CULTURE: Same Old Season, Brand New TV...DSTV Showcase!

The best thing about Spring/Summer when it comes to television is that it is like two seasons in one. Yes, we know that in meteorology it is actually two seasons, but that is besides the point. Nothing is as exciting as mid-season premieres to watch and binge your heart out to help curb the summer heat. DSTV recently held their "Showcase" conference and channels from the broadcasting platform revealed details about what's coming to TV before summer ends. From thrilling dramas to hilarious comedies and soap operas, African TV is ending this season with a bang! All sorts of enticing brand new shows and returning favorites have been commissioned to keep you entertained and glued to that sleek plasma of yours until winter breaks in. I have collected all the deets to keep you up to date like all the cool kids and you won't have to rely on the old school TV guide anymore.

I have always said that Mnet Edge is like heaven's answer to 'television globalisation' for African human kind. It is like our very own gold mine of international shows. At the DSTV Showcase, the channel revealed details about upcoming shows such as "Vynyl", "The Family", "Containment" and "Divorce". We can also look out for Shondaland's new crime drama series "The Catch" and movie adaptation, "Westworld", which I am excited for. Brand new episodes of favorites "Orange Is The New Black" and "House of Cards" are also making a return.

Locally brewed shows are also bringing on the fire and magic on our screens this year. The action packed drama series "Heist" will make its debut on etv, we throttle around South Africa in "Double Up Mzansi" while the saga on "Umlilo" and "Ashes To Ashes" continue. Rockville also makes a return on Mzansi Magic as brand new "Ke Thaba Bosiu" and "The Contenders" replace "The Road" and "Zabalaza".

Here is a list of new and returning shows we are excited to see soon on DSTV:

- The Heist | etv | 9 February, 2135

- Double UP | etv | 8 February, 2030

- Jongo | etv | TBC

- Umlilo S2 | etv | March

- Ashes to Ashes S2 | etv | March

- Clash of Choirs South Africa | Mzansi Magic | 31 January, 1730

- Rockville S4 | Mzansi Magic | TBC

- Ke Thaba Bosiu | Mzansi Magic | April

- The Contenders | Mzansi Magic | April

- Showville S2 | SABC 2 | 6 February, 1930

- Pasella | SABC 2 | 5 February, 1930

- The Voice South Africa | Mnet | 31January, 1730
- The Great South African Bake Off | BBC Lifestyle | TBC

- Vynyl | Mnet Edge | TBC

- The Catch | Mnet Edge | TBC

- The Family | Mnet Edge | TBC

- Westworld | Mnet Edge | TBC

- Divorce | Mnet Edge | TBC

- Containment | Mnet Edge | TBC

- Orange Is The New Black | Mnet Edge | TBC

- House of Cards | Mnet Edge | TBC
- The UrbanMusic Wxperiwnce | SABC 1 | 12 February, 2100
- 50/50 | SABC 2 | 18 February
- Mokapelo | SABC 1 | 17 February
- The Wire S5 | Mnet Edge | 9 February
- Ayashisa Amateki | SABC1 | 11 february
- Lipsync Battle Africa | etv | TBC
- Mfolozi Street | SABC 1 | 11 February

This list will be updated as new information becomes available. Make sure to bookmark the page and keep checking for new developments.

FILM REVIEW: "Ride Along 2" not worth the ride

Ride Along is pretty stupid, but it is funny stupid. It is light hearted, it goes down easy and it is full of wit. It is the perfect guilty pleasure. The kind of movie that you watch while continuously asking yourself “why am I even watching this?”, but too caught up in fits of laughter the whole time to even get up and walk away. So it was only natural that I was excited at the chance to see Ride Along 2. Guess what? I did not laugh. Not once. Which is unusual because one glance at Kevin Hart usually has one laughing so hard already, before he even utters a word. Well, Ride Along 2 will definitely suck all that humor right out of you. 

