We’re now officially half-way through 2025. While the White House has certainly brought the drama this year, they still have nothing on DStv, who have rounded up the Best TV of 2025 So Far below.
SHAKA ILEMBE S2 | Biggest local drama series so far
Mzansi Magic (DStv Channel 161 | 20:00 on Sundays
Season 2 picks up as Shaka arrives at KwaNobamba with Nandi to claim his throne as the new Zulu king. Lemogang Tsipa and Nomzamo Mbatha co-star as Shaka and Nandi, fresh from their nomination and win respectively at the 2024 Septimius Awards in Amsterdam.
The all-star cast includes Thembinkosi Mthembu in a SAFTA-winning performance as Dingiswayo and Wiseman Mncube in a National Film and TV Awards-winning performance as Zwide.
The first season of Shaka iLembe became the most watched DStv drama series ever, was the most searched TV series on Google in 2023, and went on to become the most awarded drama series ever at the SAFTAs.
Produced by Bomb (Yizo Yizo, Isibaya), Shaka iLembe is co-created by Oscar nominee Angus Gibson, Emmy nominee Desireé Markgraaff, and Mpumemelo Paul Grootboom, who won Scriptwriting SAFTAs in both 2023 and 2024.
Watch the trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygaGZs1_0Fo
Special mention: Cobrizi (Mzansi Magic), Recipes for Love & Murder S2 (M-Net)
NIGGIES | Best Afrikaans drama series so far
Binge the kykNET series now on DStv Stream, with English subtitles
In 1966, Issie Fourie and Petro Nel were kidnapped and murdered in the peaceful town of Odendaalsrus in the Free State. Issie’s brother, André, swore to throw everything into the fight to have the culprit apprehended. It would take him nearly 20 years.
SAFTA winner Jaco Bouwer (Spinners) directs, with Wolflight Films producing. Wolflight were behind Koek, the most-awarded series at last year’s Silwerskerm Film & TV Awards.
Silwerskerm winner Beer Adriaanse (Hotel, Wonderlus) and newcomer Janru Steenkamp co-star as the older and younger André respectively, leading an all-star cast.
Niggies received rave reviews, scoring 10/10 from top Afrikaans critic Leon van Nierop and 5/5 on News24, where Thinus Ferreira wrote, “If kykNET’s gripping, original true crime series Niggies were called Cousins, an HBO Original set in America as a period drama murder mystery, it would make a clean sweep at the Emmys, claiming awards for directing, acting, costuming, writing, and set design… Niggies is a chilling masterpiece.”
Companion podcast Niggies: Die true-crime potgooi, is also available on DStv Stream and Spotify.
Watch the trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSah8EHOjjs
Special mention: Die Nuusmakers (kykNET)
LANDMAN | Biggest international series so far
M-Net (DStv Channel 101) | 21:00 on Mondays
The most streamed show in the world for the first quarter of 2025 was Landman, the latest smash hit from Taylor Sheridan, the man behind Yellowstone, 1923, Special Ops: Lioness, Tulsa King and more.
Landman is a modern-day tale of fortune-seeking, set within the West Texas oilfields where roughnecks and wildcat billionaires are fuelling a boom so big it’s reshaping the climate, the economy and the geopolitics of the region.
Oscar winner Billy Bob Thornton was nominated for the 2025 Golden Globe for Best Actor as oil company fixer Tommy Norris. The all-star cast includes Oscar nominee Demi Moore (The Substance), Teen Choice nominee Ali Larter (Heroes, Final Destination), and Emmy winner Jon Hamm (Mad Men, Fargo).
Watch the trailer, which has nearly 6m views:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zxh49-bsIk
Special mentions: Ludwig S1 (BBC Brit) and Matlock S1, The Day of The Jackal S1, The Last of Us S2, and The White Lotus S3 (all M-Net)
BIG BROTHER MZANSI | The biggest reality series so far
Binge the Mzansi Magic series now on DStv Stream
With a finale that had the whole nation on the edge of their seats, Big Brother Mzansi cemented its place as South Africa’s ultimate reality show this year.
