January’s streaming slate reflects just how wide the entertainment spectrum has become. Crime thrillers sit beside reality TV experiments, prestige dramas share space with animated reboots, and global hits arrive alongside local originals.
This month, Showmax rolls out a mix of returning favourites and first-time releases that span genres, tones, and audiences, offering viewers everything from escapist spectacle to intimate, character-driven stories.
THE SPLIT
Stream now on Showmax | New episodes Fridays & Saturdays
The Split is a gripping, high-stakes drama set in the shadowy world of financial crime. Created by Michael Osuji, the 26-episode series centres on three bankers whose lives spiral out of control after they make a fatal decision to steal money that was never theirs. What begins as a pact of secrecy soon unravels when the son of the deceased account holder resurfaces, armed with undeniable proof and an unrelenting quest for justice, triggering a chain reaction of guilt, fear, and betrayal.
The crime drama stars Anee Icha, Baaj Adebule, Esosa Benard, and David Jones David.
HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON
First on Showmax | Stream now
The eigth biggest box office hit of 2025 globally, How To Train Your Dragon reimagines the beloved, Oscar-nominated franchise as a live-action epic.
On the rugged isle of Berk, where Vikings and dragons have been bitter enemies for generations, Hiccup stands apart. The inventive yet overlooked son of Chief Stoick the Vast, Hiccup defies centuries of tradition when he befriends Toothless, a feared Night Fury dragon. Their unlikely bond reveals the true nature of dragons, challenging the very foundations of Viking society.
Mason Thames (The Black Phone) stars as Hiccup, with BAFTA nominee Nico Parker (The Last of Us) as Astrid, Nick Frost (Shaun of the Dead) as Gobber, and Gerard Butler back as Chief Stoick.
THE LIFE OF CHUCK
Stream now on Showmax
Hailed as “the best Stephen King film ever made” by Collider, The Life of Chuck celebrates
the life of Charles “Chuck” Krantz as he experiences the wonder of love, the heartbreak of loss, and the multitudes contained in all of us.
Emmy nominee Tom Hiddleston (aka Loki, aka The Night Manager) leads the star-studded cast, which also includes Oscar nominee Chiwetel Ejiofor, Critics’ Choice winner Jacob Tremblay, Critics’ Choice Super nominee Karen Gillan, and Mark Hamill (aka Luke Skywalker), with narration by Emmy winner Nick Offerman.
Directed by Mike Flanagan (The Haunting of Hill House), The Life of Chuck has an 80% critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
SMURFS
Stream now on Showmax
Code blue! When Papa Smurf is mysteriously taken by evil wizards Razamel and Gargamel, Smurfette leads the Smurfs on a mission into the real world to save him.
Smurfs’ all-star voice cast includes Rihanna, John Goodman, James Corden, Nick Offerman, Kurt Russell, Dan Levy, Amy Sedaris, Natasha Lyonne, Sandra Oh, Octavia Spencer, Hannah Waddingham, and Jimmy Kimmel.
The movie combines live action, animation, and a smurfing line-up of musical numbers, including original songs from Rihanna and Tyla.
VOLSPOED
Showmax Original | Tuesdays since 6 January
Volspoed is a turbo-charged reality series that pulls viewers straight into the high-adrenaline course of endurance racer Antonie Marx and his wife, Ronette Marx, a former Miss South Africa finalist and the steady hand on the home pit.
On the track, Antonie chases fractions of a second at speeds topping 200 km per hour. Off it, the Marx family faces a far tougher circuit: ambition, sacrifice and the emotional highs and lows of living at full throttle.
Volspoed pairs the intensity of endurance racing, a sport where danger is ever-present and the need for speed can cost lives, with the raw, personal stakes of a family fighting to stay in the same lane while pushing to win the South African Endurance Series.
THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF BEVERLY HILLS S15
First on Showmax | Fridays from 9 January
Season 15 of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills (RHOBH) teases all the gloss and glamour of a “Hot Girl Summer” as the ladies jet set across the globe from The Hamptons and Sedona to Italy, but will the drama put a strain on their friendships as alliances shift and old wounds reopen?
