International Women’s Day, which took place on Monday, 8 March, is all about the representation and celebration of women without restrictions. What better place to watch women do it all than on DStv?
On Wednesday, 21 January 2021, Kamala Harris was sworn in as the Vice-President of the United States of America. She was the first woman, the first black person, and the first person of South Asian descent to ever hold the position in the country’s entire 243-year history. Now she stands as a beacon of hope for young women who’re making their way in society. She may be the first, but she will not be the only one.
On International Women’s Day on Monday, 8 March, this year’s theme is Choose To Challenge. If we want to create a world in which any girl child can chase her dreams and realise her potential, we need to address gender-based inequality on many fronts.
International Women’s Day is about representation, and celebrating women without restrictions, at home and at work. The more ways in which we can see women, the better. And what better place to watch women do it all than on DStv?
On Monday, 8 March, DStv will feature Women Who Made History on the Curiosity Channel (DStv channel 185), while Miranda Cosgrove introduces us to female scientists in a number of fields in Mission Unstoppable.
The start of a new season of the drama series, Coroner (which is headed behind the scenes by two female executive producers), focuses on Jenny Cooper's (Serinda Swan) work in a scientific field, as well as addressing how she copes with the enormous pressure of the pandemic and her anxiety disorder. And the fun British procedural period drama, Miss Scarlet and The Duke introduces a female detective defying the norms in Victorian London.
There are also all sorts of series launching in the run-up to the 8th, the week of the 8th itself, and throughout March that put women first. From Busiswa Gqulu (aka Her Majesty), Zodwa Wabantu and Chef Nti Ramaboa to Queen Latifah, Anne Frank and the Kardashians, it’s a celebration of women.
They’re joining the family of female-first shows already on DStv like the new local M-Net (DStv channel 101) drama, Lioness, starring Shannon Esra. Then there's all the fun new series on the recently launched female-dominated African lifestyle channel, HONEY (DStv channel 173). There’s no place women aren’t going on DStv – including into the most dangerous criminal organisations on Earth as journalist Mariana Van Zeller demonstrates when she interviews underworld figures in the gun-running black market in the latest episode of Trafficked, on Thursday, 11 March, on National Geographic (DStv channel 181) at 21:00.
Women will also be in the spotlight when kykNET (DStv channel 144) honours South Africa’s creative work during the trying 2020 art season at the 11th kykNET Fiëstas on Sunday, 7 March, on kykNET at 20:00. This year’s ceremony will be held as a televised event and nominees and artists like Corlea Botha, Lynelle Kenned, Devonecia Swartz and Elandré will be bringing viewers some stylish entertainment.
The season starts in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic with Jenny and her colleagues at the coroner’s office, including new pathologist Melanie (Uni Park), thoroughly overwhelmed by the flood of bodies – not all of whom were victims of the virus. In her personal life, Jenny, who’s now single again, will embrace some unusual therapies as she gets to grips with her past trauma. And Detective Donovan will have to come to terms with his own looming health crisis.
Watch from Monday, 8 March, on Universal (DStv channel 117) at 20:00
To stand out in history, these famous female leaders, politicians and activists had to truly swim against the tide. This documentary series looks at how we see them now, and how their behaviour was viewed in their time – from Egyptian queen and wily diplomat Cleopatra and visionary peasant military leader Joan of Arc, all the way through to anti-Nazi activist Sophie Scholl. On Monday, kids will be able to learn about Cleopatra, Joan of Arc, Elizabeth The First and Catherine The Great.
Watch on Monday, 8 March, on the Curiosity Channel (DStv channel 185) from 08:00-12:00
Miranda Cosgrove presents this series about science and scientists with fun experiments and demonstrations presented by real working female scientists across all fields – from chemists to conservationists and more.
In the first episode, Miranda meets a chemist who uses science to entertain. The series collects a huge gathering of female chemists to set off a fun chemical reaction simultaneously, a chemist teaches Miranda and her friends about make-up science, and one of Miranda’s friends meets a young scientist who’s working on saving wetlands.
In the second episode, Miranda chats to a photographer who uses pictures to help save the environment. Miranda will show viewers how to make a hologram using a smartphone, an expert takes us hunting for scorpions, and we meet a marine biologist who is training sharks.
Watch on Monday, 8 March, on the Curiosity Channel (DStv channel 185) at 18:00 and 18:30
This fun period drama follows Eliza Scarlet (Kate Phillips) as she takes over her late father’s detective agency, refusing to marry to escape her now dire financial situation. But since she’s living in Victorian England, she isn’t allowed to own and operate a business without a male business partner – enter her reluctant childhood best friend, William “The Duke” Wellington (Stuart Martin), who’s also her father’s former protégé. Now, how long will it take these detectives to spot William’s crush on Eliza?
