Showmax presents the ‘Brakpan Chronicles’

Brakpan Chronicles investigates a South African town that has long been mocked, memed and misunderstood. The Showmax Original challenges online narratives that have shaped Brakpan’s reputation.

The two-part documentary is streaming from today (20 February 2026). It is a new collaboration between Rian van Heerden and production company Provoco, the team behind Sex in Afrikaans (2022), which won a South African Film and Television Award. Van Heerden won the 2024 Silwerskerm award for best presenter for Wie Word ‘n Miljoenêr.

Brakpan is a large, established town about 30km east of Johannesburg with a long industrial history and a diverse community. In recent years, the town’s image has been shaped by social media stereotypes that frame it as common, rough or eccentric, reinforced by long-running jokes and viral personalities.

“Brakpan’s become a punchline, so we wanted to share the full story – or get bliksemed trying,” says van Heerden.

The full story begins in 1888, when a coal seam was discovered on the Eloff family farm, Weltevreden, which included a brackish water pan. The coal mine was followed by a railway, and, after gold was discovered, Brakpan was briefly home to the highest mine dump in the world, higher even at the time than any of the pyramids of Egypt. But once the coal and gold started to dwindle, the town’s fortunes changed. 

Brakpan Chronicles showcases landmarks like Carnival City, The Rock Raceway, Maskell’s Hotel, Thirsty Okes, Rosetulee and Ziggy T’s Roadhouse. 

The documentary introduces characters like Ratkas, the pawnshop owner who went viral on TikTok for funnelling a one-litre bottle of Richelieu brandy; one-legged slapfighter Terence “Supra” Labuschagne; female bouncers Hester Croucamp and Lina Stoltz; and former cop Jan “Stolla” Stols, who reminisces about that time they had to call in the army to break up a Brakpan brawl.

While van Heerden largely lets the Brakpaners speak for themselves, he does interview etiquette icon Emsie Schoeman for her take on how easy it is to become seen as “common”, and how hard it is to shake the label afterwards. 

“Brakpan is just a treasure trove of colourful, eccentric, larger-than-life personalities,” he says.

He tracks down YouTubers theboys, Matthew Parry and his late brother Joseph, who went viral with their Brakpan video Investigating The Most Weird Town in South Africa!.

While the town is often defined by online narratives, the documentary focuses on the everyday reality of Brakpan as home to many people.

Johnny, a barber who has lived in Brakpan for 57 years, says: “It’s the best in the world. I’ve been to Toronto. I’ve been to America – Chicago, Philadelphia, Miami for two days. These boertjies here are the best in the world, friendship-wise. They say once you’ve drunk the dam water here, you’ll never leave Brakpan.”

Van Heerden says: “I have to admit, despite everything that happened, it was really hard for me to head back to Pretoria. Brakpan is definitely one of the most unique, if not the most unique, places in South Africa. The people here, regardless of what anyone says, are real. And these days, you don’t come across that often. Brakpan, with the exception of a few hotels, will be seeing me again soon.”