Named Best Reality Series at the Critics’ Choice Awards for its debut season, RHOBH has been nominated for three MTV Awards and nine People’s Choice Awards, including Reality Show of the Year and Reality TV Star of the Year (for both Garcelle Beauvais and Halloween actress Kyle Richards).
Richard, singer and actress Erika Jayne, and fashion designer Dorit Kemsley are all back this season, along with businesswoman Sutton Stracke and former Uber and Netflix chief marketing officer Bozoma Saint John, who grew up in Ghana and Kenya.
Entrepreneur Kathy Hilton (Kyle Richards’ half-sister and Paris Hilton’s mom) and Oscar nominee Jennifer Tilly (from Chucky and Bound) also return, with luxury brand consultant and entrepreneur Natalie Swanston Fuller, fashion designer and celebrity wardrobe stylist Rachel Zoe, and “money queen” and coach Amanda Frances joining the cast this season.
THE MINDY PROJECT S1-6
Binge from Friday, 9 January on Showmax
Series creator Mindy Kaling (The Office, Never Have I Ever, The Sex Lives of College Girls) stars as skilled ob/gyn Mindy Lahiri, who’s navigating the tricky waters of her personal and professional life as she pursues her dreams of becoming the perfect woman, finding the perfect man and getting her perfect romantic comedy ending.
When it debuted in 2012, the hit comedy was named Most Exciting New Series at the Critics’ Choice Awards, where Chris Messina was later nominated for two Best Actor: Comedy awards. The series went on to nab Emmy, Writers’ Guild of America, People’s Choice and Teen Choice nominations, with an 86% overall critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Keep an eye out for the stellar line-up of guest stars, including Oscar winners Reese Witherspoon and Laura Dern, and Emmy winner Seth Rogen (The Studio).
HEARTBEAT
Stream from Monday 11, January | New episodes Mondays
Heartbeat, a new dating reality TV show from MultiChoice, explores the highs and uncertainties of modern romance as 10 singles, five men and five women, move into a purpose-built love pad for a 12-week search for genuine connection.
Filmed around the clock, the series captures growing attraction, emotional tension and inevitable conflict as the singles are brought closer through carefully designed games, challenges and shared experiences. With nowhere to hide and everything to gain, Heartbeat offers an intimate look at love under pressure.
As the season reaches its climax, couples are faced with a defining decision. They must choose whether to offer their partner a Promise Lock, a symbolic commitment to continue their relationship beyond the house and explore the possibility of something lasting.
TOUCH
Stream from Thursday, 15 January on Showmax
Based on the bestselling novel by Ólafur Jóhann Ólafsson, Touch follows one widower’s emotional journey to find his first love, who disappeared 50 years ago, before his time runs out.
Variety calls the film “a weepie filled with humanity and hope… a uniquely powerful, humane film about people rebounding from the rubble of devastating losses, choosing courage and love to overcome grief.”
THE COPENHAGEN TEST S1
M-Net (DStv Channel 101) | 7PM on Thursdays from 15 January
Showmax | 8PM on Thursdays from 15 January
The Copenhagen Test follows first-generation Chinese-American intelligence analyst Alexander Hale, who realises his brain has been hacked, allowing access to everything he sees and hears. Caught between his shadowy agency and the unknown hackers, he must act normal to flush out who’s responsible and prove where his allegiance lies.
From multi-award-winning executive producer James Wan, the espionage thriller series stars People’s Choice winner Simu Liu (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Barbie) and Melissa Barrera (Abigail, In the Heights).
CRUTCH S1
First on Showmax | Binge from Wednesday, 21 January
Crutch stars Emmy nominee Tracy Morgan (30 Rock) as Francois “Frank” Crutchfield, who goes by “Crutch.” The brash yet beloved Harlem shop owner has his world turned upside down when his highbrow son and free-spirited daughter move back into the family home.
Crutch has a 100% critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with Variety calling it “a hilarious sitcom about family, community and the ups and downs of life… Stuffed full of laugh-out-loud moments, a robust and talented cast and some iconic guest stars, the show is fun, refreshing and well thought-out… Crutch has all the makings of a classic sitcom.”
