The month of June is stacked with a plethora of great original series and acclaimed movies. From Mzansi Magic’s historical epic series, ‘Shaka iLembe’ and Showmax’s psychological thriller ‘Horisonne’ to the acclaimed Box Office hit movie ‘The Woman King’ and The Max original series ‘Warrior’.
Below are the most anticipated TV Shows and Movies premiering in June 2023.
Horisonne | Streaming on Showmax
Free your mind before you lose it…
Melissa, a psychologist, learns that her ex-lover, Melchior van Staden, has set up Horisonne, a mindfulness estate where he seems to be brainwashing young men and women, spiritually and psychologically. She’s even more concerned when she discovers that her 18-year-old daughter, Adri, whom she had given up for adoption, is now the cult leader’s right-hand woman. Going to the estate herself, she risks her life to save her daughter from Melchior’s power.
The eerie psychological thriller stars SAFTA winner Elma Postma as Melissa opposite former Boo! frontman Chris Chameleon as Melchior, reuniting the two stars 17 years after their bittersweet romantic storyline on 7de Laan as Dezi and Liam.
Rising star Deoudoné Van der Merwe, the face of kykNET’s Stella campaign, plays Adri. SAFTA winner André Velts (Die Pro, Raaiselkind, Vergeet My Nie) directs, while Fleur du Cap nominee and Fiesta winner Wessel Pretorius wrote the script, including a scene-stealing part for himself as a psychopath.
The Woman King | 10 June on Showmax
Some things are worth fighting for …
The Woman King is inspired by the remarkable story of the Agojie, the all-female unit of warriors who protected the West African Kingdom of Dahomey in the 1800s.
Shot in South Africa and Ghana with Moonlighting, The Woman King follows the epic journey of General Nanisca (Oscar winner Viola Davis) as she trains the next generation of recruits in preparation for battle against colonialists determined to destroy their way of life.
Watch the trailer for The Woman King
Davis won Best Actress in an Action Movie at the 2023 Critics Choice Super Awards, while The Woman King took home six wins at this year’s Black Reel Awards, including Outstanding Film, Director (Gina Prince-Bythewood from The Old Guard), Ensemble Cast, Score (five-time Grammy winner Terence Blanchard) and Outstanding Breakthrough Actress for Pietermaritzburg-born South African actress Thuso Mbedu (Is’Thunzi, The Underground Railroad).
The epic cast includes BAFTA and Critics Choice Award winner John Boyega (Star Wars’ Finn, Small Axe, Attack the Block); Uganda-born BAFTA nominee Sheila Atim (The Underground Railroad, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness); BAFTA winner Lashana Lynch (No Time to Die, Captain Marvel, Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical); Teen Choice winner Hero Fiennes Tiffin (Hardin Scott in the After film series); Beninese-French superstar and five-time Grammy winner Angélique Kidjo; rising South African star Masali Baduza (Noughts + Crosses), SAFTA winners Siv Ngesi (DAM, Tali’s Baby Diary, Still Breathing) and Seputla Sebogodi (The River, The Republic, Generations), and South African Miss Universe 2019 Zozibini Tunzi in her debut film role.
The Woman King has a 94% critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes, where the critics’ consensus simply says:
All hail Viola Davis! The Woman King rules.
– Critics Consensus
Shaka Ilembe | 18 June on Mzansi Magic
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. The production has been six years in the making, consulting historians, academics, and family descendants, including the incumbent King Misuzulu ka Zwelithini, Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi, as well as the late King Goodwill Zwelithini.
Watch the trailer for Shaka iLembe
Shaka iLembe brings together the talents such as the incredibly talented Lemogang Tsipa as King Shaka, and Coming 2 America star Nomzamo Mbatha will play Queen Nandi, the revered mother of Shaka.
Starring alongside them will be Senzo Radebe, Thembinkosi Mthembu, Wiseman Mncube, Khabonina Qubeka, Dawn Thandeka King, Hope Mbhele, Mondli Makhoba, Sthandiwe Kgoroge, and introduces Ntando Zondi. Rounding up the powerful ensemble drama is a long list of talented actors like Abdul Khoza, Ziya Xulu, Calvin Ratladi, Phumlani Mndebele, Don Mlangeni, Vusi Kunene, Mduduzi Mabaso, Sibonile Ngubane, Ayanda Borotho, and Wanda Zuma, to name a few.
Warrior S3 | 30 June on Showmax, express from US
Hailed by Inverse as “the most underrated action series of the century,” Warrior is set in the ruthless world of late 19th century San Francisco, where rival Chinatown tongs fight for dominance. In the wake of the race riots that upended Chinatown in Season 2, Mai Ling (Dianne Doan from Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Descendants) uses her government connections to consolidate power, while Ah Sahm (Andrew Koji from Bullet Train, in a Critics Choice Super-nominated performance) and the Hop Wei tong must find new ways to survive.
Watch the trailer for Warrior
Filmed in Cape Town with Moonlighting, Warrior was nominated for two Emmys as well as Best Action Series at the Critics Choice Super Awards. The HBO series is created by Jonathan Tropper (Banshee) and based on the writings of martial arts icon Bruce Lee, with Bruce Lee’s daughter Shannon Lee and Justin Lin (director of five Fast and Furious films) among its executive producers.
Mark Dacascos (John Wick: Chapter 3) joins the cast this season as former gang leader Kong Pak, as do a number of South Africans, including former Idols presenter Colin Moss as mayoral candidate Franklin Thayer, Neels Classen (Binnelanders, Kompleks) as the city’s new chief of police, Benjamin Atwood, and Sean-Marco Vorster (Alles Malan, Legacy) as San Francisco political insider Stewart Gumm. SAFTA nominee Robert Hobbs (The Girl from St. Agnes, District 9) and Andre Jacobs (Black Sails) return in their roles as Stone and Merriweather respectively.
Warrior has an 8.4/10 rating on IMDb and a 100% critics rating for Season 2 on Rotten Tomatoes. Season 1 was among Rolling Stone’s Best New Television Shows of 2019, with The Ringer calling it “a supremely kick-ass and criminally underappreciated martial arts Western” and Vox saying, “Warrior feels like if Peaky Blinders starred Bruce Lee and was set in 1870s Chinatown.”
Everything on Showmax in June 2023
To see everything on Showmax in May 2023, including the original true-crime documentary series Rosemary Hitlist; the new HBO Original The Idol (fresh from its world premiere at the 2023 Festival de Cannes); movies like Nope, King Richards and Demnic, click here.
