If you’re a fan of Western-style series, you’re in for a treat. Outlaws, a new Showmax Original, is set to premiere on Showmax on 6 September 2023, with new episodes on Wednesdays. To get a sense of what’s in store, watch the explosive first trailer on YouTube here.
Set in the lush but lawless land on the border between Lesotho and KwaZulu-Natal, Outlaws is the story of two families at war with each other: the Zulu, cattle-farming Biyela clan and the Basotho, cattle-raiding Tseoles.
Showmax’s ‘Outlaws’ cast
Showmax bills Outlaws as South Africa’s first contemporary Western series. Tshedza Pictures’ Phathu Makwarela and Gwydion Beynon are the series’ creators. They have won five Best Scriptwriting SAFTAs in the past four years for smash hit shows like The Republic and The River, which was also nominated for an International Emmy.
Outlaws is Tshedza’s second Showmax Original, building on the success of Adulting, which set a record for the most first-day views of any drama on the streaming service in March 2023.
The cast includes fresh faces Lehlohonolo Mayeza and Nirvana Nokwe-Mseleku, who co-star as Leruo Tseole and Sihle Biyela. Also look out for two-time SAFTA nominee Siyabonga Shibe (Shaka iLembe, The Wife, Gaz’lam) as the Biyela patriarch and Mmabatho Mogomotsi (Snowey in Yizo Yizo) as the Tseole matriarch.
Others in the cast are SAFTA winner Nolwazi Shange (The River, Mzali Wami), Men’s Health Cover Guy Challenge winner Mnqobi Kunene (How To Manifest a Man) and man of the moment, Thembinkosi Mthembu (Adulting, Shaka iLembe, The River).
Multi-award winner Tebogo “Tebza” Malope directs the first two episodes, having recently won the Audience Award at Tribeca 2023 for Rise: The Siya Kolisi Story.
Given the award-winning team and cast behind this series, it promises to be an intriguing one. It’s definitely one to look forward to.