[category]
[title]
Wow, 10 years.
It’s amazing how time flies when you’re sucked into an endless cycle of great series!
Netflix launched its streaming service here in 2016, and we haven’t looked back. Until now, of course.
It’s time to hit pause, take a moment to rewind, and play some of the highlights from 10 years of Netflix in South Africa.
READ: White Stripes' Jack White is heading to Mzansi and December is going to be lit!
1. Netflix started with DVDs
While we’re celebrating 10 years of this streaming service, Netflix actually started in 1997 as a mail-order DVD rental service. Showing its innovation, the platform has continued to adapt to new technologies, evolving into the streaming platform we know now.
2. South African shows
Over the past decade, more than 300 local titles have become available on Netflix. That includes everything from drama and comedy to thrillers, reality shows, documentaries and films.
3. Netflix has supported thousands of SA jobs
Netflix says its partnerships with more than 30 South African production companies have supported more than 8,000 jobs. That means the Netflix effect goes well beyond what audiences see on screen, supporting actors, directors and producers, as well as the enormous network of people working behind the scenes.
4. Showing love to eight provinces
Netflix's local productions have been captured across 20 cities in eight provinces. So while Johannesburg and Cape Town regularly get starring roles, South Africa itself has become part of the scenery and the storytelling.
5. Blood & Water makes headlines
One of Netflix's early South African success stories, Blood & Water, showed that a distinctly South African story could find an audience far beyond the country. The series became one of the titles helping establish South African productions as serious global streaming contenders.
6. One SA hit that went global
The Johannesburg-filmed The Polygamist became a recent Netflix hit, generating more than 24 million views in its first weeks. It reached the Netflix Top 10 in 62 countries and ranked number one in more than 21 countries.
7. It even got people reading
Better than this, Zimbabwean author Sue Nyathi's 2012 book, The Polygamist, also felt the love after the series debuted, with book sales tripling more than a decade after it was published.
Look how television is actually making people read.
8. The 'How to Ruin' universe is getting bigger
The chaotic How to Ruin franchise isn't finished yet. Next up is How to Ruin Diwali: Meet The Parents, which launches on 30 October 2026.
The comedy brings an interracial couple and their very different families together, with a secret affair, Diwali celebrations and plenty of opportunities for things to go spectacularly wrong.
9. South Africa is getting its own Love Is Blind
Finally! The global dating experiment is coming to Mzansi this year.
Love Is Blind: South Africa, hosted by Dineo and Zothile ‘Solo Ntsizwa’ Langa, will follow South African singles attempting to find love and choose a future spouse before meeting face-to-face.
10. Netflix isn't slowing down
The anniversary isn't just a look back. Netflix has announced a substantial pipeline of new and returning South African productions. There are sequels, new series, reality shows, comedies and thrillers in various stages of production, with partnerships expanding to more local production companies.
Netflix has also launched ‘A Decade In Africa: Worth Every Watch’, a dedicated collection celebrating African stories, fan favourites and global titles featuring African talent. It will be available across Sub-Saharan Africa from September through December 2026.
Ten years in, Netflix's South African story is only getting started.
So the question now is: what are you going to watch next?
READ: Africa is finally taking up its rightful space on the world map as UN resolution passes
TIME OUT SOUTH AFRICA RECOMMENDS:
📍 The best things to do in Pretoria
📍 The best things to do in Durban
📍 The best things to do in Johannesburg
📍 The best things to do in Cape Town