by Thinus Ferreira
It's critically and publicly beloved. It has exploding, growing buzz. So will the new American documentary film, You Can See Everything, be on M-Net (DStv 101) after its threatical run?
It should, but given how things are going, is M-Net on Canal+'s DStv really still the home in South Africa of the best of television?
There is a new documentary film out in American cinemas and critics and cinemagoers are running out of ways to describe just how amazing You Can See Everything is.
The mind-bending Elizabeth Holmes pseudo-documentary from filmmaker Nathan Fielder is regarded as basically perfect.
It was filmed in secret, over 3 years at their beachfront rental home in California, where Elizabeth lived with her partner Billy Evans and their two young children.
For DStv subscribers and M-Net viewers conditioned by M-Net's legacy of high-end Sunday night movie premieres, this You Can See Everything as a film represents the exact brand of bold, prestige television that belongs on the channel.
You Can See Everything is a mind-bending, 3-hour pseudo-documentary directed by Nathan Fielder that explores the infamous Theranos corporate fraud. The film is produced and distributed by A24.
The film blends reality and satire as it follows the aftermath of the scandal, focusing heavily on Elizabeth Holmes and her husband, Billy Evans. Known for its surreal humour and shocking, boundary-pushing footage, the movie examines themes of deception, public perception, and modern American culture.
And by the way: Besides the 3-hour duration, there is also the full-frontal male nudity: Billy is filmed entirely naked in camera, from head to toe, while taking a shower and brushing his teeth.
It's part of, but definitely not the only thematic inclusion that lends You Can See Everything its title.
The critical reception for Nathan Fielder's latest work borders on the mythical.
Just a day after putting up an astonishing score on Metacritic, the dust has settled with two more records across two other sites - one for 2026, and one that stretches back much longer than that.
On Rotten Tomatoes, the website issued an official statement confirming that You Can See Everything was the only 100% Certified Fresh movie of the year after its first 80 reviews.
While it has since dropped to a 99% due to a single contrarian negative review, its 99% average across 101 reviews remains the undisputed record for the year.
Remarkably, the film has achieved a rare feat by completely uniting professional film critics and everyday viewers.
The Rotten Tomatoes audience score sits at a flawless 99%, matching the critics in near-perfection.
To put this into perspective for local box-office fans, audiences loved Spider-Man: Brand New Day enough to drive it to a staggering $2.5 billion globally and to smash records in South Africa as well, yet it sits lower with a 97% audience score.
There are simply no other 2026 releases occupying this stratosphere.
The frenzy over You Can See Everything is even more pronounced on Letterboxd, the social movie-rating platform that has become an absolute obsession for a growing community of cinephiles and casual reviewers alike.
You Can See Everything has secured a 4.7/5 score, making it the fourth-highest-rated film in the entire history of this site. When looking closely at the data, it arguably stands as the highest-rated traditional feature film ever.
While thousands more reviews will flood the site as the film rolls out wider, its current standing among early viewers represents universal, unprecedented praise.
For M-Net acquisition and scheduling, the obvious question is how a 3-hour documentary about a Theranos scam artist can justify a prime-time slot.
The answer lies in how Fielder bends the genre.
This isn't a dry, historical recap of Elizabeth Holmes - it is a deeply surreal, gripping psychological experience that keeps viewers glued to their screens for its entire 3-hour runtime. Unbelievable.
Finally, the film is a masterclass in efficiency.
Built on a modest budget of just $5 million to $7 million, early box office estimates predicted a conservative $7 million to $8 million opening weekend. However, with word-of-mouth spreading like wildfire, those figures are being completely obliterated.
The ultimate validation for this film will likely happen on Hollywood's grandest stage.
Industry insiders are now whispering about a very real possibility: You Can See Everything could become the first documentary film in history to be nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars.
Given the sheer momentum of its critical reception, an outright historic win is no longer unthinkable.
M-Net has always prided itself on bringing award-winning, history-making cinema to South African screens first.
Securing the exclusive African television broadcast rights for You Can See Everything wouldn't just be a smart programming decision - it's actually an absolute necessity to maintain M-Net's status as the destination for premium, boundary-pushing entertainment on DStv.
For over three decades, South Africans have associated M-Net with the absolute pinnacle of global cinema. Airing a potential historic Best Picture nominee fits perfectly into that premium curation - especially something with this high a film critics score that now immediately entered that "I want to see what the buzz is about" level of interest.
In terms of South African viewers' appetite for true crime drama and scams, the mind-bending look at Elizabeth Holmes will heavily resonate with DStv's core viewership.
Since DStv subscribers have sat through 3-hour films on a Sunday night on M-Net with Titanic, Oppenheimer, Schindler's List, The Wolf of Wall Street, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Avengers: Endgame and Avatar: The Way of the Water, they will surely sit through You Can See Everything as well as a marquee Sunday night M-Net watch event.
Long before its Canal+ takeover, M-Net and its M-Net Movies sister curation channels thrived on broadcasting films that dominate the global conversation, making this record-shattering feature an essential acquisition.
Hopefully DStv subscribers in South Africa get to see You Can See Everything on M-Net soon, with the title of the film that fits perfectly as the lead-out after Sunday night's Carte Blanche and its slogan of "The right to see it all".
