
Sarah wants a baby, but Lauren isn't ready to be a mom because she just became a woman.
Three months into therapy, Evelyn and Alan make a painful decision about their marriage.
Also, Dr. Guralnik wrestles with an overwhelming sense of responsibility she feels for her patients.
African Dreams
Channel: SABC1
TX Time: 19h30
Genre: Mockumentary, Comedy-Drama, Comedy
NOTE: we highlighted this show last week, but here's how it played out:
African Dreams was originally scheduled to premiere on SABC1 on Sunday 31 October, 2021, at 19h30.
The week before, however, the channel had "technical problems" which prevented the finale of Hush Money being aired on 24 October as scheduled, so that was moved a week later and aired on 31 October.
The African Dreams premiere was rescheduled for Sunday 7 November (last week), but the channel aired Episode 2 instead of the series premiere.
No explanation or apology to their viewers was offered for this error.
To make up for this, the first two episodes have been scheduled for a double bill tonight, at 19h30 - in the middle of the WC Qualifiers between Bafana Bafana and Ghana.
So hopefully the show starts tonight - if not, we give up. Please contact your local ward councillor for advice or hugs.
Now, here's what the series is about:
African Dreams is a mockumentary series which revolves around African Dreams, a young wedding planning company in competition to win their biggest client yet – Lalla Hirayama.
Between the company's OCD co-founder, the perpetually late marketing manager, a skateboarding obsessed CFO, a herb-friendly pre-marital counsellor and a self-obsessed intern, do they have what it takes to walk down the aisle or will they get cold feet?
The series follows two wedding planning companies: African Dreams, a smaller but passionate black-owned company; and the successful, well-established and ultra-elegant Eleganté Wedding Emporium, as they are pitted against one another in a wedding reality competition.
This is a story of the underdog, set in Maboneng, Johannesburg.
It offers a fly-on-the-wall look into the everyday struggles of Thandeka Dlamini and her entrepreneurial team at African Dreams, an up-and-coming wedding planning company.
The team's desire to be the top wedding planners in South Africa is put to the test as a high-profile celebrity has placed them in the final stages of her wedding planning competition.
However, the team's complicated and colourful personal lives may see them lose it all.
We are introduced to the characters such as Thandeka, a natural caregiver; Mosa, a black diamond heiress; Bongani, a down to Earth-conscious economist; Delores, a polyamorous, bisexual bike riding pre-marriage counsellor; Thabang, an intern turned self-appointed concierge at African Dreams; Melisizwe, a catch in every sense of the word; and Jana, a woke type who can't stand #AllLivesMatter arguments.
In the series premiere: It's the big day for African Dreams, when they find out if they will be one of the two finalists in Lalla's Wedding Reality Competition.
Perfectionist and company CEO, Thandeka, struggles to keep her team together - on the one end is her co-founder, Mosa, who can never be on time or keep away from a mimosa.
On the other end is her brother, Bongani, who is nothing like the serious CFO she needs him to be.
Add to that the very 'green' pre-marital counsellor, Delores, and the Internet breaking-obsessed intern, Thabang, and African Dreams are looking slim.
The series stars Nobuntu Dubazana, Tiisetso Sefatsa, Thabo Malema, Ilse Klink, Lalla Hirayama, Craig Jackson, Tarina Patel, Tshiamo Modisane, Thobile Kubheka, Ashleigh van der Hoven and Zolani Shangase.
TVSA Show Page: African Dreams
History's Greatest Mysteries 2
Channel: HISTORY (DStv 186)
TX Time: 20h15
Genre: Documentary Series, History
A series of investigative specials that take the world's most well-known mysteries, and challenges everything we know about them.
Narrated and hosted by Laurence Fishburne, the franchise delves into a wide array of some of the most historically important mysteries of recent times.
Who or what was behind the death of Bruce Lee?
What was the secret to Houdini's amazing tricks and why does the Bermuda Triangle still hold so many mysteries to date?
New evidence and perspectives, including never-before-seen diaries and advanced DNA testing, unearths brand-new information on some of history's most famous and puzzling chapters.
In the Season 2 premiere, "The Death of Bruce Lee": Bruce Lee's death at the young age of 32 was said to be the result of a cerebral oedema, or in simpler terms - a build-up of fluid on the brain.
There are different theories around the cause of this, one of them being heat stroke and the another is that he had an allergic reaction to a headache pill.
This show examines these theories on a deeper level.
With a trove of unreleased documents including the Hong Kong police report, the insurance company's inquest, Bruce's medical records, and first-hand testimony from his siblings, friends, lovers, co-stars, students and biographers, this two-hour special explores the questions we have been told not to ask for 50 years.
The Death of Bruce Lee is an active, present-day investigation into the theories that surround his death with a re-examination of his life as we revisit the moments that may have led to his untimely death.
In doing so, the film will reveal the Bruce Lee legacy you haven't heard - the true story of the life and death of the Dragon.