The sequel picks up sometime after the first movie. Not that much time has passed though because Ben (Kevin Hart) and Angela (Tika Sumpter) who got engaged at the end of Ride Along are still to get married. Ben is now a rookie police officer and James (Ice Cube) is still a scowling detective who loves to hate his future brother-in-law. We follow the two as they are assigned on a case in Miami where they are tailing a hacker (Ken Jeong) in a bid to track down a drug dealer. The location itself really let's us soak up the “Magic City experience” through shots of bikini-clad bodies, a foot chase in the back alleys of Little Havana and some dancing at a night club. However, the tired story line will have you knocked of to slumber in minutes. 

The exhausted cop buddy angle comes to play but even so, Ben and James fail to bring out the right chemistry to make it work. It is so typical of the filmmakers to rely on fast talking and slow thinking as a comic element for Hart’s character. Cube on the other hand just does the bare minimum to keep the generic story going. The entire movie feels over explained and it seems as though the writers had tried too hard to make it all funny, failing dismaly. A cameo by Tyrese Gibson atempts to mock the Fast and Furious franchise, Ben finds himself trapped in a backyard with a jumbo aligator and he draws inspiration from his video-game addiction to maneuver his way through a car chase. I must credit the editor, Peter S. Eliot though for his skils in simultaneously cuting briskly through live action and some action packed car racing video game; the only time the movie springs to life. The rest if the plot just chokes and sputters along with desperation to piece together. Even with a solid cast ensamble of incredible actors, Ride Along 2 is nothing short of a big fat joke without the funny. I wouldn't recommend it unless you really wanted to see how bad it is

TV REVIEW: "Billions" is right on the money!

Power hungry men with lots of money that growl at each other in a case of justice vs corruption. This is a formula that has been used by a lot of networks to create many of the shows we see on TV everyday and yet as popular as it is, it is a method that seems to work allthe time. From Suits, to House of Cards, The Goodwife, Blacklist, and so on; we are pretty much used to the rich folks that think they can get away with anything and probably make more money while at it as the ambitious servant of the law fights to bring them down. Take this formula and apply it to finance, you get Showtime's new series, Billions. 

'Billions' is a fictional drama that takes an insider look at the world of high finance by tracking the approaching collision between two titanic figures- the hard charging, politicaly savvy U.S. Attorney Chuck Rhoades (Paul Giamati), who is fixated on slaying Wall Street corruption while propelling himself into political office and the brilliant, ambitious hedge fund king, Bobby 'Axe' Axelrod (Damian Lewis). The plot focuses on the two men puting a squeeze on each other with touches on both their professional and personal lives, including their women. 

Maggie Siff plays Rhoades’s wife, Wendy, who also (unbelievably) works as an in-house motivational guru for Axelrod. She is the woman between the two peacocking alphas, creating an interesting conflict of interest. The scenes in which Wendy counsels Axelrod’s staff to let go of their insecurities and pump up their egos are absurdly some of the most intense and best scenes of the show. If Billions writers play their cards write, she could easily turn into the star of the show. On the other hand, Lara Axelrod, played by Malin Akerman is Paul’s wife and an occasional equal partner in Axe's enterprise — an easily forgettable detail as her appearances are surprisingly kept at minimal. 

With two bulls at loggerhead, one might expect the show to be all kinds of testosterone-blotted, but it is interesting to see they way in which Rhoades and Axelrod’s characters balance out. While Chuck is mostly melodramatic and neurotic rage, often barking furiously; Axe is always calm and confident. The cut between Rhoades’ wood paneled municipal office and Axelrod’s sparkling white hallways further creates the difference between the two men. Ambition, greed, corruption and manipulation makes for a captivating backdrop throughout the plot. Even though their method of getting things done seem vicious, their goals are transparent; which we cannot say for Wendy who is not clear when it comes to her loyalty. 

A wagon of engrossing psychosocial dynamics mixed with a fine balance of sexual proclivities driven by two Emmy-winning titans, Bilions is right on the money. Siff has thrived opposite heavily male ensembles before, but it is intriguing to witness her play a more influential role. In early episodes we also see features from amazing supporting players including Toby Leonard Moore, Jefrey DeMunn and David Costabile. Though in risk of falling into the category of “typical”, if you ask me, Bilions is about to make milions. 

Bilions airs on Mnet Edge every Tuesdays at 9pm