As though The Last of Us S2 alone wasn’t already enough reason to subscribe, Showmax has added two more titles to its April lineup.
LATE ADDITIONS TO APRIL
POWER BOOK III: RAISING KANAN S4 | First on Showmax
Binge the first five episodes from Monday, 14 April
Family makes you. The game defines you.
Kanan, Raq, and the rest of the Thomas family return for a new season of Power Book III: Raising Kanan, filling in the gaps leading up to the deadly showdown in the Season 3 finale.
Already renewed for a fifth season, Raising Kanan is a prequel to the smash hit crime drama Power and stars Mekai Curtis as the young Kanan Stark (played in the original series by Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, who once again exec produces here).
As Kanan’s ruthless mother Raq, Tony Award winner Patina Miller picked up her second Black Reel Award nomination last year. She’s also been nominated twice at the Women’s Image Network Awards, where the show was nominated for Best Drama Series.
The Hollywood Reporter hails Miller for “one of TV’s most magnetic (and beautifully costumed) under-the-radar lead performances,” adding “Raising Kanan is both more narratively meticulous and emotionally grounded than a threequel/prequel crime drama spinoff has any right to be.”
Watch the trailer, which has over 4m views:
SMILE 2 | First On Showmax
Stream from Friday, 18 April
Naomi Scott (Aladdin) stars as Skye Riley, a global pop sensation on the verge of a world tour who begins experiencing terrifying and inexplicable events. Overwhelmed by the escalating horrors and the pressures of fame, Skye is forced to face her dark past to regain control of her life before it spirals out of control.
Written and directed by Parker Finn, returning after the success of the original Smile, this sequel also sees Kyle Gallner reprise his role as Joel from the first film. Also look out for Rosemarie DeWitt (Rachel Getting Married), Lukas Gage (The White Lotus), and two-time Emmy nominee Drew Barrymore (50 First Dates).
At The Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films’ 2025 Saturn Awards, Smile 2 was up for Best Horror, Actress (Scott), Make Up, and Music (for Cristobal Tapia de Veer of The White Lotus fame).
A #1 box office hit, Smile 2 has an 86% critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The critics’ consensus there praises Scott’s “nerve-jangling star turn” in “a pop stardom nightmare that’ll leave a rictus grin on horror fans’ faces.”
Watch the trailer, which has over 14m views:
DATE CHANGES
THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF BEVERLY HILLS S14 | First on Showmax
Binge from Thursday, 10 April
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills (RHOBH) follows the lives of some of the most affluent women in the world as they enjoy the lavish lifestyles only Beverly Hills can provide.
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills won the Critics’ Choice TV Award for Best Reality Series for its debut season and has been nominated for three MTV Awards and nine People’s Choice Awards, including Reality Show of the Year in 2024.
Season 14’s stars include former Netflix chief marketing officer Bozoma Saint John, who grew up in Ghana and Kenya, and actresses Garcelle Beauvais (Black Girl Missing, The Other Black Girl, Survival of the Thickest) and Kyle Richards (of Halloween fame), who’ve both picked up multiple People’s Choice nominations for the show.
This season’s lineup includes Erika Girardi (aka singer and actress Erika Jayne), fashion designer Dorit Kemsley, and socialite and businesswoman Sutton Stracke. Also look out for philanthropist and entrepreneur Kathy Hilton (Kyle Richards’ half-sister and Paris Hilton’s mom) and Oscar nominee Jennifer Tilly (from Chucky and Bound), coming in as friends of the Housewives.
Watch the trailer:
THE HANDMAID’S TALE S6 | First On Showmax
Wednesdays from 16 April
In the sixth and final season of The Handmaid’s Tale, June’s unyielding spirit and determination pull her back into the fight to take down Gilead.
Elisabeth Moss returns to her Emmy-winning role as June, alongside fellow Emmy winners Ann Dowd, Bradley Whitford, and Samira Wiley, and Emmy nominees Yvonne Strahovski, Max Minghella, O-T Fagbenle, and Madeline Brewer. Emmy nominee Josh Charles (The Good Wife’s Will Gardner) joins the cast this season.
Based on Margaret Atwood’s dystopian classic, the first five seasons won 15 Emmys. One of the most anticipated TV shows of 2025, Season 6 has not disappointed, with a 100% critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes – the best yet for the show. As MNSBC says, The Handmaid’s Tale is now “more relevant than ever.”
Watch the trailer, with over 11m views:
TULSA KING S2
Binge from Friday, 25 April
After being released from prison after 25 years, New York mafia capo Dwight “The General” Manfredi is exiled to Tulsa, Oklahoma. Realising that his Mob family may not have his best interests in mind, Dwight sets out to establish a new criminal empire – in a place that might as well be another planet.
In his first TV lead role, Oscar nominee Sylvester Stallone (aka Rocky Balboa) stars as Manfredi – a role that’s already earned him a Critics Choice Super Awards nomination for Best Actor in an Action Series.
Created by Taylor Sheridan (Yellowstone), Tulsa King’s first season was nominated for an Emmy for its stunt coordination, as well as Best Action Series at the Critics Choice Super Awards. With a rare 100% critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes, Season 2 was up for Best Action/Thriller Series at the 2025 Saturn Awards, as voted by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films.
Season 2’s first episode became the most-watched global premiere ever on Paramount+, with Tulsa King ranking as a Nielsen Top 10 streaming title throughout its US run.
Frank Grillo (Boss Level, Peacemaker) joins the cast this season as Kansas City Mob boss Bill Bevilaqua. Also look out for Critics Choice nominee Neal McDonough (DC’s Damien Darhk, and Marvel’s Dum Dum Dugan), Emmy winner Dana Delany (Katherine in Desperate Housewives), Emmy nominee Annabella Sciorra (Gloria Trillo in The Sopranos), and Stallone’s daughter, Scarlet Rose Stallone.
Watch the trailer, with over five million views:
Please note schedules are subject to change. Please keep an eye on everything coming to Showmax in April on Showmax Stories here, including:
• The second season of the Emmy-winning phenomenon The Last Of Us
• Derbies galore in the Premier League, as well as the FA Cup semi-finals
• Local films Kites and Adam, fresh from screening in competition at Joburg Film Festival in March
• Rotten Tomatoes’ fourth Best Movie of 2024, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
• My Brother’s Keeper S2, DStv’s Most Streamed Title of 2024
• Rotten Tomatoes’ best animated movie of 2024, The Wild Robot
• The second season of the International Emmy-nominated Reyka
• Silwerskerm winner Hans Steek Die Rubicon Oor
• OG reality icons Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie reunite in Paris & Nicole: The Encore
• Martin Freeman in his International Emmy-winning role in The Responder
