From exciting dramas and engaging reality shows to innovative Original productions, 2024 was a significant year for Showmax.
In Kenya alone, the African streaming service launched a record 12 Original titles in 2024, doubling the number of Originals from 2023. The year kicked off with Single Kiasi Season 3 in March, followed by The Real Housewives of Nairobi Season 2, Untying Kantai Season 1, Nilichoma Season 1 and Big Girl Small World Season 1 in May. Jiji Season 1 followed in June, with Nai-Rich Season 1 in August, Subterranea Season 1 in September, and Black & Blue Season 1 along with 4Play Season 1 in November. The year concluded with The Hot Seat Season 1 and Nairobi Bachelor Season 1 in December.
Additionally, 2024 marked the relaunch of Showmax in Kenya and other African markets, following the partnership established in 2023 between MultiChoice and the international media giant Comcast’s NBCUniversal and Sky.
Viewing statistics released by Showmax for 2024 indicated that locally produced content continued to dominate, alongside international hits such as the 2023 Golden Globe Best TV Drama winner House of the Dragon and South Africa’s popular reality show The Real Housewives of Durban.
Top 10 most-watched titles on Showmax in 2024 | |
Local | International |
Big Girl Small World (series) | Bel-Air (series) |
Jiji (series) | Chaos Walking (movie) |
Nai-Rich (series) | Copshop (movie) |
Nilichoma (series) | Freelance (movie) |
Njoro wa Uba (series) | Friends Only (movie) |
Second Family (series) | Game of Thrones (series) |
Single Kiasi (series) | House of the Dragon (series) |
The Last Door (series) | Retribution (movie) |
The Real Housewives of Nairobi (series) | The Beekeeper (movie) |
Untying Kantai (series) | The Real Housewives of Durban (series) |
Major milestones from Showmax in 2024
Showmax relaunches
In May 2024, Showmax officially relaunched in Kenya with a brand-new look, new app, and entirely new product suite following the partnership announcement between MultiChoice and international media heavyweight Comcast’s NBCUniversal and Sky in 2023.
Powered by Peacock’s leading technology, the new platform debuted more than 1 300 hours of Showmax Originals across Africa – averaging more than 3.5 hours of brand-new local content daily.
Showmax launches Kenya’s first sci-fi series
Launched in September, Subterranea became the first Kenyan sci-fi show to debut in the market to rave reviews with critics and audiences alike. Business Daily described Subterranea as an “ambitious sci-fi drama” while Sinema Focus termed the Original as a “series that breaks new ground”.
Directed by Likarion Wainaina and written by Brian Munene, Subterranea followed eight participants of a psychological experiment gone wrong.
The show assembled a stellar ensemble cast that included Kalasha winners Foi Wambui (Crime & Justice), Peter Kawa (County 49), and Nice Githinji (The Caller); Kalasha nominees Melvin Alusa and Melissa Kiplagat (both from Country Queen); Philippa Ndisi-Herrmann, Makena Kahuha (Kina), Biko Nyongesa (Sense8), Pauline Komu (Groove Theory), Kenyan Theatre Awards winner Dadson Gakenga (Subira) and newcomer Chintu Chudasama.
Keep a look out as this show looks to snag big nominations at the AMVCAs and Kalasha Awards later this year.
Showmax launches its first Kenyan original docuseries
2024 also saw the debut of Showmax’s first Kenyan Original docuseries, Nilichoma, featuring well-known local figures who have received an unexpected windfall and then blew it all.
“Nilichoma is a collection of these dreams, shared by personalities we have grown up with and dreamt of being. These personalities either inherited, won or were awarded sums of money beyond their wildest dreams. But these dreams turned into a nightmare, and once they hit rock bottom, all that was left were hard lessons learned,” said show producer Ahmed Deen.
Some of the familiar faces in the series included cricket icon Maurice Odumbe, comedian JB Masandaku, David Ogot, son of renowned author and politician Grace Ogot and former Samburu millionaire Gabriel Lengishili.
Showmax was the most-nominated platform at Kalasha Awards 2024
Following its one-year hiatus, the Kalasha International Film and TV Awards returned in 2024, with Showmax leading the nominations.
Showmax Originals received a record 26 nominations, with The Real Housewives of Nairobi, Pepeta and Single Kiasi among the top contenders. Additionally, 21 nominations went to titles from Maisha Magic Plus and Maisha Magic Movies, available to stream on Showmax.
Out of these 47 nominations, Showmax scored eight awards, including Best TV Show for The Real Housewives of Nairobi, Best TV Drama and Best Viewers’ Choice for the crime drama Pepeta, Best Performance in a TV Comedy for Abel Mutua for stand-up comedy show Roast House, Best Lead Actor (TV Drama) for Charles Ouda in Salem, Best Supporting Actor (TV Drama) for Ndugi Kithuku in Kina, Best Supporting Actress (Film) for Brenda Mwai in The Caller and Best Documentary Feature for John-Allan Namu’s true-crime docuseries The Last Door.
Big Girl Small World shines at Dakar Séries
This Nick Mutuma-directed Showmax title wowed critics and attendees at the 2024 Dakar Séries Festival where it scooped the Best Short Series, Actress (June Njenga) and Editing trophies.
This followed the success of another Showmax Original, Spinners at the 2023 edition, where it similarly won Best TV Series, Performance (Cantona James) and Editing.
Hailed by Business Daily as “a humorous look at middle-class struggles in Nairobi”, this romcom follows Ciku, a plus-size woman who stumbles through a journey of self-discovery after a humiliating scandal. In the process, she finds out what it means to live big in a world determined to shrink her.
The 13-part series stars newcomers June Njenga and Daine Njuguna as Ciku and her former best friend Aisha respectively. Also look out for Emmanuel Mugo (Igiza), Fidel Maithya (Single Kiasi), Derek Bbanga (Second Family), and Kui Kabala (Njoro wa Uba).