African Couch Potato

What do you think? let us know

Today's episode counts down GIno's top 5 shows for the week on all video streaming platforms.
Netflix:

1. Nowhere - A young pregnant woman named Mia escapes from a country at war by hiding in a maritime container aboard a cargo ship. After a violent storm, Mia gives birth to the child while lost at sea, where she must fight to survive.
2. Beckham - With never-before-seen footage, this docuseries follows David Beckham's meteoric rise from humble beginnings to global football stardom.
3. Fair Play - An unexpected promotion at a cutthroat hedge fund pushes a young couple's relationship to the brink, threatening to unravel far more than their recent engagement.
4. Sex Education - Season 4 of this hit comedy drama.
5. Big Vape - The Rise and Fall of Juul - In this docuseries, a scrappy electronic cigarette startup becomes a multibillion-dollar company until an epidemic causes its success to go up in smoke.

Apple TV+:

1. Calls - Told through a series of interconnected phone conversations, it chronicles the mysterious story of a group of strangers whose lives are thrown into disarray in the lead-up to an apocalyptic event.
2. The Afterparty - When a high school reunion's afterparty ends in a death, everyone is a suspect. A detective grills the former classmates one by one, uncovering potential motives as each tells their version of the story - culminating in the shocking truth.
3. Platonic - Former childhood best friends reconnect as adults and try to get past the rift that led to their falling out.
4. Stephen Curry: Underrated - The coming-of-age story of Stephen Curry, from an undersized basketball player at a small college, to becoming a larger-than-life NBA superstar.
5. Messi Meets America - The career of Lionel Messi in Major League Soccer (MLS) and at Inter Miami CF.

Showmax:

1. Outlaws - Set in the lush but lawless land on the border between Lesotho and KwaZulu-Natal, Outlaws is the story of two families at war with each other.
2. Blessers - As a powerful CEO, with a big house, a successful spouse, a family and expensive recreational habits, Jacob feels like life will always be this easy.
3. 3. Poppie Nongena - Based on Elsa Joubert's novel "The Long Journey of Poppie Nongena," regarded as one of the best African novels of the 20th century.
4. Sew The Winter To My Skin - In a racially-charged and violent 1950's rural South Africa, a liberal journalist recounts the epic chase, edge-of-your-seat capture and intriguing trial of a flamboyant, native "Robin Hood".
5. Mapimpi - Makazole Mapimpi stole the hearts and minds of South Africans after the country won the Rugby World Cup in 2019 because of the challenges he overcame to be the best in the game.

Prime Video:

1. John Wick Chapter 4 - John Wick uncovers a path to defeating The High Table.
2. The Burial - Inspired by true events, a lawyer helps a funeral home owner save his family business from a corporate behemoth, exposing a complex web of race, power, and injustice.
3. The Continental - 3 part series that explores the origin of the iconic hotel-for-assassins centerpiece of the John Wick universe.
4. The Upside - A co

Let us know what you think, what movie or series you would like to see featured, or just to tell us how brilliant it all is:
instagram.com/africancouchpotato
twitter.com/africancouchpot
[email protected]
Produced by Ted Loukes and A10 Consulting
[email protected]
Music by The_Mountain from Pixabay
© SANTE MEDIA 2025

What do you think? let us know

From Rosemary’s murder cases to a comedy drama that celebrates plus-sized women, we’ve got you covered.
Top 5
Our Top 5 for this episode is from Showmax. These are suggestions of what to watch and in each episode your host, Gino, will feature titles from various platforms such as Showmax, DStv, Prime Video, Disney Plus and SABC Plus.

• Rosemary’s Hitlist tells the story of how Rosemary killed 6 family members, including her child and partner, to get payouts from life insurance houses.
• Steinhest provides insight on the biggest corporate scandal to hit South Africa.
• The Woman King with Viola Davis and Thuso Mbedu.
• Tali’s Wedding Diary
• Succession - I know this one is neither local nor does it feature Black people but it’s just really good. It is the best series I’ve seen in a long time.

Main Review
Black, plus-size and newly single, Mavis unexpectedly finds herself having to rebuild her life after putting all her eggs in one man's basket, but she's determined to not only survive but thrive with the support of her chosen family. Survival of the Thickest is a comedy series created and written by comedian and actress Michelle Buteau.
Gino's Golden Oldie
Kalushi is a 2016 film about Solomon Mahlangu who joined the military wing of the ANC to fight against the brutal oppression of the Apartheid regime, and ended up becoming an icon of South Africa's liberation.

