Magda Louw
Channel: kykNET (DStv 144)
TX Time: 20h00
Genre: Mockumentary, Comedy, Afrikaans
Mockumentary comedy series adapted from the kykNET telefilm of the same name which gives a tongue-in-the-cheek look into the life of a middle-aged Afrikaans woman who can only laugh about human fallibility as she secretly sheds a tear into the hourglass of life and toasts the inevitability of growing old.
The show was created and written by Desiré Gardner, who also plays the title role, who initially created it as a one-woman stage production.
The series tells the story of Magda and her husband Erhard, who are participating in a reality series.
A camera crew follows them to document their day-to-day lives - with a few unexpected twists and turns...
Magda's husband Erhard is played by Hannes van Wyk, while Cintaine Schutte and Bennie Fourie play their children, Gertrude and Baltus.
Gershwin Mias is the cameraman Shaun, who follows the Louws around.
Also featured in the series are Shimmy Isaacs, André Weideman, Margit Meyer-Rödenbeck, Wynand Kotze, Elzet Nel and Mandri Sutherland.
TVSA Show Page: Magda Louw
Great Moments in Evolution
Channel: Curiosity Channel (DStv 185)
TX Time: 20h00
Genre: Documentary Series, Nature
It all began with a single cell which, throughout the course of nearly four-billion years, evolved into the diversity of life that surrounds us today.
So far, about 1.8-million species have been discovered and classified.
Yet, there is an immensely greater number of them no scientist has even seen.
Estimates vary between 10- and 100-million.
But no matter how many species there may be - all life stems from a single common primeval ancestor.
The first to discover this was an Englishman named Charles Darwin.
Over a century later, Jane Goodall broke loose another stone from the wall that divides man and anthropoid ape.
She observed that chimpanzees were making use of tools, a skill which - until then - had been assumed to be exclusive to humans.
So why is one species threatened by extinction while others thrive and proliferate ever further?
Three Pines
Channel: M-Net (DStv 101)
TX Time: 22h00
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Miniseries
This eight-episode, one-hour drama series follows Chief Inspector Armand Gamache (Alfred Molina) as he investigates cases that happen beneath the idyllic surface of the Quebec village of Three Pines, finding long-buried secrets, and facing a few of his own ghosts.
The empathetic and astute Chief Inspector Gamache is tasked with solving a number of mysterious and perplexing murders in the strange but beguiling village of Three Pines.
Assisted by his trusted team, the combative and troubled Sergeant Jean-Guy Beauvoir; the intelligent indigenous working mother Sergeant Isabelle Lacoste; and the accident-prone rookie Agent Yvette Nichol, the group are initially treated suspiciously by the village's residents.
Despite the cool welcome, Gamache can't help but find himself oddly drawn to this unusual place and its eccentric residents.
These include the owners of the Bistro, Gabri and Olivier; artists Peter and Clara; psychologist-turned-bookshop owner Myrna; gallery owner Bea; and the irascible poet Ruth.
The deeper Gamache delves into the secret lives of these people who have found sanctuary from the outside world in Three Pines, the more it affects him.
Along with a murder case covered over two episodes, Three Pines interweaves a dark, mysterious, serial-story, which uncovers police failings to properly investigate cases of missing Indigenous women, as well as corruption at the heart of the provincial Sûreté du Québec police force.
Artemis: First Launch
Channel: Curiosity Channel (DStv 185)
TX Time: 18h00
Genre: Documentary, Science, Technology, Nature
Take an inside look at NASA's groundbreaking Artemis Program, the spacecraft, and the people who will bring humanity one step closer to the moon, Mars, and beyond.
Left for Dead: The Ashley Reeves Story
Channel: Universal TV (DStv 117)
TX Time: 20h00
Genre: True Crime, Docu-Drama
In 2006, 17-year-old Ashley Reeves is left for dead in the woods following a brutal attack.
After spending 30 horrific hours in the cold, gravely wounded, lying in the dirt, and paralyzed, the police find her alive.
