M-Net adds terrific winter TV dramas on DStv for June, July and September with Emma Thompson, Mark Ruffalo and Ethan Hawke series.

by Thinus Ferreira

M-Net is adding terrific new programming for the upcoming winter months on DStv with premium American and British series that will bring marquee-names like Emma Thompson, Mark Ruffalo and Ethan Hawke to television in dramatic roles.

On Thursday night M-Net (DStv 101) gave the media an update during a Zoom-webinar held press briefing on upcoming June, July and September programming on the premium-positioned pay-TV channel that will include the terrific 6-episode HBO and BBC miniseries Years and Years starring Emma Thompson as a Donald Trump-like demagogue - with a secret - whose rise to power in Britain has terrible consequences for the country.

The second season of the medical drama series New Amsterdam is back on M-Net (DStv 101) from Monday 1 June at 19:00, along with The Block Australia season 12 returning (Wednesday 3 June at 18:00), as well as the 5th season of the Showtime series Billions starting on Tuesday 23 June at 22:00).

M-Net also has the start of some final seasons including Homeland (Thursday 11 June at 21:00) and Will & Grace (Saturday 27 June), and the Emma Thompson miniseries from HBO and the BBC, Years and Years, starting on Monday 22 June at 22:00.

In the terrific 6-episode Years and Years - set in the very uncertain now and an unnervingly prescient first episode followed by gradual time-jumps to show the societal changes - Emma Thompson plays a business woman who becomes a conservative politician in Britain as the country grapples with issues ranging from vast technological change, structural financial problems, immigration, and global instability that have a very real-world impact on ordinary families.

Tracy-Ann Van Rooyen, M-Net senior manager for content acquisition and scheduling, said that Years and Years has fascinating characters who are "thrust 15 years into the future with a controversial, conservative business woman, turned political figure, who has all of these opinions that polarise the nation - which I'm sure sounds familiar right now".



"In July we've also got some great new titles for you. We spoke at the beginning of the year about Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt for the Bone Collector based on The Bone Collector series, that comes to M-Net in July, and also we've got a really great series which is also a reboot but a very exciting reboot on the 1960's Perry Mason, with this HBO series starring Matthew Rhys."

"Then, of course, we have Mark Ruffalo coming to television, starring as the twin brothers Dominick and Thomas Birdsey in the new miniseries I Know This Much is True novel of Wally Lamb. It's a much deeper, sadder version of Rain Main I suppose, if they were twins," said Tracy-Ann van Rooyen.



"In August we've got a lot of really great returning series that I'm really excited for, Nathan Fillion comes back in The Rookie. Christine Baranski comes back in the 4th season of The Good Fight - there's only 7 episodes of The Good Fight because that's how many they managed to get through before Covid-19 shut down Los Angeles."

"Britain's Got Talent comes through in August on M-Net and then in September on M-Net followed by America's Got Talent with Simon Cowell who of course released the clip of the man who was put in prison for 35 years and is now released, so please keep your eyes open for those starting dates in our 18:00 reality slot."




Tracy-Ann van Rooyen said "something that I'm really excited to talk to you about is Ethan Hawke is coming to TV in this exciting TV drama called The Good Lord Bird which is basically the story of American abolitionist John Brown told through a fictional character who is a young boy".

"It's in a time of slavery in the United States and it's based on a true story of how John Brown who was an abolitionist but unfortunately he wasn't able to instigate the uprising that he wanted in terms of the slave uprising. M-Net will come through with that Showtime title Express from the US."



"That's all I have to share with you guys," said Tracy-Ann van Rooyen. "Usually this time it's questions and answers but right now in times of Covid-19 it's just me talking - which is great because I love to talk. Keep warm and stay safe."

MultiChoice marks another big South African television first as M-Net becomes the country's first TV channel to do an entirely online media screening and press conference for a local show as the second season of The Bachelor SA ends.

by Thinus Ferreira

MultiChoice and M-Net made more South African television history on Thursday night, 28 May 2020, when the M-Net channel on DStv became the first-ever South African TV channel to do a fully virtual media event and press conference for a local TV production as the premium-positioned pay-TV channel brought the second season of The Bachelor South Africa to a close.