Let us know what you think, what movie or series you would like to see featured, or just to tell us how brilliant it all is:
instagram.com/africancouchpotato
twitter.com/africancouchpot
[email protected]
Produced by Ted Loukes and A10 Consulting
[email protected]
Music by The_Mountain from Pixabay
© SANTE MEDIA 2025

What do you think? let us know

Welcome to African Couch Potato: The Mash-up...
Top 5
Our Top 5 for this episode are all from Netflix. These are suggestions of what to watch and in each episode your host, Gino, will feature titles from various platforms such as Showmax, DStv, Prime Video, Disney Plus and SABC Plus.

• Survival of the Thickest, created by comedian and actress Michelle Buteau.
• Unseen with Gail Mabalane.
• iNumber Number: Jozi Gold.
• Country Queen - set in Kenya.
• Trees of Peace explores the lives of four women trapped in a basement during a genocide in Rwanda.

Main Review

Shaka Ilembe is the latest TV sensation to hit South African screens, featuring Nomzamo Mbatha, Lemogang Tsipa and Ntando Zondi, who plays the young Shaka. We get into what's hot about this new production about Africa's greatest warrior.

Gino's Golden Oldie

Catch A Fire, based on a true story, came out in 2006, but that is no reason to not re-look at this outstandingly beautiful story with its first class performances and its truly magical score.

Let us know what you think, what movie or series you would like to see featured, or just to tell us how brilliant it all is:
instagram.com/africancouchpotato
twitter.com/africancouchpot
[email protected]
Produced by Ted Loukes and A10 Consulting
[email protected]
Music by The_Mountain from Pixabay
© SANTE MEDIA 2025

What do you think? let us know

Our guest, Sparky Xulu, is an award-winning screen actor who attributes much of his success to his background in theatre.
Having won a Royalty Soapie Award for the character of "Siya Phakathwayo" in The Estate (SABC Plus), other productions he has been involved in include:
Redemption (BET)
The Herd (Showmax)
Supa Team 4 (Netflix)
iNumber Number Jozi Gold (Netflix)
Good Men (SABC Plus)
Isono (BET)
Isipho (eVOD)
Top 5
This episode's Top 5 are films or TV series that Sparky Xulu has been a part of .

• Supa Team 4 is an animated series that follows the lives of four scholars who use their superpowers to fight evil. It is set in Lusaka, the capital of Zambia, and is now streaming on Netflix.
• The Estate which you can watch on SABC Plus.
• Good Men is a legal drama series that can also be streamed on SABC Plus.
• iNumber Number: Jozi Gold is the latest instalment of the iNumber Number series which features two cops who interpret the law very differently. It came out on Netflix in June this year.
• The Herd, which has two seasons, can be found on Showmax and is about a family who is willing to do whatever it takes to gain wealth and power.

Masterclass with Sparky Xulu
We are joined by Sparky Xulu. South African actor and voice from Pietermaritzburg, KZN.
Gino's Golden Oldie
Nominated for 4 Oscars, District 9 explores sensitive social issues as violence ensues after an extraterrestrial race forced to live in slum-like conditions in Johannesburg finds a kindred spirit in a government agent exposed to their biotechnology.

Let us know what you think, what movie or series you would like to see featured, or just to tell us how brilliant it all is:
instagram.com/africancouchpotato
twitter.com/africancouchpot
[email protected]
Produced by Ted Loukes and A10 Consulting
[email protected]
Music by The_Mountain from Pixabay
© SANTE MEDIA 2025

What do you think? let us know

From the Emmy-winning animation of the last episode, this time Gino ventures into the world of the supernatural as he catches up with multi award-winning actor Joshwin Dyson via a Zoom call to Cape Town (voices in the ether, anyone?).
22 year-old Joshwin has been cleaning up on the awards front: in 2019 he won the KyKnet National Acting Competition, in 2022, Most Promising Actor in the Zabalaze Theatre Festival, and last year he won Best Supporting Actor at Silwerskerm as Elvin in Old Righteous Blues, selected as South Africa’s Oscar entry in October 2024. At the start of November, he was up for two Aardklop Awards for Ken Jy Vir Dewie? and Laaitie Mettie Biscuits. And now he's starring in his first Showmax Original series, Spooksoeker, after the casting director, SAFTA-nominated actress Ira Blanckenberg, spotted him in Ken Jy Vir Dewie? at this year’s KKNK and invited him to audition.
Spooksoeker follows the story of a teenage boy suddenly thrust into the world of the supernatural. He must quickly learn how to banish ghosts to save his town, friends, and family.
Spooksoeker is currently streamimg on Showmax.

Let us know what you think, what movie or series you would like to see featured, or just to tell us how brilliant it all is:
instagram.com/africancouchpotato
twitter.com/africancouchpot
[email protected]
Produced by Ted Loukes and A10 Consulting
[email protected]
Music by The_Mountain from Pixabay
© SANTE MEDIA 2025