Her injuries are so severe that she must re-learn how to walk and talk.
With no memory of what happened, she begins a long and painful recovery while searching her shattered memory to unlock the mystery of who did this to her.
Left for Dead: The Ashley Reeves Story is based on the extraordinary true story of an ordinary teenage girl who had to fight for her life three times; first in the woods, then in the hospital, and finally in court.
Jennie Garth stars as Ashley's mother, Michelle Reeves.
Nadiya's Fast Flavours
Channel: BBC Lifestyle (DStv 174)
TX Time: 20h00
Genre: Food
Making everyday food that's fun and fizzing with flavour, Nadiya Hussain is on a mission to put the excitement back into daily meals – and believes the best way to do that is with inspiring recipes and lots of clever new ways to supersize the taste in our food.
In themed episodes covering topics such as comfort food, fresh and healthy, and special occasions, she'll be looking to put tastes buds into overdrive: sour, sweet, spicy, tart, piquant, zesty, earthy, nutty – no flavour experience will be left unexplored.
Nadiya believes the fast track to flavour is to throw the rulebook out of the window.
Why be a purist when it's so much fun to experiment with unusual flavour combinations?
Who says you can't put cheesy puffs in classic macaroni cheese?
And why not add custard powder to your French toast if it adds an instant flavour boost?
As well as shedding light on how certain flavour combinations work, in this delicious series Nadiya will touch on the power of flavour to evoke emotion and nostalgia, sharing memories and anecdotes from her own life as she cooks.
In the series premiere, "Comfort Food": Nadiya kicks off the series with her take on comfort food, and every recipe is fizzing with flavour.
A classic macaroni cheese is transformed with the addition of evaporated milk for richness, Worcestershire sauce and yeast extract for depth of flavour and crushed cheese puffs for the ultimate cheesy kick.
Nadiya then shares her tried and tested recipe for beef vindaloo, letting us into kitchen secrets passed down from her mum and grandma, as well as treating us to her time-saving trick for the perfect paratha.
Next up is Nadiya's twist on classic French toast, swapping eggs for a comforting custard and a standard syrup for a bejewelled maple and pistachio crumb.
Finally, Nadiya turns her attention to her first love, baking, and rustles up a feel-good ice-cream cake, packed with fresh blueberries for zing and fennel seeds for a wonderfully unexpected hit of citrus.
Across the series Nadiya also wants to shine a spotlight on the skills of some of the country's incredible cooks and food writers who share her passion for flavour.
This week, award-winning food writer Olia Hercules shares her recipe for borscht, a comforting but complex vegetable and herb broth that brings back happy childhood memories of family life in Ukraine.
American Idol 20
Channel: Me (DStv 115)
TX Time: 06h00
Genre: Reality Competition, Music
American Idol returns for a historic 20th season.
Once again, industry forces and superstar judges Luke Bryan, Katy Perry and Lionel Richie will help determine who America will ultimately vote for to become the next singing sensation.
Ryan Seacrest returns as host and producer.
This season, viewers will embark on a nationwide search across Nashville, Tennessee, Austin, Texas, and Los Angeles, California, where the show's judge auditions will surprise audiences and hopefuls alike with never-before-seen twists and a first-ever Platinum ticket winner.
The Origami Code
Channel: Curiosity Channel (DStv 185)
TX Time: 19h00
Genre: Documentary, Nature, Science, Technology
Everything that develops and changes in nature is folded: mountains, blossoms, the brain...
Life is an unending series of folding and unfolding.
It's the most economical and efficient process in the natural world.
And it is not only design. Folding determines also function.
Today researchers in robotics, medicine, biology, nanotechnologies, are embracing this "origami philosophy".
They are looking at how materials and molecules wrinkle, drape, flex and crease, refining origami techniques, and trying better to understand and duplicate nature's universal folding principles.
The Origami Code explores this silent deciphering and mastering of a completely new dimension of reality.
The film explores how the ancient art of folding paper has entered the cutting-edge domains of research and now could lead the way to the ultimate stage in bionics.