IT’S been a process, this migration of old Showmax to new Showmax, but it’s almost complete. By Monday, 12 February, all subscribers should be successfully set up (it was such a painless and seamless procedure) and hours and hours of new content will be available (days, weeks, months even). Here, for the first time, is a comprehensive look at the international slate, with some old favourites to tweak the nostalgia, and some cracking new shows. Next week I’ll share the phenomenal lineup of original local content.
In case you missed it, new Showmax has a supercharged PSL soccer element. Now, I’m not a fan but millions are, and even I can tell what it’s offering is going to score major goals (sorry). Anyway, here’s what’s coming in February.
- Ted season one from12 February
Ted (Oscar nominee Seth MacFarlane) is back in an all-new prequel series in which the foul-mouthed bear is forced to navigate high school alongside his best friend John (Max Burkholder, aka Max Braverman in Parenthood).
It’s 1993, and Ted the bear’s moment of fame has passed. He’s now living back home in Framingham, Massachusetts with his best friend, 16-year-old John Bennet, along with John’s parents, Matty and Susan, and cousin Blaire. Ted may be a lousy influence on John, but at the end of the day, he’s a loyal pal who’s always willing to go out on a limb for friendship.
You can also watch the two original films on Showmax from 22 February 2024.
- Full Circle from 22 February
Full Circle centres on an investigation into a botched kidnapping, which uncovers long-held secrets connecting multiple characters and cultures in New York City.
Inspired by Akira Kurosawa’s 1963 classic, High and Low, the six-part series has an 81% critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes, where the critics’ consensus says, “Steven Soderbergh’s assured direction and a stacked cast give this simmering noir plenty of intrigue.”
That cast includes Emmy winners Claire Danes (Homeland, Romeo + Juliet), Jharrel Jerome (When They See Us, Moonlight) and Jim Gaffigan (The Jim Gaffigan Show, Peter Pan & Wendy) and Emmy nominees Zazie Beetz (Atlanta, Deadpool 2, Joker) and Timothy Olyphant (The Book of Boba Fett, Fargo, Justified).
- Halo season two, two episodes on 12 February, weekly thereafter
Based on one of the highest-grossing gaming franchises of all time, Halo is set amid an epic 26th-century conflict between humanity and an alien threat known as the Covenant.
Emmy nominee Pablo Schreiber (American Gods, Orange Is The New Black) stars as cybernetically-enhanced super-soldier Master Chief John-117. In season two, John will risk everything to prove what no one else will believe – that the Covenant are preparing to attack humanity’s greatest stronghold. With the galaxy on the brink, John embarks on a journey to find the key to humankind’s salvation, or its extinction — the Halo.
- Lawmen: Bass Reeves season one weekly from 12 February
Emmy nominee David Oyelowo (Selma, Silo) was up for Best Actor at both the Critics Choice and Golden Globe Awards as Bass Reeves, a slave who became the first Black US Marshal west of the Mississippi, arresting more than 3 000 outlaws during the course of his career.
Created by Taylor Sheridan (Yellowstone), The Paramount series’ stellar supporting cast includes the likes of Emmy winner Donald Sutherland (The Hunger Games) and Emmy nominee Dennis Quaid (Far From Heaven).
- The Office seasons one to nine from 12 February
Widely hailed as one of the best TV comedies of all time, The Office follows the everyday work lives and cringe-worthy antics of the staff at the Dunder Mifflin Paper Company.
If the original British version made Ricky Gervais a household name, the American version did the same for the likes of Steve Carell, Rainn Wilson, John Krasinski and Mindy Kaling.
- The Rookie season five from 22 February
The LAPD’s oldest rookie, John Nolan (multiple People’s Choice Award winner Nathan Fillion from Castle and Firefly), is ready to take on a new role as The Rookie enters its fifth season. But first, he’ll have to face off once again with serial killer Rosalind Dyer (the late Annie Wersching from 24 and Star Trek: Picard).
Lisseth Chavez (Chicago PD’s Vanessa Rojas) joins the cast this season as rookie Celina Juarez. Also look out for guest appearances from the likes of Grammy winner Kelly Clarkson and a crossover event with The Rookie: Feds in episode 21.
- Found season one from 12 February, new episodes on Thursdays
In any given year, more than 600 000 people are reported missing in the US. More than half that number are people of colour that the country seems to forget about.
NBC’s biggest launch on Peacock yet, Found centres on recovery specialist Gabi Mosely and her crisis management team as they work tirelessly to find missing people forgotten by the system. But this everyday hero is hiding a chilling secret of her own…
- Parks And Recreation seasons one to seven from 12 February
From the exec producers of The Office, Parks And Recreation is set in the Parks and Recreation Department of Pawnee, Indiana, and follows a relentlessly perky mid-level bureaucrat, Leslie Knope (Emmy and Golden Globe winner Amy Poehler), and her tireless efforts to make her quintessentially American town just a little bit more fun.
The ensemble cast includes the likes of Nick Offerman (The Last of Us), Aubrey Plaza (The White Lotus), Adam Scott (Severance), Rob Lowe (9-1-1: Lone Star), Aziz Ansari (Master Of None) and Chris Pratt (aka Marvel’s Star-Lord and Jurassic World’s Owen Grady), with even Joe Biden and Michelle Obama making guest appearances.
- Funny Woman season one from 12 February, new episodes on Thursdays
One of Rotten Tomatoes’ Most Anticipated TV and Streaming Shows of 2024, Funny Woman tells the story of Blackpool beauty queen Barbara Parker as she tries to make it in London at the height of the Swinging Sixties.
