For those who love deep diving into topics, M-Net is set to delve into the mystery of South Africa’s worst-ever commercial aviation disaster, explore the dark side of one of music’s biggest names and take a look at allegations of sexual abuse that intersect at an unlikely point between Latin America’s most influential boy band and two murderous brothers in April and May.
Helderberg
On 28 November 1987, South African Airways flight SA295 – aircraft name ‘Helderberg’ – travelling from Taipei to Johannesburg burst into flames, broke up and crashed into the ocean off the coast of Mauritius, claiming the lives of all 159 passengers and crew aboard.
Almost four decades later, home-grown documentary Helderberg (3 episodes from 15 May at 9pm) explores the mystery which still surrounds the exact cause of the crash. The trailer for this epic documentary examination is available now and details how investigations which began with retrieving the aircraft’s flight recorders from a greater depth than the Titanic had sunk to, through an international investigation, a local inquiry, a Constitutional Court challenge, a death bed confession and myriad theories from global aviation experts have failed to yield the truth about whether the disaster was the result of tragedy or treachery.
Helderberg outlines the incident and delves deeper into the back story, with insights from experts including forensic scientist Dr David Klatzow; on-the-ground journalist Herman Jansen; former Civil Aviation Authority Lead Investigator Rennie van Zyl; former SAA CEO Gert van der Veer; one-time Armscor employees and family of the victims.
Diddy: The Making of a Bad Boy
This documentary (10 April at 10pm) is a raw, exclusive look at who rapper Sean Combs was, long before he was known as Puff or Diddy. Featuring never-before-seen footage and stories from those who know him best, Diddy: The Making of a Bad Boy sheds light on his childhood, rise to fame and recent criminal allegations, challenging viewers to rethink everything they thought they knew about the music mogul.
Allegations have swirled around Combs for years, but singer Cassie Ventura’s 2023 bombshell sexual abuse lawsuit has opened the floodgates of allegations, culminating in Combs’s federal indictment for sexual crimes in September 2024. The documentary features the voices of Mylah Morales, the makeup artist who witnessed Combs’ abuse of Ventura; Diddy bodyguard Gene Deal, who saw everything and stopped nothing; lawyer Ariel Mitchell-Kidd; women’s advocate Lisa Bloom; music producer Al B. Sure! and Combs’ childhood friend, Tim Patterson.
Menendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed
Finally, in Menendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed (3 episodes from 17 April at 10pm) sees two sensational stories collide in an unlikely way. Lyle and Erik Menendez infamously killed their parents in 1989. Menudo was the first mega-boy band to take the world by storm. In this explosive limited series, viewers learn of the connection that links the two stories and could corroborate the brothers’ decades-old accusations against their father, Jose Menendez. One former Menudo member could be the key to changing how the public views the brothers’ case while simultaneously crusading for his own justice.
The Menendez brothers, currently serving life in prison, have always maintained that their father raped them from the time they were small children. Now, former Menudo member Roy Rosselló, claims that Jose Menendez – then an executive at RCA Records, which signed Menudo to a multimillion-dollar contract, raped him as well. The documentary follows Rosselló’s every step as he files a police report against Menendez in Los Angeles, reminding viewers of the many reasons why victims of sexual abuse often don’t report the crimes perpetrated against them. In-depth interviews from people close to both cases raise questions about child sexual abuse that extends for 30 years with no action or investigation.
