The 13 best international series on Showmax in August, from Emmy nominees to critics’ faves
A Black Lady Sketch Show is up for five awards at this year’s Emmys, including Outstanding Variety Sketch Series, Writing, Directing and Editing, which it won last year.
The HBO sketch comedy earned series creator Robin Thede an Outstanding Actress: Comedy nomination at the 2022 Black Reel Awards, where Quinta Brunson (Abbott Elementary) was also nominated as Guest Actress. Thede won the category in 2021, when A Black Lady Sketch Show’s Gabrielle Dennis won Supporting Actress over co-star Ashley Nicole Black. This season’s guest stars include Ava DuVernay, Wanda Sykes, Wayne Brady, Vanessa Williams, Lance Reddick and Phil LaMarr.
Already renewed for a fourth season, A Black Lady Sketch Show has a 100% critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with The Root hailing this season as “the smartest, freshest, funniest comedy on TV.”
Romance meets science fiction in The Time Traveler’s Wife, which tells the intricate love story of Clare and Henry, and a marriage with a problem… time travel.
People’s Choice and Teen Choice winner Theo James (Tobias “Four” Eaton in The Divergent film series, and Sanditon’s Sidney Parker) and BAFTA Scotland winner Rose Leslie (Game of Thrones’ Ygritte, DS Kirstin Longacre in Vigil) lead the the six-part miniseries, which is based on the acclaimed 2003 bestselling novel by Audrey Niffenegger.
Emmy and BAFTA winner Steven Moffat (Doctor Who, Sherlock) wrote the screenplay, with triple-Emmy winner David Nutter (Game of Thrones) directing. The Mary Sue says, “I openly laughed out loud… And who doesn’t want to see Theo James and Rose Leslie falling in love with each other out of order?”
Currently the eighth best-reviewed series of 2022 according to Metacritic, This Is Going To Hurt stars Emmy winner Ben Whishaw (Mary Poppins Returns, Q in No Time To Die, voice of Paddington) as a junior doctor in the labour ward.
Based on the bestselling memoir of real-life doctor Adam Kay, This Is Going To Hurt has a 95% critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with TIME hailing it as “the best medical drama in years”.
Radio Times calls the series “a hilarious but heartbreaking tribute to the NHS” – England’s National Health Service – praising the “stellar performances” from Whishaw and newcomer Ambika Mod and adding, “A fast-paced emotional rollercoaster, This Is Going to Hurt is hands-down one of the best dramas we’ll see in 2022… With the show hitting home just how much pressure the NHS is under right now, the adaptation couldn’t come at a better time.”
BAFTA winner Katherine Parkinson (Jen in The IT Crowd, Pauline in Doc Martin) stars in the 18SN Aussie sex comedy Spreadsheet. She plays Lauren: a freshly divorced mother-of-two, looking for sex without strings attached.
Lauren’s already functioning at full capacity with a successful career as a lawyer, two wilfully disobedient but hilarious children and a slightly inept ex-husband. So how is she supposed to manage a slew of emotionally needy men as well? With a spreadsheet, that’s how.
In their four star review, Daily Mail hailed Parkinson as “one of the funniest actresses on TV,” saying Spreadsheet “combines traditional family comedy with raunchy scenes verging on all-out pornography… like channel hopping between Outnumbered, Sex and the City and an X-rated TV station.”
The Sydney Morning Herald similarly gave Spreadsheet four stars, calling the show “delightful to watch” and praising “Parkinson’s impeccable comic timing.”
EVERYTHING ON SHOWMAX IN AUGUST 2022
To see everything on Showmax in August 2022, including the tell-all interview Mohale: On The Record; The Comedy Central Roast of Khanyi Mbau, brought to you by Showmax; Anya Taylor-Joy in Edgar Wright’s award-winning film Last Night In Soho; the 2022 box office hit Scream; and the family favourite Sing 2, click here.
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