Serengeti 2
Channel: BBC Earth (DStv 184)
TX Time: 16h10
Genre: Documentary Series, Wildlife
Narrated by Lupita Nyong'o this season, Serengeti returns to explore an unspoilt corner of Africa's Serengeti for more real-life animal drama.
The series returns to capture the dramatic and emotional stories of iconic savannah animals once again.
There's humour, heartbreak and nail-biting tension as new characters move in and familiar faces continue their stories.
This time they are not only facing their own personal challenges. Their whole world will soon be in crisis.
As the season opens, a spectacular buffalo hunt exposes the growing tensions within Kali's pride.
The big male, Sefu, is not pulling his weight, and he has started to suspect her cubs aren't his. There is trouble ahead.
Bakari's troop is now under his peaceful and generous leadership, and he has had a new baby with Cheka.
But jealousy soon threatens their idyllic world.
Bibi, a female who was deposed when Cheka took her place, is out to cause trouble, and she will stop at nothing to restore her power.
Nalla, the elephant matriarch, soon puts pay to the baboons' scheming as she sends them packing.
There has been a baby boom in her family, and her sister has had a new baby, Kadogo.
He will soon be enjoying his first mud bath, but it's not all fun and games. He is about to face an event that will change his young life forever.
We meet a leopard family with two adorable cubs, Mzuri and Dada. Their first challenge is to escape the jaws of Zalika the hyena.
They have never climbed before and need to learn fast.
Other problems lie ahead when Mzuri goes on an adventure and meets some of the most entertaining - and most dangerous - animals in Africa.
Shani, the zebra, has had a new baby but is soon at risk from a roving stallion out to kidnap her from the herd.
In a spectacular battle, her family's stallion, Punda, has the fight of his life trying to defend Shani and their newborn foal.
The wildebeest are also giving birth. Gnu, a wildebeest calf, is among the many that have just been born.
He appears completely helpless, and the hyena Zalika is on the prowl. If Gnu is to survive, he must learn to run in record time.
Kali's story reaches a climax in a showdown with Sefu. The cubs run for their lives and vanish from view.
Kali sets off to find them, but what she finds will set her on a path of distrust and confrontation with her pride.
As the characters' dramatic storylines play out, something far greater is about to change everything.
Climate change has played havoc with the season, and a great storm is building.
When the clouds break, they unleash an almighty deluge and the land begins to flood.
Everyone runs for higher ground, leaving the baboons trapped up their roosting tree, while the fast-flowing floodwaters lead to catastrophe for Nalla.
Aruanas
Channel: S3
TX Time: 17h00
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Three idealistic friends set up Aruana, an NGO that investigates the activities of a mining company operating in the Amazon rainforest.
It is a place of harsh reality where strange events occur.
The activists, each one following their own investigative leads, have come up with a plethora of evidence revealing environmental crimes.
While these women unravel a dangerous web of crimes and secrets, they also must deal with their own ghosts and personal dramas.
Aruanas is a fictional series freely inspired by real events.
The series was developed to bring people closer to the need for environmental protection and to act as an engagement tool for a cause we all have in common: environmental defence.
In the series premiere: Luiza negotiates a dossier on environmental tragedy, but is detained when she makes a complaint.
Christmas Cookie Challenge 3
Channel: Food Network (DStv 175)
TX Time: 19h55
Genre: Reality Competition, Food
Host Eddie Jackson returns with lead judge Ree Drummond to challenge festive and talented cookie makers over a new season of Christmas Cookie Challenge.
Each episode features five daring cookie makers proving their holiday skills through two rounds, as Eddie and Ree are joined by a rotating panel of guest judges.
These include Matt Adlard, Vivian Chan, Dwayne Ingraham, Dan Langan, Brandi Milloy, Gesine Prado and Aarti Sequeira, who will help determine which bakers will have the best Christmas ever, walking away with a $10,000 prize.
In the Season 3 premiere, "Picture-Perfect Christmas": Eddie invites five of America's finest cookie makers to take on the world of fine art by assembling spectacular cookie mosaics.
Judges Ree Drummond, Dwayne Ingraham and Gesine Prado decide if all the pieces fall into place.
Then the cookie masters have to arrange decorated cookies into a single image worthy of display in the Louvre Museum.
The infuse their edible art with cheery liqueurs like kirsch, creme de menthe, anisette and blue curacao.
Proving that there's money in art, the prettiest cookie platter wins one cookie maker a $10,000 prize.
Ontlametse Phalatse: My Attractive Life
Channel: SABC2
TX Time: 21h00
Genre: Documentary
Ontlametse Phalatse captured the imagination of many people all over the world as the first and only black female to be diagnosed with progeria.
Progeria is a rare disease that causes rapid ageing and she passed away just after her 18th birthday.
This documentary features her mother, brother, friends, doctors and others who were close to the bubbly girl, affectionately known as Ntlami.
It explores the frustrations of her family seeking medical help for her, to the selfless people who came to their rescue in walking them along the less beaten path to the progeria diagnosis.
Above all, it focuses on how Ontlametse faced life with progeria and went on to live what she called "an attractive life."