New on TV today: Wednesday 22 July 2026
Chopped Castaways
Channel: Food Network (DStv 175)
TX Time: 16h05
Genre: Reality Competition, Food, Reality
Chopped Castaways marks the most extreme evolution of Food Network’s iconic Chopped franchise.
Hosted by Ted Allen, this eight-episode series strands 12 elite chefs on a remote island, forcing them to rely as much on survival skills as their culinary expertise. Facing the elements across two grueling rounds each week, competitors are tasked with building their own working kitchens from raw supplies, earning their signature Chopped basket ingredients through demanding physical challenges, and cooking every dish over an open fire.
Culinary heavyweights Gabe Bertaccini, Maneet Chauhan, and Marcus Samuelsson judge the competition throughout, offering expert guidance while determining who moves forward—and who gets eliminated. What starts as a team-based competition eventually dissolves into an every-chef-for-themselves battle, dramatically raising the stakes as contestants fight for survival and a $100,000 cash prize.
Every episode kicks off with physical survival tasks—ranging from archery and spearfishing to ocean diving and digging in the sand—to unlock essential ingredients. In the series premiere, “Welcome to the Island,” the 12 stranded chefs form teams to prepare three-course meals without electricity. The opening round tests their nerve with a venomous ingredient hidden in the basket, sending the lowest-performing chefs straight to “The Gauntlet” for an intense head-to-head showdown.
A Toxic Love Story
Channel: Netflix South Africa
TX Time: 10h00
Genre: True Crime, Documentary
In this true crime documentary, a series of menacing emails quickly escalates into a calculated revenge plot targeting a newly married U.S. marshal and his former girlfriend.
Set in an affluent California suburb, the story breaks into a sensational scandal when a young woman is arrested for orchestrating a violent fantasy scheme against her ex-boyfriend’s new bride. However, the initial shockers only mask a far more complex web of deception.
As investigators uncover deeper layers of betrayal, the boundaries between victim and perpetrator blur, revealing a manipulative game where no one is quite who they appear to be.
