You have no idea!
At tvplus, we watch an absurd amount of television. And while we might not like all of it, we do our best to give every show a fair viewing. But it’s not all work. We do get passionately attached to shows.
Streaming allows us to follow series and binge to our hearts’ delight, and also fit our favourite shows in around all the live TV viewing that we do professionally. It allows us to sit back with a sweet, funny pickme-up after reviewing intense dramas and thrillers on dark topics. And sometimes it just lets us switch off and enjoy for a moment when we’re neckdeep in season 4 of a twisty, detail-driven show with 40 different essential characters.
This issue, here’s what tvplus is watching for fun… and why.
Name: Genevieve Terblanche. Position: Senior writer and expert cake identifier.
I am watching: New cake-fake cooking series Is It Cake? season 1 on Netflix.
My take on this show: Bakers from around the world disguise cakes as other objects, hyper realistically. The show’s celebrity judges, who’re different in each episode, must then pick out the contestants’ cakes from five near-identical objects, from buckets of sand to burgers, four of which aren’t cake. The winner of each round gets the chance to win more cash if they can pick out which stack of cash is real money and not cake. It’s a blend of artistry, skill and imagination. Host Mikey Day is a scream and with his absurd energy, he could go toe-to-toe with Nicole Byer, the host of Netflix’s other comedy baking show Nailed It!
My favourite moment so far: Each time Mikey brings out a different sword, machete or knife for the cake test… and it’s not cake so you can hear the clank of metal or shell.
Why I am watching it now:
I keep seeing fake cakes being cut into on Instagram and it always amuses me. Vacuum cleaner? No, it’s cake. Dog? Nope, cake again (and the real dog watching is horrified to see the baker cut the cake).
Familiar faces: Mikey Day, one of the lead performers in the recent cast of long-running sketch series Saturday Night Live, is the host.
Name: Lucia Poolman. Position: Editor who wishes she had eight eyes to watch eight shows at once! So much TV!
I am watching: Season 1-2 (so far) of dramedy series Upload on Amazon Prime Video.
My take on this show: In season 1, computer programmer Nathan Brown (Robbie Amell, Firestorm in superhero series The Flash) died in a car crash and his super rich girlfriend Ingrid (Allegra Edwards, Cindy in drama series Briarpatch) paid to have his consciousness put in a cloud-based world called Lakeview so that they can be together even after he’s gone. Nathan is now not only stuck in his new “life”, his girlfriend has also edited his mind so that he’s the perfect boyfriend. Nathan’s only saving grace is his handler Nora (Andy Allo, Lieutenant Seager in action-drama series Chicago Fire), who is trying to do her job properly so that she can afford to upload her dying dad’s consciousness.
My favourite moment so far: When Nathan realises what’s happened in episode 1 – it’s how we all still feel under COVID lockdown: Like this isn’t life as we know it.
Why I am watching it now:
I lapped up season 1 because it’s such an interesting angle on the afterlife. It’s also light enough to binge in a single shot without being overpowering. Familiar faces: Jennifer Garner (spy Sydney Bristow in action series Alias) is the most famous – and she’s only a guest actor.
Name: Craig Falck Position: Deputy Editor who needs to put his hands in pies and squelch ’em around. I am watching: Season 5 of period crime drama Peaky Blinders on Netflix.
My take on this show: It’s like the mafia series The Sopranos, but set in 1920s Birmingham, England. It centres on war veteran Thomas Shelby (Cillian Murphy, Scarecrow in Batman movie Batman Begins), who runs the Peaky Blinders, a gang of organised crooks who have their hands in every pie imaginable. On his side is his aunt Polly (the late Helen McCrory) and troubled older brother Arthur (Paul Anderson) helping Thomas go from small-town baddie to “honest businessman” and even running for political office later in his life.
My favourite moment so far: Whenever Tommy loses his temper – he knows exactly how to reduce troublemakers to sad little boys. And Tom Hardy’s (read below) crazy baker-gangster character Alfie Solomons is utterly sublime as a villain.
Why I am watching it now: The final season 6 has just finished overseas, so I’ve re-binged to get back into Blinders mode. Familiar faces: Sam Neill (Alan Grant in the Jurassic Park films) as vindictive Chief Inspector Campbell, and Tom Hardy (James Delaney in the period drama series Taboo) is genius as slimy Jewish mobster Alfie – the way he’s able to rationalise his vicious behaviour is comically brilliant.
Name: Ipeleng Rakgantsho. Position: Writer who’s a complete sucker for romance.
I am watching: Season 1 (so far) of reality series Love Is Blind Japan on Netflix.
