Best South African drama series
Get ready to binge. We've found a collection of must-watch drama shows from South Africa, now streaming on Netflix, HBO, Hulu, Prime Video, and other top services!
Charlie Jade (2005)
Charlie Jade (2005)
Charlie Jade is a science fiction television program filmed mainly in Cape Town, South Africa. It stars Jeffrey Pierce in the title role, as a detective from a parallel universe who finds himself trapped in our universe. This is a Canadian and South African co-production filmed in conjunction with CHUM Television and the South African Industrial Development Corporation. The special effects were produced by the Montreal-based company Cinegroupe led by Michel Lemire.The show started in 2004 and was aired on the Canadian Space Channel. It premiered on the Space Channel April 16, 2005 and aired in Eastern Europe, France, Italy, on SABC 3 in South Africa, on Fox Japan, and on AXN in Hong Kong. The show began airing in the United Kingdom in October 2007, on FX. The Sci Fi Channel in the United States premiered the show on June 6, 2008, but after 2 episodes on Friday prime-time, moved it to overnight Mon/Tue.
Blood & Water (2020)
The River (2018)
The River (2018)
Two families, the Dlamini's and the Mokoena's, with different backgrounds that are brought together and divided by the discovery of a diamond in Cullinan, just a stone’s throw away from Pretoria.
The Brave Ones (2022)
The Brave Ones (2022)
An all-mighty goddess reincarnated as a young woman must harness her divine powers to avenge her sister's death and protect her family from destruction.
Sterlopers (2014)
Sterlopers (2014)
Sterlopers is a South African musical youth drama television series created and written by Deon Opperman and produced by Bottom Line Entertainment which follows the fortunes of a group of young people who are all trying to make it in the entertainment industry, as viewers get an inside view into the secrets that are to be found behind the scenes of success.
African Folktales Reimagined (2023)
African Folktales Reimagined (2023)
Six beloved African folktales are boldly reimagined in this multilingual anthology series exploring themes of grief, love, and mysticism.
Dead Places (2021)
Dead Places (2021)
An author who has dedicated his career to solving paranormal cases, returns home to South Africa to investigate the biggest mystery of his life: His sister's death in a water canal 20 years ago.
Alles Malan (2019)
Alles Malan (2019)
Alles Malan is a family drama that plays off in the Paarl just outside Cape Town. Derik and Brenda Malan are the head of the family. Their first born son, Frik returns after 8 years from England to take over their family business from his father. His wife, Tessa, and their two teenage kids accompanies him, but each has a challenge of their own.
Isidingo (1998)
Savage Beauty (2022)
High Rollers (2013)
High Rollers (2013)
High Rollers is a South African television drama series-turned-telenovela created by Joshua Rous and Luke Rous and produced by Rous House Productions which is an inter-generational family drama set against the backdrop of the glamorous and backstabbing world of gambling.
Uzalo (2015)
Uzalo (2015)
initially recounted the tale of two KwaMashu township families, the criminal Xulu family and the Christian Mdletshe family, whose boys were switched during childbirth in a hospital. But since then, a lot has changed in the plot.
Tuiskoms (2025)
Blood Legacy (2024)
Jiva! (2021)
Jiva! (2021)
JIVA! is a fun and energy-packed drama series that follows the life of the talented street dancer Ntombi, who while juggling the demands of a dead end job, family responsibility and a rocky love life realises that her dance moves could be her ticket out of her working class neighbourhood in Durban. But first, she must overcome her fears, beat her rivals and sort out the chaos that is her family.
Konings (1992)
Konings (1992)
Konings is 'n Suid-Afrikaanse drama-televisiereeks wat deur Paul C. Venter geskep en geskryf is en wat oor 'n tydperk van 45 jaar afspeel wat die titaniese stryd tussen twee gesinne dokumenteer om beheer oor 'n "Superspaar"-winkel, 'n winkel "so groot soos 'n sokkerveld, waar 'n mens alles kan koop".
eHostela (2019)
eHostela (2019)
Set in the heart of a KwaZulu Natal’s KwaMashu Township, eHostela tackles the story of two sons whose bond is bound in secrets and sealed by guns. Can a family stay loyal when not tied by blood? Exploring the underground society of inkabi (hitmen) which remains masked in mystery and hearsay.
Juffrou X (2024)
Juffrou X (2024)
A teacher at a struggling school is devastated by the death of her star pupil at the hands of a criminal ex-boyfriend. She accidentally avenges the murder and quickly finds herself in the gray area of vigilantism, and surrounded by the challenges of today's youth.
Trompoppie (2023)
Trompoppie (2023)
When Luna, a talented gymnast, is awarded a bursary to a prestigious private school, she is thrust into the cut-throat world of drum majorettes, aka "trompoppies". After a hazing ritual goes badly wrong, cheerleaders start turning up dead.
Dinge Van 'n Kind (2022)
Dinge Van 'n Kind (2022)
Based on the book with the same name; meet Mart Vermaak, the disillusionment of her growing up takes place against the political backdrop of the turbulent late 1970s, while an older Mart finds herself in a disillusionment of a different kind.
Shaka iLembe (2023)
Shaka iLembe (2023)
Set in the 1700s, Shaka iLembe tells the story of the making of the iconic African king, with iterations from his early childhood through to adulthood.
Erfsondes (2007)
Erfsondes (2007)
A South African Afrikaans series about broken families and the lies and deceit within them and how sins committed to do good can come back to haunt families when they least expect it.
Classified (2023)
Adulting (2023)
Adulting (2023)
Four varsity friends, whose strong bond has held them together even as their journeys in life have taken them in very different directions. As they try to find love and success in Johannesburg after university.
Is'thunzi (2016)
Is'thunzi (2016)
"Is'thunzi" is a South African teen drama television series created by Amanda Lane and set in the fast-paced world of South Africa's born-frees and in an age of wireless headphones, "dabbin" and memes, which follows the exploits of four girls who call themselves Ninjas..
Vlug Na Egipte (2015)
Vlug Na Egipte (2015)
The fact that they are living in the house belonging to the Master - may rest in peace - some residents of Breipaal raise the armor, make others uncomfortable and then there are those who predict that nothing can be done here Not especially after the murder of one of the residents. When Master appeared in the Haasbroek daughter inexplicably one night, things began to take a path that nobody could provide. All four tensions sometimes high and sometimes they sometimes make them sleepy, all at 'The Paal' - Brown and White, Incommers and old residents - are just people who have to overcome many obstacles in order to realize their dreams and ideals and to fear their fears overcome.
Die Sonkring (1991)
Die Sonkring (1991)
Die Sonkring is a South African, Afrikaans-language television drama series which revolves around a woman who seems to bring tragedy and misfortune to those close to her.