The most-watched show on DStv Stream in southern Africa, Big Brother Mzansi generated over 302 million mentions and 1.1 billion impressions on X, while fans voted 293m times in the finale week – a 330% increase from Season 4.
Watch the trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxVCJLodIAc
Special mentions: Uthando Nes’thembu S8 and its spinoff, Izingane Zes’thembu S3 (both Mzansi Magic), as well as S2 of International Emmy nominee Die Brug (kykNET) and dating formats The Catch S1 and Makoti Are You The One? S3 (both Mzansi Magic).
BRIDGET JONES: MAD ABOUT THE BOY | Best movie so far
Stream on DStv Stream
23 years after her Oscar nomination for Bridget Jones’s Diary, Renée Zellweger is back in the fourth instalment of the beloved romcom series based on Helen Fielding’s bestselling books.
Now in her 50s and single again after the untimely death of her husband, Bridget finds herself grappling with solo parenting and the challenges of re-entering the dating world.
Hugh Grant returns as Daniel Cleaver, with Leo Woodall (Jack in The White Lotus S2) as Bridget’s much younger love interest and Oscar nominee Chiwetel Ejiofor as her son’s teacher.
Watch the trailer, which has over 5m views:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhAcAgULwYY
Special mentions: Dune: Part Two, Gladiator II, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire
GENESIS S1 | Biggest telenovela so far
Mzansi Magic (DStv Channel 161) | 19:30 weekdays
Felicia Thabethe, once the queen of gospel, thought she had built an unshakable legacy with her husband, Gabriel. But when shocking secrets surface, everything she has worked for is thrown into chaos. Now, with Genesis Records at risk, Felicia must fight to protect her family’s name before it all crumbles.
Produced by Singavision Productions, Mzansi Magic’s new telenovela stars four-time SAFTA nominee Baby Cele (Sibongile & The Dlaminis, Shaka Ilembe, Uzalo), Buyile Mdladla (Gomora), Nay Maps (Umkhokha: The Curse, The Queen), Gaosi Raditholo (The River), KB Motsilanyane (Law, Love and Betrayal), and Kealeboga Masango, nominated as Best Newcomer at the 2024 National Film & TV Awards South Africa, for her role as Buhle in Youngins.
Watch the trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJZ3bPkjqoU
Special mentions: Inimba and Ithonga (both Mzansi Magic)
HELDERBERG | Best documentary so far
Stream the M-Net documentary on DStv Stream
Just after midnight on 28 November 1987, Mauritian air traffic control lost contact with South African Airways Flight SA 295, shortly after it had started its approach to the island’s Plaisance Airport, en route from Taipei to Johannesburg. After being unable to reach the plane again, an emergency was declared – but South Africa’s worst-ever commercial aviation disaster had already taken place.
Almost four decades later, mystery still surrounds the exact cause of the fire that saw the Boeing 747, named Helderberg, crash into the Indian Ocean and claim the lives of all 159 passengers and crew aboard. Was it simply an accident – or an act of treachery?
Helderberg is produced by Relish Media and local true-crime pioneers IdeaCandy, the production company behind award winners like Steinheist and Devilsdorp and record-breakers like Tracking Thabo Bester and Rosemary’s Hitlist.
Writing in Daily Maverick, Noelle Adams hailed Helderberg as “a must-watch… slickly made and visually dynamic.”
The companion podcast is also available on DStv Stream and M-Net’s YouTube channel.
Watch the trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITdd_jGHRSI
Special mentions: Breaking Records: The Gerda Steyn Story (SuperSport), Ocean With David Attenborough (National Geographic), The Americas, narrated by Tom Hanks (M-Net); Secrets of the Penguin, narrated by Blake Lively (National Geographic Wild); Underdogs, narrated by Ryan Reynolds (National Geographic Wild)