Watch from Monday, 8 March, on BBC Brit (DStv channel 120) at 20:00
Dreamy, romantic Fiorella Bianchi has had to care for her sick father and sister ever since her mother died. The Bianchis live in a dingy room, which is all that Fiorella can afford while working as a cleaner. She daydreams of a fairytale wedding with a man she once saw on the street. Instead, after her father dies, she and her sister travel to Mexico where their father’s 60-year-old friend, Vittorio Dragone, is waiting to marry Fiorella. But then she runs into that same handsome stranger again…
Watch Mondays-Fridays from Monday, 8 March, on tlNovelas (DStv channel 181) at 17:40
From entertainment to education, telenovelas to socially conscious series about gender-based violence, it’s all here on DStv, with women front and centre as we build towards International Women’s Day. And DStv will also be launching the brand-new Korean drama and K-Pop music reality series channel, tVN (DStv channel 134), which is full of emotionally engaging shows that have been a huge hit with women around the world.
Zodwa Wabantu Uncensored S2
Zodwa is on a mission to build a lasting legacy for her son. This season, she’s trying to catch up with having made a late start and while she works to secure his future, Zodwa also sets out to take care of herself, embarking on a spiritual journey to reconnect with her roots. But this is still the same Zodwa, raw and unfiltered and embracing the hustle to survive 2020-2021. She will also be meeting with sex workers to get to understand them without prejudice.
Watch from Saturday, 6 March on Moja Love (DStv channel 157) at 21:00
The brand-new Korean entertainment pop-up channel tVN (DStv channel 134) launches on Monday, 1 March with a host of dramas, comedies, action shows, supernatural fantasy series, along with two K-Pop reality series that will make you a K-stan if you haven’t already been swept up in the global phenomenon yet. The channel will be available for 4 months, and all series will show from start to end, some dubbed into English in the US, and others with English subtitles. Check out what’s to come:
Marichuy (Maite Perroni) grows up as a humble orphan after her birth mother, Cecilia, entrusts her to a priest who then abandons her at an orphanage. At the age of 14, she is raped by a drunken stranger, and then, having become rebellious, she is arrested. Psychiatrist Juan Miguel places her in the care of Cecilia and her strict husband, unaware that they are in fact her real parents. But Marichuy’s presence raises the hackles of Estefanía, a con artist who’s been pretending to be Cecilia’s lost daughter.
Watch Mondays-Fridays from Monday, 1 March on tlNovelas (DStv channel 133) at 19:15
Ufelani is one of Moja Love’s most devastating original series. This true-crime re-enactment show explores the terror of victims and survivors of domestic violence. Often deadly explosions of violence are recreated by performers, based on witness testimony and police reports. In previous seasons, the show has dealt strong blows to audiences through its chilling, visceral portrayals of abuse. Ufelani asks the question “What are you dying for?” as it shows us the results of staying in dangerous relationships and identifies the warning signs.
Watch from Thursday, 4 March on Moja Love (DStv channel 157) at 21:30
Lena Waithe’s Chicago-based drama shifts the spotlight from how violence impacts young black men, to include how violence of all sorts impacts the women in their communities, too. Ronnie goes in search of a teenager named Keisha (Birgundi Baker) who’s being held captive in a storyline that explores victim blaming. And The Chi brings in its first lead trans character, Imani (Jasmine Davis), whose fight to overcome her own struggles has filled her with a desire to fight other people’s battles, too.
Watch from Thursday, 6 March on M-Net City (DStv channel 115) at 21:40
Saffron Events in Scotland specialises in weddings for Asian brides. In this 5-episode season, law student Amani and lawyer Ehsin want an Indian Sangeet as well as a traditional white wedding and ceilidh dancing. A bride moves back in with her mother while the team arranges a glitzy mehndi. Someone who used to work at Saffron Events knows just who to turn to when her brother has something to celebrate. And a groom’s sisters need help organising a walima for his bride-to-be, who lives far away.
Watch from Sunday, 7 March on BBC Lifestyle (DStv channel 174) at 20:00
It’s island time from now until Friday, 9 April, with an escape from the daily grind every weekday at 21:30. Soapie star and host of Slank and Kom Ons Jol, Leandie du Randt, is presenting the first-ever season of the reality dating show Love Island South Africa. A group of sexy, single South Africans are converging on a swanky villa in Cape Town, prepared for a summer of romance, friendship and fun. They’ll be matchmaking at warp speed because single folk get sent home!
Watch Monday-Friday from Monday, 1 March on M-Net (DStv channel 101) at 21:30 and Love Island: The Unseen Bits on Sundays following the 20:00 movie, from Sunday, 7 March
It’s pure entertainment with Queen Latifah’s new action series, The Equaliser, and brand-new seasons of The Bachelorette (US) and Temptation Island!
The Equaliser S1
In this reboot of the series of the same name from the mid-’80s, retired intelligence agent Robyn McCall (Queen Latifah) has a lifetime of special skills and underworld contacts at her fingertips. Leaving her shadowy spy past behind, she hopes to use those skills to help people who need to get out of tricky situations, find lost loved ones or are in want of a guardian angel. After the success of her first case, Robyn posts an online message offering help to anyone who has the odds against them.
