The Long Call
Channel: BritBox
TX Time: 00h01
Genre: Drama, Thriller, Mystery, Miniseries
Ben Aldridge (Our Girl, Fleabag) stars as Detective Inspector Matthew Venn in this four-part crime drama adapted from the best-selling novel of the same name by Ann Cleeves (Vera, Shetland).
After the body of a man is found on a beach, the investigation casts a shadow over a small evangelical community in North Devon.
Returning to the town with his husband after a lengthy absence to lead the murder investigation, Matthew and his team have to get to the bottom of a case that unearths old wounds as well as a deadly secret.
We first meet the reserved, but intense Matthew outside the local church as his father's funeral takes place.
Sadly, the day Matthew turned his back on the strict evangelical community in which he grew up, he lost his family too.
Now he's back, not just to mourn his father at a distance, but to take charge of his first major murder.
A body has been found on the beach near to Matthew's new home; a man with the tattoo of an albatross on his neck has been stabbed to death.
Through Venn and his team's investigation, we are introduced to a rich ensemble of characters, in a crime story which captures the stark beauty of the North Devon coastline, and a community where murder and intrigue bubble beneath the surface.
In the series premiere: A body is found on a beach in North Devon.
DI Matthew Venn and his team search for a way into a case that has no witnesses, no forensics and no motive.
Blockbuster
Channel: Netflix South Africa
TX Time: 10h00 (all episodes)
Genre: Comedy
At the last remaining Blockbuster, a hardworking manager fights to keep his video store open and staff happy amid competition and complicated feelings.
Timmy Yoon (Randall Park) is an analogue dreamer in a 5G world.
He's spent his entire adult life dedicated to his first love, movies — a passion that's kept him at his first and only job, managing his hometown Blockbuster Video.
Then Timmy is alarmed to learn that his store is officially the last Blockbuster in America.
He now has no choice but to take action to stay open and keep his friends employed.
Timmy and his staff quickly come to realise that being home to the last Blockbuster might actually be exactly what their community needs to rekindle the human connections they lost to the digital age.
It also unexpectedly reunites him with his long-time crush Eliza (Melissa Fumero), who's recently come back to work for him.
Will this battle to preserve the past be the push Timmy needs to step into the present?
His employees can only hope so.
Law & Order 21
Channel: Me (DStv 115)
TX Time: 20h00
Genre: Police Procedural, Drama
Law & Order returns more than a decade after its cancellation.
For every criminal who is put away, two processes have to happen.
First the crime must be invesigated by the police, then the case must go to trial. Law & Order focuses on both of these.
Set in New York City, the series follows the professional and to a lesser extent the personal lives of several police officers and prosecutors who represent the public interest in the criminal justice system.
The characters frequently encounter dilemmas and frustrations as cases go through the stages of investigation, arrest, negotiation and trial.
Matters are rarely resolved easily, or for the people involved, satisfactorily.
The following statement, narrated by Steven Zirnkilton, is spoken at the beginning of nearly every episode:
"In the criminal justice system, the people are represented by two separate, yet equally important, groups: the police who investigate crime and the district attorneys who prosecute the offenders.
"These are their stories."
Anthony Anderson and Sam Waterston return in their roles as Kevin Bernard and Jack McCoy, respectively.
They are joined by new cast members Jeffrey Donovan, Camryn Manheim, Hugh Dancy and Odelya Halevi.
In the Season 21 premiere, "The Right Thing": Newly acquainted partners Bernard and Cosgrove investigate the murder of a notorious entertainer.
Also, a dispute over throwing out a confession creates a rift in the DA's office.
S.W.A.T. 3
Channel: Universal TV (DStv 117)
TX Time: 20h00
Genre: Police Procedural, Drama
Inspired by the television series and feature film, this 2017 series stars Shemar Moore as a locally born S.W.A.T. sergeant newly tasked to run a specialised tactical unit that is the last stop in law enforcement in Los Angeles.
Torn between loyalty to the streets where he was raised and allegiance to his brothers in blue, former Marine Daniel "Hondo" Harrelson (Moore) has everything it takes to successfully bridge the divide between his two worlds.
With Hondo leading the charge, these dedicated men and women bravely put themselves at risk to protect their community and save lives.
In the Season 3 premiere, "Fire in the Sky": The SWAT team works with Lieutenant Piper Lynch, a senior LAPD Hollywood Division officer, when the mayor assigns her to oversee city departments joining forces to stop a serial bomber using drones as detonation devices.
Also, just as Hondo settles into legal guardianship of his teen charge, Darryl, his home life becomes more complicated when his estranged father unexpectedly moves in.
In the second episode of the weekly double bill, "Bad Faith": Lt. Lynch pulls the SWAT team's focus when the mayor tasks her with enacting a departmental review of the squad right as they pursue the unstable and dangerous fugitive leader of an infamous doomsday cult.
Meanwhile, Luca asks the team to invest in his new passion project, a Guatemalan food truck.
Bride & Prejudice: The Forbidden Weddings
Channel: eReality (Openview 108)
TX Time: 20h00
Genre: Reality, Dating Game Show
Follows five couples as they decide to make a life-long commitment and get married in the face of staunch opposition from their family and friends.
They are all striving to show doubtful loved ones how differences in culture, religion, age and sexual preference do not affect their ability to love and be loved.
As they announce their engagements and meet the in-laws, emotions run high.
Will familial pressure impact their upcoming nuptials, or will the love of a potential spouse outweigh the love of family?
Will they go through with the weddings if family members ultimately don't approve?
Shetland 5 & 6
Channel: BritBox
TX Time: 00h01
Genre: Drama, Mystery
Award-winning crime writer Ann Cleeves' bestselling detective series Shetland returns for a fifth season, as DI Jimmy Perez faces a compelling new single mystery.
A human hand washes up on a Shetland beach.
A few hours later, more body parts are discovered in a hold-all that has been dumped at sea.
The victim is identified as a young Nigerian man, spotted in Lerwick a few days before.
What was he doing on the islands?
In investigating his murder, DI Perez becomes involved in the search for a vulnerable young woman, leading him to uncover a complex network of human trafficking across Scotland's remote rural communities.