BAFTA nominee Gemma Arterton (The King’s Man) stars as Parker. Directed by BAFTA nominee Oliver Parker, the six-part series is based on Nick Hornby’s bestselling novel Funny Girl and adapted by British comedian Morwenna Banks (Slow Horses), who co-stars. The ensemble cast also includes Tom Bateman (Based On A True Story), BAFTA winner David Threlfall (Shameless), and BAFTA nominee Rupert Everett (Napoleon, My Best Friend’s Wedding).
- SAS Rogue Heroes season one from 12 February, new episodes on Thursdays
SAS Rogue Heroes is a “mostly true” account of how arguably the world’s greatest special forces unit was formed under extraordinary circumstances in the darkest days of World War II.
As David Stirling, Sex Education’s Connor Swindells was nominated for Best Actor at the 2023 Broadcasting Press Guild Awards. Emmy nominee Alfie Allen (Theon Greyjoy in Game Of Thrones) and multi-award winner Jack O’Connell (Patrick Sumner in The North Water) co-star, alongside the likes of BAFTA winner Dominic West (The Crown) and Algerian actress Sofia Boutella (Kingsman: The Secret Service).
- Accused season one from 21 February
Nominated for Best Broadcast Network or Cable Limited Series at the 2023 Hollywood Critics Association Television Awards, Accused centres on the defendant in a different court case in each episode.
Already renewed for a second season, the legal drama anthology is developed by three-time Emmy winner Howard Gordon (Homeland, 24, The X-Files), based on the Emmy-winning 2010 British series, which was created by multiple-BAFTA winner Jimmy McGovern (Time).
For his role as Detective Trent Douglas, Black Reel winner Wendell Pierce (The Wire) was nominated for Best Supporting Actor at the Hollywood Critics Association Television Awards.
Also look out for the likes of Emmy winners Michael Chiklis (The Shield’s Detective Vic Mackey), Margo Martindale (Justified, The Americans, Cocaine Bear) and Rhea Perlman (Cheers, Barbie), Oscar winner Keith Carradine (Fargo, Madame Secretary), Oscar nominee Abigail Breslin (Little Miss Sunshine), Teen Choice winner Rachel Bilson (The O.C.), Emmy nominee Jason Ritter (Matlock, Raising Dion) and IMDb2022 STARmeter Fan Favorite Award winner Lauren Ridloff (The Walking Dead’s Connie).
- Killing It season one from 12 February, new episodes on Thursdays
Killing It, from the creative team behind Brooklyn Nine-Nine, is a comedy about class, capitalism and one man’s quest to achieve the American dream. And also about hunting really big snakes.
MTV Movie Award winner Craig Robinson (Darryl Philbin in The Office, Doug Judy in Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Ray in Mr Robot) was nominated for a Satellite Award for Best Actor in a Series, Comedy, or Musical. Emmy-nominated comedian Claudia O’Doherty (Mary Bonnet in Our Flag Means Death) co-stars.
- Bupkis season one from 12 February, new episodes on Thursdays
Bupkis is a heightened, fictionalised version of the life of People’s Choice nominee Pete Davidson, which has already drawn comparisons to Larry David’s Curb Your Enthusiasm and Louis CK’s Louie.
Four-time Emmy winner Edie Falco (aka Carmela Soprano) plays Pete’s mother, with Oscar winner Joe Pesci (The Irishman, My Cousin Vinny, Goodfellas) as his grandfather, alongside multiple-Emmy winner Bobby Cannavale (The Irishman) and Everybody Loves Raymond star Ray Romano.
Look out for guest appearances from the likes of Al Gore, Jon Stewart, Method Man, Nathan Fillion, Steve Buscemi, and JJ Abrams.
- Alert: Missing Persons Unit season one from 27 February
As Detective Nikki Batista in Alert: Missing Persons Unit, Dania Ramirez (Sweet Tooth, Devious Maids and Heroes) was nominated as Best Actress – Drama at the 2023 Imagen Awards.
Batista joins the Philadelphia Police Department’s Missing Person’s Unit after her son, Keith, goes missing. Along with her partner and ex-husband, Detective Jason Grant (Golden Globe nominee Scott Caan from Hawaii Five-0 and the Ocean’s trilogy), Nikki works tirelessly to help other people find their loved ones, even as she searches for her own.
Created by Oscar winner Jamie Foxx (They Cloned Tyrone, Django Unchained) and writer-producer John Eisendrath (Alias, The Blacklist), the series has been renewed for a second season.
- Run The World season two from 26 February
Run the World follows a group of successful Black women living in the Upper Manhattan district of Harlem. The second and final season picks up with Whitney (Black Reel nominee Amber Stevens West from 22 Jump Street) anxiously awaiting the fate of her relationship, while Sondi (Corbin Reid from Blair Witch and How to Get Away With Murder) and Renee (Bresha Webb from Night School) are reminded that it’s never a bad time to choose yourself.
- Malpractice season one from 29 February
What happens if you can’t trust the people who hold your life in their hands?
A searing insight into the pressures and politics of hospital life, Malpractice stars BAFTA nominee Niamh Algar (Raised By Wolves, Pure) as the smart, battle-hardened Dr Lucinda Edwards, whose life is turned upside down when a nightmare shift ends in the death of an opioid overdose victim.
The five-episode British medical drama has an 86% critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes and has been renewed for a second season.
- Home Economics season two from 28 February
Home Economics returns for a hilarious and heartwarming second season following Tom (Emmy winner Topher Grace from BlacKkKlansman), Connor (YouTuber Jimmy Tatro from American Vandal) and Sarah (Caitlin McGee from Mythic Quest), three grown-up siblings fielding the ups and downs of life at different ends of the financial spectrum.
Guests this season include maths guru Danica McKellar (Winnie Cooper in the original series The Wonder Years) as the principal of Windmount Academy and Grammy-winning Cheech & Chong legend Cheech Marin as Marina’s father, Roberto.