My take on this show: A batch of single men and women partake in a one-of-a-kind social experiment in which they’re meant to fall in love and eventually tie the knot without seeing each other. In the first part of the two-month process, the couples speed date in small rooms that are called pods.
They don’t see each other until they decide to get engaged. After they meet, the couples move in together for two weeks while they plan their wedding, and if they survive, they walk down the aisle. The idea behind the reality show is to determine whether couples can form real connections without seeing their partner physically first.
My favourite moment so far: Love Is Blind Japan thrives when it captures the awkward first stages of dating. We get to see the uncomfortable conversations and the couples working together to resolve their issues. Why I am watching it now:
After watching the original US version, I watched the Japanese adaptation and I’ll admit that it’s better. It felt more real and intimate than the US one. Familiar faces: It’s hosted by Japanese comedian and TV personality Takashi Fujii and actress Yuka Itaya, who played Michiko Ito in the dramatic film The Stranger Within A Woman.
Name: Tumi Kunene.
Position: Art director who thinks that loyalty and sacrifice are a thin line apart.
I am watching: The brand-new reality series Young, Famous & African season 1 on Netflix.
My take on this show: The series is saucy, spicy and incredibly entertaining, and there’s no mind-your-own-business here as we follow a group of rich, famous Pan African friends – Boss Lady Zari Hassan (baby mama and ex-wife to Tanzanian music superstar Diamond Platinumz), Diamond Platinumz himself, Annie Macauley (the Nigerian model and actress), Khanyi Mbau (Zandile in drama series The Wife season 2), Andile Ncube (Presenter of The X Factor South Africa in 2014), Nigerian stylist Swanky Jerry, and South African-born Zimbabwean rapper Nadia Nakai – chasing careers and love in Joburg.
My favourite moment so far:
Zari invites her friends aboard a luxury Blue Train holiday from Johannesburg to Mpumalanga and when they stop for a safari drive, Annie and Swanky plead with the driver to drive away before a lion jumps into the car. And when Andile and Annie call out Khanyi over her teen daughter living in her own apartment next door to Khanyi. Why I am watching it now: I’m all for the opulent life, so I am watching to practice and take notes on spending money! Familiar faces: Everyone is famous. To a point.
Name: Elri Boucher.
Position: Writer who’s frankly crazy about her new bed set. So pretty!
I am watching: Music doccie Parow To Parowfest: The Jack Parow Story on Showmax.
My take on this show: I love doccies, whether they’re true stories about crime and murder, or celebrities in the spotlight. Parow To Parowfest: The Jack Parow Story spotlights South African rapper Zander Tyler, aka Jack Parow, and how he’s made his mark on the music industry in South Africa and overseas too. The guy is unique and never follows convention – and this doccie on his life plays out just as unconventionally onscreen. However, there’s casual drinking and swearing throughout the film, so it might be best to pack the kids off to bed when you want to tune in to enjoy the rock show.
My favourite moment so far:
I loved the discussions that the filmmakers had with Zander’s mom and sister, who sketch a completely different portrait of him and how he grew up.
Why I am watching it now:
I needed to write an article about music doccies and Parow To Parowfest was one of them. The trailer whet my appetite for some Jack Parow action. Familiar Faces: Local singers and bands like Loki Rothman, Valiant Swart, Francois van
Coke and Fokofpolisiekar share stories of the interactions and friendship with Zander/Jack.
Name: Martjie Roos.
Position: Freelance writer with an appetite for a tasty mystery. I am watching: Season 1 of the brand-new local drama series Recipes For Love And Murder, Sundays at 20:00 on M-Net (*101) and on Catch Up.
My take on this show: Karen Jeynes adapted this series from Sally Andrew’s blockbuster Tannie Maria mystery novels. It’s spiced with colourful smalltown characters and stuffed with humour. The wardrobe and cinematography are a feast for the eye too. Food writer Maria Purvis’s (Maria Doyle Kennedy) editor lumps her with starting an agony auntie column, but after Maria’s advice to abused wife Martine Burger (Tinarie Van Wyk Loots) is published, poor Martine is found murdered in her farmhouse. Maria and her fiery colleague Jessie September (Kylie Fisher) team up to find the killer.
My favourite moment so far: In episode 1 when Martine serves her husband Dirk (Bennie Fourie) Maria’s delicious curry dish and he literally licks his lips.
Why I am watching it now: It’s entertaining, tense and really an outstanding piece of worldclass entertainment.
Familiar faces: Maria ( Jocasta MacKenzie Cameron in fantasy drama series Outlander, see p53) and local performers like Tinarie (Lara in legal drama series Fynskrif) and Tony Kgoroge (dead Ngcolosi in telenovela Imbewu, see p27), who plays Detective Khaya Meyer.