If your what-to-watch list is starting to look very much like a snooze fest, Showmax has got you covered with a lineup of hit series this August.

Whether you’re into crime thrillers with morally questionable leads (Dexter: Original Sin), epic African royalty (Queen Modjadji), or cartoons that hit a little too close to home (Everybody Still Hates Chris), there’s enough content here to cancel your weekend plans (and maybe your data plan too).

Here are 11 series worth adding to your Showmax watchlist this August.

1. DEXTER: ORIGINAL SIN S1

Before he became everyone’s favourite blood-spatter analyst-slash-serial killer, Dexter Morgan was just a 20-year-old forensic intern with a dark urge and a very hands-on dad. Set in 1991 Miami, this prequel to the cult hit stars Patrick Gibson (Shadow and Bone) as young Dexter, with Christian Slater as his cop father, Harry.

The cast also includes Emmy nominee Patrick Dempsey (McDreamy from Grey’s Anatomy) and Emmy winner Sarah Michelle Gellar (aka Buffy the Vampire Slayer). Multiple-Emmy nominee Michael C. Hall, the original Dexter, voices Dexter’s iconic inner monologue.

You can also binge all eight seasons of the original Dexter on Showmax.

2. QUEEN MODJAJI S1

In a land facing desperation and strife, one woman will rise up to save them all. From hit-makers Rhythm World Productions (My Brother’s Keeper, Sibongile & the Dlaminis, Umkhokha the Curse ), the epic Mzansi Magic period drama is inspired by the legendary rainmaker, the first Queen Modjadji, whose bloodline has ruled Southern Africa’s Lobedu clan for centuries.

The cast includes Makoma Mohale (Scandal!) as Queen Maselekwane Modjadji, with Ngele Ramulondi (Generations: The Legacy) as the young Queen Modjadji, with breakout star Masutang Hope Rasekele as Dzungundini, Queen Modjadji’s mother.

3. 1923 S2

The Duttons are back, and so is the drama. A brutal winter hits Montana as Donald Whitfield closes in on the ranch, forcing Jacob (Harrison Ford) and Cara (Helen Mirren) to hold the line while waiting for Spencer to return. Meanwhile, Alexandra faces her own survival test on a trans-Atlantic mission to reunite with her man.

The Yellowstone prequel stars Timothy Dalton (aka James Bond) as Donald, with Oscar nominee Harrison Ford and Oscar winner Helen Mirren as Jacob and Cara, and Brandon Sklenar and Julia Schlaepfer as Spencer and Alexandra.

Mirren won a Critics Choice Super Award for Best Actress: Action and was nominated at last year’s Golden Globes, where 1923 was up for Best TV Series: Drama. Season 2 has just been Emmy nominated for its costumes and production design.

4. THE PITT S1

Among the three most-watched Max series ever, The Pitt returns ER favourite Noah Wyle to the emergency room as Dr. Michael “Robby” Robinavitch. He faces a gruelling 15-hour shift alongside the staff and interns of the Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Hospital—aka “The Pitt”.

The Pitt is up for 13 Emmys, including Outstanding Drama Series, Directing, Writing, Lead Actor (Wyle), Supporting Actress (Katherine LaNasa), and Guest Actor (Shawn Hatosy).

5. SIBONGILE & THE DLAMINIS S2

In Season 2, Nsikelelo Mthiyane takes over the title role originally played by Luyanda Zwane. Sibongile is nursing a broken heart following her short-lived romance with Kwenzo. Will Phetheni find out about the love triangle she is unknowingly part of? Will Vuma ever forgive Deliwe and take her back? What of Nomalanga’s pregnancy and Gcina’s involvement? And most importantly, will Sibongile finally get to have her Cinderella moment?

SAFTA nominee Baby Cele (Shaka iLembe, Uzalo) and Lungelo Tyson Mathonsi (DiepCity) join the stacked cast this season, which also includes Brenda Mhlongo (The River), SAFTA nominees Senzo Radebe and Siyabonga Shibe, Royalty Soapie Award winner Vuyo Biyela, and SAFTA Lifetime Achievement Award winner Thembi Mtshali-Jones.

Sibongile & The Dlaminis is produced by Rhythm World Productions (My Brother’s Keeper, Sibongile & the Dlaminis, Uzalo).