Thursday night's truly massive online media gathering - held on Zoom and organised by M-Net's veteran head of publicity, Lani Lombard - successfully brought together dozens of journalists representing South Africa's national entertainment media spanning newspapers, magazines, radio and online (including a journalist currently residing in Thailand).

It also included high-ranking M-Net executives, Rapid Blue producers, sponsors, and several MultiChoice and M-Net staffers.

M-Net's comprehensive webinar-styled press event for The Bachelor South Africa included all the top M-Net programming, scheduling and content executives including Jan du Plessis (M-Net channels director), Kaye Ann Williams (M-Net senior manager for commissioned content), Terja Beney (commissioning editor) and Tracy-Ann Van Rooyen (M-Net senior manager for content acquisition and scheduling).

Also included in the Zoom media get-together were The Bachelor SA's Rapid Blue executive producers Kee-Leen Irvine and Donald Clarke, as well as The Bachelor SA series director Nick Archer.

Some global TV channels and international streaming services have been doing a few carousel-interviews with selected on-screen talent as part of online-shifted press junkets for some foreign series, films and TV specials the past two months using Zoom and Google Meet after their publicity plans had to be retooled because of the global Covid-19 pandemic.

None of these have however gone as far as M-Net (DStv 101) that on Thursday night broke new ground into a brave new online world and earned another footnote in South African television history.

M-Net became the first-ever South African TV channel to do a pre-event online party (complete with DJ Louis playing music), an in-app content screening of an entire hourlong episode and viewing party, followed by an entirely virtually held post-show press conference with the media for a locally-produced South African series.

It's an achievement and big-idea publicity initiative that not even a video streamer like Netflix South Africa was able to pull off or apparently even wanted to try and muster for some of its recently released new local South African fare.

Before Thursday night's web engagement M-Net earlier this week couriered an M-Net embroidered fleece gown, socks, hot chocolate and a box of chocolate nougat biscuits as part of a press drop to the media spread out across South Africa including Durban, Port Elizabeth, Cape Town and Johannesburg.

This happened as journalists and editors received a successive series of recorded, instructional and entertaining video messages on their cellphones over days from The Bachelor SA host Jason Greer with step-by-step instructions on what to do next and how to prepare for the Zoom media event.

Multiple media members on Thursday night appeared in their blocks on the Zoom meeting video grid wearing their M-Net gowns.

They first mingled and chatted online, and then watched the second season finale of The Bachelor SA that was shown on one of the feeds inside the Zoom meeting at the same time as the linear broadcast of the show's final episode went out on the M-Net (DStv 101) channel.

That was followed with a post-show, in-Zoom press briefing where M-Net executives, The Bachelor SA director and producers, and Marc Buckner and Marisia van Wyk, took various questions from the media.

As if the M-Net online media event exercise wasn't already impressive enough, M-Net further stacked the press engagement with a highly-valuable and informative content presentation done by Tracy-Ann Van Rooyen highlighting the new upcoming international content coming to the M-Net channel.

More impressive than the well-executed and engaging pre-event online Q&A between Jason Greer and Lani Lombard done from a special Linden studio, and more impressive than the real-world and virtual world logistics and organising that went into the media meeting was that it lasted for 3 and a half hours.

It's extremely impressive when taking into account that the bulk of the signed-up South African media not only chose to stay online, but also remained interested in M-Net and the channel's content and its presentation, and were highly engaged for all of it for the entire multi-hour time.


ALO READ: Marc Buckner chooses shy Marisia, slips a 'forever baby girl'-engraved ring on her finger in the second season finale of The Bachelor SA as M-Net makes South African television history with a virtual video post-show press briefing.
ALSO READ: From ladies living in lockdown to Zoom etiquette tutorials: The behind-the-scenes secrets of putting this week's second season finale of The Bachelor SA on M-Net together.
ALSO READ: Season 2 of The Bachelor SA on M-Net to end with unique remote video conclusion followed by a special M-Net online pyjama reunion episode. 

Marc Buckner chooses shy Marisia, slips a 'forever baby girl'-engraved ring on her finger in the second season finale of The Bachelor SA as M-Net makes South African television history with a virtual video post-show press briefing.

by Thinus Ferreira

In a fairytale ending perfect for television, Marc Buckner (36) said no to Bridget Marshall and yes to the 24-year old shy speech therapist Marisia van Wyk as the Cape Town-based bachelor took out a beautiful Jack Friedman ring, slipped it on her finger and told her that "I don't want this journey to end with you" in the highly-anticipated second season finale of The Bachelor South Africa that was broadcast Thursday evening on M-Net (DStv 101).