JURASSIC WORLD: REBIRTH
First on Showmax | Stream from Friday, 23 January
Labelled “fantastical, romantic, awe-inspiring, [and] most of all… fun,” by Newsweek, Jurassic World: Rebirth was the fourth biggest box office hit of 2025, and has been shortlisted for the Best Visual Effects Oscar for 2026.
Anchored by double-Oscar nominee Scarlett Johansson, People’s Sexiest Man 2025 Jonathan Bailey and two-time Oscar winner Mahershala Ali, Rebirth sees an extraction team race to the most dangerous place on Earth, inhabited by the worst of the worst that were left behind on an island research facility for the original Jurassic Park.
WIFE SWAP: THE REAL HOUSEWIVES EDITION
First on Showmax | Stream from Friday, 23 January
Wife Swap: The Real Housewives Edition mashes up two of television’s most iconic reality franchises.
Follow The Real Housewives stars Angie Katsanevas (Salt Lake City), Dr Wendy Osefo (Potomac), Melissa Gorga (New Jersey), and Emily Simpson (Orange County) as they slip out of their stilettos and find out what it’s like to step into another real wife’s shoes.
The results are raw, emotional, and eye-opening. From unexpected conflicts to major breakthroughs, this Wife Swap journey challenges everything they thought they knew.
I LOVE LA
First on Showmax | Binge from Monday, 26 January
In I Love LA, a tight-knit friend group gathers after years apart, navigating the complexities of ambition, relationships, and how time has changed them.
Creator Rachel Sennott (Bottoms, Shiva Baby), rising star Odessa A’zion (Marty Supreme) and People’s Choice winner Josh Hutcherson (The Hunger Games) lead the cast. Guest stars include Teen Choice winner Leighton Meester (Gossip Girl), Emmy nominee Moses Ingram (Queen’s Gambit, Obi-Wan Kenobi), and multi-award winner Elijah Wood (The Lord of the Rings, Yellowjackets).
I Love LA has an 86% critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Indiewire describes the series as “very funny”; Elle as “comedy gold”; and Vulture as “a comedy that’s both precise and unhinged, absurdly funny yet emotionally true – a portrait of youthful ambition and friendship that makes someone slightly older both grateful to not be that young anymore and just a little envious of those who are.”
HBO has already ordered a second season, after I Love LA became HBO’s second top freshman comedy in platform history, averaging nearly two million US cross-platform viewers.
FIRE COUNTRY S3
Binge from Wednesday, 28 January on Showmax
Fire Country stars co-creator Max Thieriot as Bode Donovan, a young convict in an unconventional prison release program in California, working with elite firefighters to extinguish massive, unpredictable wildfires.
New characters this season include Southern California firefighter Camden Casey (Jared Padalecki from Supernatural) and ex-con Audrey James (Daytime Emmy nominee Leven Rambin from True Detective S2 and Gone). Also look out for Grammy-nominated musician Jelly Roll and Emmy nominees Constance Zimmer (UnREAL, Good Trouble) and Morena Baccarin (Deadpool, Serenity), whose spin-off show, Sheriff Country, starts on M-Net this month.
Fire Country was nominated for Best Action Series at the Critics Choice Super Awards, and has already been renewed for a fourth season.
M3GAN 2.0
First on Showmax | Stream from Friday, 30 January
If you thought M3GAN was a problem, brace yourself for Amelia, a military-grade weapon built by a defence contractor using the murderous doll’s underlying tech…
Gerard Johnstone is back as director, with horror legends James Wan and Jason Blum again producing, and stars Allison Williams, Violet McGraw and Amie Donald all returning.
Ivanna Sakhno (Ahsoka, Pacific Rim: Uprising) joins the cast as Amelia, with Grammy winner and 12-time Emmy nominee Jemaine Clement (Avatar: The Way of Water, What We Do in the Shadows) as Alton Appleton.
The post 16 movies and shows to stream on Showmax this January appeared first on Nigerian Entertainment Today.
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