6. EVERYBODY STILL HATES CHRIS S1

Chris Rock’s life as a kid in 1980s Brooklyn became an Emmy-nominated series in the early 2000s, Everybody Hates Chris. Now an animated version, Everybody Still Hates Chris, picks up the story.

Expect new stories, a new look, but the same Chris. The Emmy-winning comedian exec produces and leads a stellar voice cast that includes Teen Choice nominee Terry Crews (Terry in Brooklyn Nine-Nine) and Emmy nominee Tichina Arnold (Tina in The Neighbourhood), reprising their roles from the original as Chris’ parents, Julius and Rochelle. Also listen out for Phil LaMarr (aka Marvin in Pulp Fiction and the voice of Samurai Jack) and guest stars like Ayo Edebiri and Busta Rhymes.

Everybody Still Hates Chris was nominated for Outstanding Animated Series at the 2025 Image Awards.

You can also re-watch S1 of Everyone Hates Chris on Showmax from 1 August, with S2 from 4 August, S3 from 6 August and S4 from 8 August.

7. RESIDENT ALIEN S4

In the fourth and final season of Resident Alien, Alan Tudyk returns to his Critics Choice Super-nominated role as human imposter Harry Vanderspeigle—and doubles as a shapeshifting alien mantid copycat, who’s visiting the town of Patience while the real Harry is stuck with his baby, Bridget, in a Grey prison on the Moon. Tudyk also directed the first two episodes of the season.

Clancy Brown voices Mantid, while the new cast includes Emmy nominee Stephen Root (Barry’s Monroe Fuches) as Harry’s evil alien father and Jewel Staite (Firefly’s Kaylee) as an FBI agent investigating a series of gruesome murders.

Created by five-time Emmy nominee Chris Sheridan (Family Guy), Resident Alien was nominated as Best Genre Comedy Series at the 2025 Saturn Awards, presented by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Films.

Previous seasons were nominated for Best Science Fiction/Fantasy Series and Best Actor in a Science Fiction/Fantasy Series (for Tudyk) at the Critics Choice Super Awards and named Best Cable Series: Comedy at the Hollywood Critics Association Television Awards.

8. TELEMARKETERS

Nominated for the 2024 Emmy for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series, Telemarketers follows the 20-year journey of two unlikely whistle-blowers at a shady New Jersey call centre.

Executive produced by the Safdie brothers (Uncut Gems) and Danny McBride (The Righteous Gemstones), the three-part HBO series was named Best True Crime Documentary at the 2023 Critics Choice Documentary Awards and won a 2025 CinemaEye Honors Award, after being Rotten Tomatoes’ second best-reviewed docuseries of 2023, with a 96% critics’ rating.

9. LAW & ORDER S24

Co-created by Dick Wolf (Chicago, FBI franchises), Law & Order follows New York’s best detectives and top prosecutors as they try to hold the line for justice.

Emmy nominee Maura Tierney (Twisters, The Affair, ER) joins the cast this season as Lieutenant Jessica Brady, while guest stars include Grammy winner Okieriete Onaodowan (Hamilton), Mekhi Phifer (ER), and Katee Sackhoff (The Mandalorian, Battlestar Galactica). There are also two crossover episodes with Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.

Previous seasons won six Emmys.

10. THE PEACEMAKER S2

John Cena is back as Christopher “Chris” Smith, aka Peacemaker. This season, DC’s vigilante superhero struggles to reconcile his past with his newfound sense of purpose while continuing to kick righteous evil-doer butt in his misguided quest for peace at any cost.

Season 1 was nominated for Critics Choice Super Awards for Best Superhero Series, Actor (Cena) and Actress (Danielle Brooks), as well as for an Emmy for its stunts. Multi-award winner James Gunn (The Guardians of the Galaxy) wrote all eight episodes this season, directing three.

New cast members include Frank Grillo (Tulsa King), David Denman (The Office), and Emmy nominee Tim Meadows (Mean Girls).

11. TEN POUND POMS S2

Ten Pound Poms follows a group of Brits escaping post-war Britain to embark on a life-changing adventure on the other side of the world.

But life down under isn’t exactly the idyllic dream the new arrivals have been promised. After a challenging first year in Australia, Season 2 follows nurse Kate Thorne and the Roberts family into 1957 as they fight for their slice of the Australian dream against all odds.

Season 1 won Best TV Series at the Monte-Carlo TV Festival, where Warren Brown (The Responder, Luther) won Best Actor as Terry Roberts.