"I think we make a great couple. And I don't want this journey to end with you," said Marc Buckner as a more whimsical version of the show's theme song "Different Feeling" by Daniel Baron swelled and he took out a ring that that on the inside has the inscription "Stronger together, forever, baby girl".

"I really am falling for you," said Marc Buckner, "and, uhm, I want to ask if you will accept this as a symbol of a relationship that I think is so amazing, and I would like it to keep going forward."

Marisia van Wyk said "Wow, I don't have words. I think I came onto this journey and, uhm, it's been tough. It's been tough. I've really fallen for you. And I don't know. There's just something with you that I've never felt with anyone before, which is good for me".

"I know there's this age gap but it doesn't really mean anything to me because I think my feelings for you mean so much more. So I just want to focus on that and focus on us, and then hopefully grow together."

Marc said "That's exactly how I feel. None of that stuff bothers me because I know you are so mature" and "I can't believe all of this has led to us. And it's ..."

The Bachelor SA second season finale on M-Net, produced by Rapid Blue as a local adaptation of the Warner Bros. International Television Production (WBITVP) format, stood in contrast to the first season that ended in romantic failure.

This time The Bachelor South Africa gave DStv subscribers exactly what they wanted: A beautifully-filmed and happily-in-love ever-after conclusion at the magical Kapama Game Resort for viewers who kept tuning in week after week to the buzz-making show that besides linear viewing has a big audience on MultiChoice's DStv Now Catch Up streaming service and punched far above its weight in weekly social media buzz.

With the content and structure of the broadcast of the second season finale which had to be adjusted because of the global Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic - and the resulting lockdown also affecting South Africa and the country's entire TV and film industry - M-Net forged ahead and marked another South African television milestone.

With The Bachelor SA M-Net became the first South African TV channel in the country's television history to hold a virtual viewing party for the country's national media, followed by the first and completely online and interactive, post-show press conference ever done for a local South African TV production.

Besides media, M-Net's large Thursday night video press conference for The Bachelor South Africa included all the top M-Net programming, scheduling and content executives including Jan du Plessis (M-Net channels director), Kaye Ann Williams (M-Net senior manager for commissioned content), Terja Beney (commissioning editor) and Tracy-Ann Van Rooyen (M-Net senior manager for content acquisition and scheduling).

Also included in the Zoom media get-together were The Bachelor SA's Rapid Blue executive producers Kee-Leen Irvine and Donald Clarke, as well as The Bachelor SA series director Nick Archer.

In The Bachelor SA finale Marc Buckner and Marisia van Wyk revealed that they've been living together during lockdown in South Africa - a secret they've been successfully keeping for a while, and that they've also taken a "secret" trip to Thailand.

Bridget: "I wanted to run away and go cry'
Later in the episode, M-Net broadcast The Bachelor South Africa host Jason Greer's pre-recorded video calls with some of the women.

After this M-Net also placed a The Bachelor SA Pyjama Afterparty reunion show on the M-Net website where it can be viewed indefinitely, and that replaced the Women Tell All broadcast hour that usually precedes the finale.

After Marc told Bridget Marshall that "our journey must end here" - the segment of the final two women that was filmed first - Bridget said during the finale broadcast that "I think I just went into shock. All I wanted to do was turn around and run away and go cry".

"You go along this journey in front of mostly the whole of South Africa and then you get to that point and you get your heart broken in front of thousands of people watching you. It's just - you freeze."

"Being the girl who didn't walk away with Marc, it's upsetting. You want that closure," said Bridget Marshall later in the episode when she and Marc appeared in a video-call in a segment together with Jason Greer asking the questions.

Marc said that "I'm exceptionally happy with choosing Marisia. I don't know how it would have been choosing you, Bridget because I think that you are also an amazing person."

"At the end of the day I need to make a decision and I have to go with - even though we've done so much together and we've spent a fair bit of time together, I only have that to go with. I just thought that maybe Marisia and I are more compatible."

"I did cry a lot," said Bridget. "It's only natural and normal for me to be upset about the situation."

