10 Series To Binge-Watch This Long Weekend

It’s going to be a long weekend, at least, here in Kenya. And instead of spending the three-day weekend scrolling looking for titles to watch – here are our top suggestions for new tv series to binge-watch on Showmax.

House of The Dragon Season 1

House of the Dragon is a prequel set to the events of Game of Thrones and takes place 200 years and detail the Targaryen civil war—called the Dance of the Dragons. So far Showmax has all seven episodes with new ones streaming on Sunday.

Not to share spoilers, but the show has picked up with two time jumps and conflict and tension between the Targaryens and the Hightowers is now at breaking point.

Unlike Game of Thrones, we get to see this many living and fighting dragons in Westeros – 17 in total and nine in this season.

HBO has renewed the show for a season two.

Blood Psalms Season 1

Blood Psalms is the first Showmax Original fantasy series set in ancient Africa and has the same succession battles as House of Dragon. Blood Psalms follows Princess Zazi (Bokang Phelane) as she battles a world-ending prophecy to navigate her people through ancient curses, long-standing tribal vendettas and the wrath of the gods.

“I think Blood Psalms is a yearning more than anything else. It’s a look at a history that has never been depicted before, that we always wanted to see,” said the series creator Layla Swart.

“If they want to call it the African Game of Thrones, I’ll take that mantle on. If you love Game of Thrones, you’re gonna love this show,” adds Jahmil XT Qubeka who is also the creator of the show.

P-Valley Season 2

P-Valley is back for season two. And having the COVID Pandmeic shutting down his stripo club, Uncle Clifford(Nico Annan) and Autumn Night (Elarica Johnson) come up with a pop-up alternative: a drive-through car wash, where masked women will give you a neon-lit show.

“There is an easy confidence to P-Valley that makes it an utter pleasure to watch. Season 2 is funnier than the first, going further into its campiness, but it also feels as if it is now fully at ease with itself. There is a glut of prestige television, but this is a standout that is well worth tracking down,” reads a review from the Guardian.

Episode one will begin streaming on Monday.

The Game

The Game is a reboot of the multi-award-winning 2006 series with the same name and offers a modern-day examination of Black culture through the prism of pro football. Hosea Chanchez and Wendy Raquel Robinson return from the original series, with Adriyan Rae (Chicago Fire’s Gianna Mackey) and Emmy nominee Tim Daly (Madam Secretary, The Practice) co-starring.

All 10 episodes are available to watch on Showmax.

Season Two is coming later this year as it was renewed early this year.

The White Lotus

White Lotus season two is premiering later this month and this weekend is ample time to catch up on season one that’s streaming on Showmax – yes, the platform will make the season episodes available when it premiers on October 30th.

Season Two swaps Hawaii for Sicily, following a new group of vacationers jetting off to a different White Lotus resort.

Season 1 was the most awarded show at the 2022 Emmys, winning 10 awards, including Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series, Directing and Writing – and Supporting Actress for Jennifer Coolidge as Tanya – the only S1 character confirmed to return for S2.

The new cast includes People’s Choice winner Theo James (Divergent), Oscar winner F. Murray Abraham (Amadeus, The Grand Budapest Hotel), Emmy winner Michael Imperioli (The Sopranos), Peabody Award winner Aubrey Plaza (Parks and Recreation), BAFTA winner Tom Hollander (The Night Manager), Teen Choice nominees Meghann Fahy (Sutton in The Bold Type) and Haley Lu Richardson (Five Feet Apart), BAFTA nominee Will Sharpe (Landscapers, Giri/Haji), multi-award-winning Italian actress Sabrina Impacciatore and Adam DiMarco (Todd/Elliott in The Magicians).

The Rehearsal Season 1

If you’re into cringe comedy, then you’ll love The Rehearsal. The series explores the lengths one man will go to reduce the uncertainties of everyday life. With a construction crew, a legion of actors and seemingly unlimited resources, Nathan Fielder (2022 Emmy nominee How To With John Wilson) allows ordinary people to prepare for life’s biggest moments by “rehearsing” them in carefully crafted simulations of his own design.

The Rehearsal got renewed for season two.

Minx Season 1

In 1970s Los Angeles, an earnest young feminist (Ophelia Lovibond from Feel Good and Elementary) joins forces with a low-rent publisher (Critics’ Choice nominee Jake Johnson from New Girl) to create the first erotic magazine for women.

The Show has been critically acclaimed topping Esquire‘s list of the Best TV Shows of 2022 (Thus Far) and has a 97% critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes, where the critics’ consensus says, “The rapport between Ophelia Lovibond and Jake Johnson is the irresistible centerfold of Minx, a bawdy and sharp comedy that merits a full-page spread.”

Filming for season two has begun.

The Handmaid’s Tale Season Five

Adapted from the classic novel by Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid’s Tale is the story of life in the dystopia of Gilead, a totalitarian society in what was formerly the United States, where the few fertile women, known as Handmaids, struggle to survive as reproductive surrogates.

Having got her revenge in the Season 4 finale, June is facing its consequences in Season 5, while struggling to redefine her identity and purpose. The widowed Serena attempts to raise her profile in Toronto as Gilead’s influence creeps into Canada. Commander Lawrence works with Nick and Aunt Lydia as he tries to reform Gilead and rise in power. June, Luke and Moira fight Gilead from a distance as they continue their mission to save and reunite with Hannah.

B Positive

B Positive returns for season two this month(24th October) and as we wait, you can binge-watch season one on Showmax. The series revolves around Drew (Emmy nominee Thomas Middleditch from Silicon Valley), a therapist and newly divorced dad. He needs a kidney donor when he runs into Gina (Annaleigh Ashford), a rough-around-the-edges woman from his past who volunteers her own. Together, they form an unlikely and life-affirming friendship as they begin a journey that will forever impact both of their lives.

The new season opens after the transplant, as the pair have to figure out how to move forward with their lives.

Lion: The Rise and Fall of The Marsh Pride

To close the list, we have a big cat documentary to watch. Lion: The Rise and Fall of The Marsh Pride is a 90-minute documentary film that showcases the epic saga of Kenya’s Marsh Pride – one of the most filmed pride of lions on Earth.

The pride battles for survival in Kenya’s famous Maasai Mara Reserve, which has become a magnet for tourists, many of them keen to see the pride for themselves.

The BBC documentary Combines archival footage and recently shot film to tell a tale of shifting loyalties, bloody takeovers and sheer resilience. The lions’ story is told by those who filmed them, tried to protect them and lived alongside them, as well as some who ultimately wanted them dead.

Naturalists, guides, vets and conservationists in Kenya and back in the UK offer their unique perspectives on the life of these lions, while the Maasai, who live and graze their cattle next door to the pride and have themselves been forced to give up their nomadic way of life, speak about the challenges of coexisting alongside these wild animals in the modern world.

His Big Cat Diary co-presenter Simon King, a naturalist and filmmaker, also features in The Rise and Fall of The Marsh Pride.

You can now stream its first two episodes on Showmax.