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Cape Town - The wonder that is internet TV lets you watch pretty much whatever you want, whenever you want.
From three subscription video-on-demand services that are available for you to sign up to right now – ShowMax, Amazon Prime and Netflix – we bring you six unmissable shows that you’ll want to devour in one sitting.
1. Younger (ShowMax)
We love sexy, funny Younger, from the creators of Sex and the City, about 40-year-old Liza Miller who gets a style-and-lingo makeover to pose as a 20something after her divorce so she can get an entry-level job in the publishing industry. How long will she able to fool her millennial coworkers - and her drool-worthy much-younger man? Younger is first on ShowMax, and Season 2 has just launched, so you’ll want to catch up on the first season asap.
2. Fokofpolisiekar documentary (ShowMax)
For a lashing of hardcore local flavour, we recommend catching the Fokofpolisiekar documentary, Forgive Them For They Know Not What They Do, about five youngsters who voiced the conflict that a generation of kids, living in post-democratic South Africa, were scared to own up to.
3. The Crown (Netflix)
Do yourself a favour, and get immersed in the luxurious indulgence that is The Crown. You don’t have to be a royalist to get goosebumps from the incredible performances (Claire Foy’s tone of voice and accent are pitch-perfect - she sounds more like the young Elizabeth than the young Elizabeth did herself, and John Lithgow, despite his towering height, makes a shockingly convincing Winston Churchill), smart dialogue and beautiful, lavish costumes and sets. Plus, you get to see Prince Philip’s bottom. We were surprised to find ourselves rather … admiring … him as a young man.
4. The OA (Netflix)
For something a little less like real life, hunker down with The OA, Netflix’s eerie, absorbing fantasy thriller, which was released just before Christmas with little to no fanfare, about a young woman who reappears after having been missing for seven years. Her story, of near-death experiences, kidnap, imprisonment and an escape to other realms, is too strange to be believed - but Brit Marling, who wrote, directed and stars in the series, seems to be begging us to try.
5. Transparent (Amazon Prime)
Transparent is about a Jewish family that’s falling apart, with the patriarch making a transformation into matriarch while his three really-quite-messed-up children grapple with their own identities and secret lives. It’s not easy viewing, but the dialogue, the soundtrack and the performances are nothing short of excellent. We especially love Gabby Hoffman as youngest child Ali.
6. Mozart in the Jungle (Amazon Prime)
It may seem unlikely, but we’ve discovered that the goings-on behind the curtains at the New York Symphony Orchestra are completely irresistible. Even classical-music philistines like ourselves get swept away in Mozart in the Jungle, the drama by Roman Coppola, Paul Weitz and Jason Schwartzman, and Gael Garcia Bernal playing the maverick new maestro boosts its cred for us.