Watch from Tuesday, 9 March on 1Magic (DStv channel 103) at 20:30
4 couples at a turning point in their relationships are put to the ultimate test as they are separated from each other and placed in a house with a bunch of singletons who test their faithfulness. For a whole month, their only contact with their partner will be via a short video clip that they see at the end of the week. And in the meantime, those sexy strangers will be going all-out to make them stray. Host Mark L Walberg is promising “shocking, messy stuff” this season.
Watch from Thursday, 11 March on 1Magic (DStv channel 103) at 20:30
In this unusual split season filmed in 2020 during the pandemic, there are 2 Bachelorettes in play. The season starts with Clare Crawley, runner up of S18 of The Bachelor, but when she believes that she has found her true love by only episode 4, she asks that they be allowed to leave the show together. Tayshia Adams, runner-up of The Bachelor S23, then steps in and continues the journey, with 4 extra men brought onboard to join her suitors.
Watch weekdays from Friday, 12 March on 1Magic (DStv channel 103) at 18:00
Of course, female-led entertainment doesn’t start and end on International Women’s Day. Stay tuned for the following brilliant series throughout March. Some are educational, some entertaining, and there are some guilty pleasures coming up too! Say yes to the likes of Her Majesty Busiswa, Chef Nti and Nigella. Learn more about Anne Frank and catch up with the Kardashians.
Street Food In Africa S1
Follow fabulous Chef Nti Ramaboa on her journey around South Africa, from the cities to the townships, to uncover the defining characteristics of our modern culinary culture. Along the way she will be hunting down those dishes that make South Africa tick as a nation, and the best place to do that is on the street. “If you want to feel the vibe of a city, there’s no better way than to try its street food,” says Chef Nti, the head of Taste Kitchen and the recently launched Chef Nti range of products.
Watch from Wednesday, 17 March on Food Network (DStv channel 175) at 19:55
Musician, record label head, global fashion queen, social media star, body positivity role model, poet, artists and mom Busiswa makes her way to a new palace at BET (DStv channel 129). From her reality TV throne, she’ll reveal where she came from, delve into her award-winning music career including her role in Beyoncé’s project, The Lion King: The Gift, bring us the real stories from her collaborations with international superstars, and open up about how she juggles family life with her busy schedule.
Watch from Saturday, 20 March on BET (DStv channel 129) at 19:30
Nigella Lawson returns to BBC Lifestyle with a new 6-episode series featuring her calm and sensual enjoyment of cooking. She’ll be using simple techniques to raise familiar ingredients to a different plane. Prepare to hum along with Nigella as she makes and enjoys chocolate peanut butter cake, rich and luxurious crab macaroni and cheese, and a fear-free fish stew. It’s all presented as a feast for the eye. Along the way, Nigella will explain the inspiration for her recipes, from her collection of vintage cookbooks to social media.
Watch from Monday, 15 March on BBC Lifestyle (DStv channel 174) at 20:00
Adriana and Alonso Gaxiola are happily married, they own the successful Talavera factory, they’re giving Adriana’s two sisters, Rebeca and Magdalena, a home, and Adriana has a baby on the way. That’s the last straw for the seemingly angelic Rebeca, who is consumed by envy for Adriana’s social position and her hot husband. While Magdalena is trying to get over being ditched at the altar by her fiancé, Adriana suffers a terrible tragedy, leaving Alonso to take care of his baby daughter… with only Rebeca to help him.
Watch Mondays-Fridays from Monday, 15 March on tlNovelas (DStv channel 181) at 22:25
Anne Frank Remembered
This film about German-Jewish diarist Anne Frank and her family’s life in hiding from the Nazis during WWII won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature in 1996. Voiced by Glenn Close and Kenneth Branagh, it features previously unseen archive material and includes interviews with those who knew the Franks, including Miep Gies, who risked death to help shelter the family. The documentary also features an archive interview of Otto Frank talking about his daughters, who died in a concentration camp after those in hiding were betrayed.
Watch on Sunday, 21 March on History (DStv channel 186) at 20:15
As the Kardashians return for their final season, Kim and Kanye are talking divorce, while Khloe and Tristan Thompson discuss the possibility of baby #2. Kim and Kylie discuss catching Kourtney having a nap on the sofa with her ex, Scott Disick, and the possibility of a reconciliation. The family also deal with the news that this will be their final season together, and reflect on their years on the series. It looks like the only Kardashian-Jenner who’s opting out this season is Caitlyn.
Watch from Sunday, 21 March on E! (DStv channel 124) at 19:05
In this Dalene Matthee tale set in 1865, Fiela (Zenobia Kloppers) raises a three-year-old boy who she found lost on her doorstep as if he was her own. Officials try to return him to his supposed family, but he and Fiela spend the next decade fighting to reunite.
Watch on Saturday, 6 March, on kykNET (DStv channel 144) at 20:00
Megan Fox plays a mercenary who’s leading a team that has been sent to East Africa to rescue a governor's daughter and her two friends from a crimelord’s clutches. As the mercenaries flee the crimelord’s gunmen, they stray into an abandoned game farm where an escaped lioness has developed a knack for hunting humans.
Watch on Saturday, 6 March, on M-Net (DStv 101) at 20:00
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Watch from Saturday, 6 March on Moja Love (DStv channel 157) at 21:00
