International Emmy Awards 2025: Kenya’s ‘Prefects’, Showmax’s ‘Catch Me a Killer’ and More South African Titles Nominated

The 2025 International Emmy Awards were announced on 25 September 2025 by the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. This year’s awards feature 64 nominees across 16 categories, representing a record 26 countries.

Kenya makes a rare appearance with Prefects nominated in the Kids: Live Action category. Released in 2024, the teen drama follows a group of misfit students fighting against an oppressive prefects’ union and a sinister deputy principal at the fictional Mvule High School. Directed by June Ndinya (MTV Shuga Mashariki), who also serves as showrunner, and produced by Gosia Lukomska, Prefects stars a mix of Kenyan and Ugandan actors including Melvin Alusa (Country Queen), Azziad Nasenya (Selina), Basil Mungai (MTV Shuga Mashariki), Vanessa Okeyo (Second Family), and Uganda’s Tracy Kababiito (Sanyu) and Natasha Sinayobye (Volume). The series aired on Kenya’s Citizen TV and Uganda’s NTV and was later picked up by Akili TV.

Where to watch Prefects: Akili TV.

South Africa – which has maintained a consistent presence at the International Emmy Awards – joins Kenya as the only other African country represented this year, with a record five nominations – the country’s highest ever. British actress Charlotte Hope (Game of Thrones) is nominated for Best Performance by an Actress for her role in the Showmax true-crime series Catch Me a Killer. The 2024 series, adapted from the book of the same name, tells the harrowing true story of former journalist-turned-psychological profiler Micki Pistorius, South Africa’s first serial killer profiler.

Where to watch Catch Me a Killer: Showmax.

Another Showmax title, Koek, is nominated in the Drama Series category. Written by Christiaan Olwagen (Recipes for Love & Murder) and directed by Johannes Pieter Nel (Magda Louw), the series follows a despondent housewife who, convinced her husband is having an affair, is inadvertently thrust into the underbelly of a crime syndicate. Koek is only the fourth African series ever nominated in the Drama category, following Reyka (2022), Home Affairs (2007, 2008), and Sokhulu and Partners (2009). All the nominees in this category so far have been South African.

Where to Watch Koek (and Reyka): Showmax.

Notably missing in the Drama category, or even in the Performance category is Shaka iLembe, the South African high-concept epic drama chronicling the rise of Shaka Zulu. Understandably, season 1 aired in 2023 and season 2 just concluded its broadcast run, which explains why it was not eligible for the 2025 awards. Still, its absence from the 2024 nomination list raises the question of whether the series was snubbed or never submitted at all, and whether the second season will be luckier in 2026.

Other South African nominees include SuperSports and SA Rubgy’s Chasing the Sun 2 in the Sports Documentary category, chronicling the Springboks’ historic fourth Rugby World Cup victory in 2023, and M-Net’s School Ties (produced by IdeaCandy known for Tracking Thabo Bester and Devilsdorp) in the Documentary category, a four-part series investigating grooming and sexual abuse at South Africa’s elite boys’ schools.

Where to watch Chasing the Sun 2 & School Ties: Showmax.

Rounding out South Africa’s entries is Playroom Live, a live, interactive children’s program airing on DStv’s Play Room channel, nominated in the Kids: Factual & Entertainment category.

Get the full list of the 2025 International Emmy Awards nominees here.

EDITOR’S NOTE: All reporting, interviews, and reviews on Sinema Focus are protected under international copyright law and the Kenya Copyright Act, 2001. No part of this publication may be reproduced, rewritten, republished, or redistributed in any form by media outlets without prior written consent. For reprint or syndication inquiries, contact editorial@sinemafocus.com.

©️ 2026 Sinema Focus / African Film Press. All rights reserved.