If you’re looking for something to watch, stream, cry to, dance to, or just enjoy this weekend… you’ve landed in the right place. This is my Friday Five, your curated list of all the good things.
South Africa (13 June 2025) – There’s something about Fridays. Maybe it’s the scent of weekend freedom wafting in the air… or the knowledge that a sneaky nap, a braai, or a streaming binge is just around the corner. But for me, Fridays mean something extra. They mean The Friday Five, my weekly round-up of the things that made my heart beat a little faster this week.
This isn’t a press release or a PR pitch. It’s just me, sharing the movies I loved, the series I can’t stop thinking about, the songs that hit me in the feels and the places that reminded me why the world is still so bladdy wonderful.
Let’s be honest, life is chaotic. It’s loud. It’s unpredictable. And sometimes, we just need someone to say, “Hey, this is really good… you should check it out.”
That’s Friday Five.
I’m lucky enough to get early access to series and films, to be invited to premieres, restaurant openings, launches and wild adventures across South Africa (and Africa… and around the world). And while I’ll never gatekeep the good stuff… this is the space where I get to shout about it from the rooftops.
So, grab your coffee, put your feet up (or at least imagine you’ve done that) and enjoy this week’s Friday Five.
🎬 Movies I Watched This Week
🐴 Echo Valley
At first, Echo Valley feels like it’s going to be a slow, emotional ride. A grieving mom, Kate, is living out in the middle of nowhere, working with horses, trying to keep her world together. There’s pain, there’s silence, there’s a lot of wide open space. And then… Claire arrives. Her daughter. Shaking. Silent. Covered in blood.
And just like that, the story flips.
What starts as a family drama suddenly turns into a slow-burn thriller and it doesn’t even give you a moment to realise when the switch happens. Or fully what is going on. It is filled with so many twists and turns. It will keep you on your toes right to the very end.
Now Streaming on Apple TV+
🫣 The Woman in the Yard
This movie is getting absolutely shredded by critics… and I get it. If you go in expecting a horror, you’ll be confused and maybe even disappointed. It’s not a horror. It’s something else. Something heavier. Something more human.
The “woman” in question keeps appearing in a family’s front yard, offering cryptic messages, eerie warnings and generally being unsettling AF. But the film isn’t about jump scares or blood, it’s about what it feels like when your mind turns against you. When the things you’re running from live inside you.
It’s a story about mental illness, about the weight of depression, about the quiet unraveling that can happen when no one’s watching. And I found it beautiful.
Uncomfortable? Sure. But necessary.
Available to Rent Online
📺 Series That Kept Me Hooked
👮🏻♂️ Dept. Q
Obsessed. I am absolutely obsessed. Dept. Q is gritty, brooding and wonderfully moody. It starts with Carl, once the golden boy of the police force, now a haunted shell of himself. After a tragic ambush that paralyses his partner and kills another colleague, he’s sidelined to the cold case unit… aka, the career graveyard.
But Carl doesn’t roll over. He throws himself into these dusty old files with a desperation that borders on manic. And let’s just say some cases don’t stay cold for long. This is the kind of series that gets under your skin. You’ll stay up too late watching it. You’ll think about it in the shower. And you’ll immediately recommend it to your mates.
Streaming on Netflix.
🍸 Adults
Adults follows a group of twenty-somethings trying (and mostly failing) to get their lives together while living under one roof. It’s chaotic, funny, endearing, and painfully relatable.
There’s something so refreshing about a show that doesn’t try too hard. The writing is sharp without being showy. It’s about love, friendship, failure, ambition, and the messy in-between space where adulthood begins but no one gives you the manual.
I laughed. I cringed. I even got a bit teary. It’s one of the best things I’ve seen this month.
Streaming on Disney+.
🎧 Songs That Spoke To My Soul
💙 Ed Sheeran – Sapphire
Oh, Ed. Every time I think I know what to expect from him, he drops a track like Sapphire and flips the script.
This song is textured, emotional and full of surprising influences… most notably from India. Arijit Singh features beautifully on vocals and sitar. The entire track feels like a love song to a place, a moment and a feeling that you can’t quite name but never want to let go of.
I can’t stop watching the video.
🎶 Calum Scott – Die For You
If you’re in the mood to feel everything, put this on. It’s tender, aching and devastating in the most cathartic way. Calum’s voice is like a warm hug and a punch to the gut at the same time. The lyrics are so vulnerable it almost feels like you’re reading a diary you shouldn’t be peeking at.
So, light a candle. Pour a glass of wine. And let yourself feel all the things.
🌍 Places That Changed Me
I spent last week cycling through Mashatu and I’m honestly still trying to put it into words. Imagine pedalling through a reserve filled with elephants, giraffes, kudu, baboons and even the odd big cat… all while the African sun turns everything gold. Well, I just did that. And it was unreal.
Mashatu is breathtaking.
The landscape changes around every bend, from thick bushveld to open plains to riverbeds that look like they belong in National Geographic. We rode for hours, hearts pounding from both the effort and the awe, and then paused for water breaks where silence reigned… except for birdsong and the distant trumpet of elephants.
It was wild. It was grounding. And it was absolutely healing.
If you ever get the chance to visit, do it. It’s one of the most special places on the continent.
🎙 One Last Thing… My Husbae
You know that brand campaign you couldn’t stop seeing? The one you shared with your friends and said, “Damn, this is smart”? Chances are… Mike Sharman was behind it.
Mike is the co-founder of Retroviral and he’s helped more South African brands go viral than anyone else. But more than that, he’s a storyteller, a strategist and someone who deeply believes in the power of homegrown creativity.
On this week’s show, I sat down with Mike for a chat that went from hilarious to heartwarming to downright inspiring. Mike’s energy is infectious. His insights are gold. And if you’re in marketing, content, or even just life… this is a conversation worth hearing.
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