Surviving ‘hiatus’ season with DStv

Recently, M-Net and M-Net Series Africa have been bringing the best shows from the United States to our screens, hot on the heels of their original air date.

That’s been brilliant news for viewers here, who have been able to keep up not just with their favourite shows, but the watercooler buzz around them – especially the internet watercooler buzz!

It also keeps our “spoiler rage” in check, because there’s less chance of accidentally finding out key information about how the story develops before we’re ready.

But that bonus comes with a bit of a drawback. In the US, and we’re still finding this difficult to digest, they sometimes take breaks in the middle of a season! For no reason! At least, no reason that seems sensible to us, as dedicated viewers hanging for our next fix. But it’s always worst when we’re ambushed by a sudden absence, and with a little warning we can at least prepare for the dreaded “hiatus”.

So here’s where we break the bad news about which shows are taking a breather, and the good news about when they’ll be back.

M-Net:

Arrow

Before the re-imagining of the DC superhero Green Arrow goes on its break on the 21st of December, we will see Oliver train Helena to be a vigilante in her own right. Argh! A break just when things were getting good! But don’t worry, it’ll just be a couple of weeks until it’s back on the 11th of January, and in between M-Net will be re-airing a few key episodes of the show, so that’ll be a great time to either catch up on what you’ve missed, or to watch them again in case you need tips on your archery training. Because who doesn’t, right?

The Good Wife

Even hotshot defence lawyers need a break, and not just from their no good, cheating politician husbands. So Alicia will be on a holiday of her own from New Year’s Eve until new episodes start again on the 21st of January. As with Arrow, expect repeat episodes to fill the usual spot.

Chicago Fire

Being a fire-fighter can take its toll, and in the last episode before the show goes on its January break, we’ll see how Mills is left questioning his future in the hero business. Chicago will fire up the repeat episodes on the 8th, 15th and 22nd of January, before new episodes start up again on the 29th of January. 

M-Net Series Africa

The Ellen DeGeneres Show S10

We can totally see comedienne and congenial host Ellen DeGeneres in a badly knitted Christmas jersey. But her interesting approach to tracksuited couture has been offset by a whopping 38 Emmy awards over its 10 seasons, so what do we know. We still love her, and we’ll love her even more when she returns on the 10th of January with new episodes.

White Collar S4

Okay, this show’s break is a bit more serious. It’s a Hiatus with a capital H. And it’s going away until the 13th of March! In the middle of the season! Madness. Fortunately we’ll be spared repeats for that entire time, because Major Crimeswill fill the void it leaves from the 26th of December. Major Crimes is a spin-off ofThe Closer; and is centred on Captain Raydor of the LAPD. Don’t worry, it looks pretty darn good, so we’re not going to think of the new show as filler: it’s definitely its own thing, and we can’t wait to sink our teeth in.

Phew, now that we know what’s what, we can get on with the business of enjoying our own holidays, right? We’ll miss our favourite shows, sure, but there’s a whole lot of other great stuff coming up on M-Net and M-Net Series Africa over the festive season, so it’s not the end of the world. (For that you’ll have to tune into National Geographic on December 21 instead.)