"I've had the time to kind of heal and move on and I'm in a good place and I'm happy and I'm happy for them. I love both of them and I'm not angry. I don't want to fight with him because  - I don't hate you Marc."

Marc said that "this whole thing is much more difficult than anyone realises and it's more difficult than any of us knew going into it. And the further into it you get - like Bridget and I, Marisia and I - we were there until the end."

"It's stressful because one, you don't want to make the wrong choice; no-one ever knows what the right choice is - it's just a different outcome. And I don't want to hurt Marisia and I don't want to hurt Bridget."

Bridget said that she was still single - "it's lockdown Jason".

Marc and Marisia living together after Thailand tour
"We have kind of fast-tracked a few things now that we're living together, due to lockdown," said Marc later in another segment done from his Cape Town home with Marisia.

When Jason Greer asked about the ring, Marc said "just seeing her with it and the way that she lit up with it, and then there's a little inscription inside by the way - it says stronger together, forever, baby girl".

"We both thought it would be a great idea to move in together during lockdown because when you're not seeing each other  - it's the beginning of a relationship, it's hard to build that trust, and to have that trust going without knowing that that person's there."

"With any relationship at the beginning, you spend as much time as possible together."

About their secret Thailand trip Marc said that he and Marisia are "good travel buddies. We like similar things. It's more about the experience than fancy things - just exploring as much as possible. We never really sat at the hotel and did nothing."

Marisia said "We've grown as individuals, but also together and for me that's such an important thing - not only growing together but also encouraging each other to grow as individuals".

"That's why I hold onto this relationship. I really want this and I want to fight for this and I would go to the end of the world for this to work out because I do feel like my heart is really here and I do not want to be anywhere else."


ALSO READ: MultiChoice marks another big South African television first as M-Net becomes the country's first TV channel to do an entirely online media screening and press conference for a local show as the second season of The Bachelor SA ends.
ALSO READ: From ladies living in lockdown to Zoom etiquette tutorials: The behind-the-scenes secrets of putting this week's second season finale of The Bachelor SA on M-Net together.
ALSO READ: Season 2 of The Bachelor SA on M-Net to end with unique remote video conclusion followed by a special M-Net online pyjama reunion episode.

Coronavirus: Holy home-cast, Batman! e.tv News anchor Annika Larsen adds her dog to the primetime TV news bulletin - and in the process a lot of humanity.

by Thinus Ferreira

Instead of trying to keep Batman at bay, the etv News anchor Annika Larsen has given up and has now incorporated one of her dogs into her nightly TV news bulletin broadcast, bringing the Boston terrier to primetime in another first for South African television news.

The dog made his first appearance on Monday 18 May 2020 when e.tv shifted its etv News nightly TV news broadcast from its e.tv Cape Town building in the Zonnebloem suburb in Cape Town to the home of anchor Annika Larsen.

The e.tv News team was forced to craft the home bulletin broadcast plan after the death of cameraman Lungile Tom of Covid-19 that saw the eMedia Investments e.tv Cape Town building and studio complex shutter for a deep-clean.

On the first night the two dogs barked outside and were audible in the background after which Annika Larsen let them back in during a video intro with Batman who made a surprise in-bulletin cameo on the same night. 

Since then the spotlight-stealing dog has stayed, with the animal that has brought a unique touch of humanity to e.tv's national TV news broadcast while his mom secretly feeds him little biscuits to keep him quiet.

"I've got a new trick now. I give him little treats under the table so that he doesn't bark and drive us all crazy," says Annika Larsen, whose laptop is propped up on a thick book from her bookshelf with a chair for Batman on viewers' right hand side of the screen as she does the news from her living room table.

"I am not kidding when I tell you that Batman actually thinks he is getting ready for work. He thinks he is human and doesn't leave me for a minute. So he sits next to me and preps for the show like he should," says Annika Larsen.

To the dog she's said "If you bark during mommy's work time mommy's going to get fired, okay?" Mommy will get fired. No barking. Good boy, good boy."

The unplanned and unscripted addition of the dog to TV news otherwise filled with grim reports and statistics about the devastating impact of the Covid-19 novel coronavirus in South Africa and globally - something that could have gone spectacularly wrong or could have seem contrived - has brought a softer, warmer tone to the country's otherwise stark South African primetime TV news-scape. 

It's likely that several viewers are now not just tuning in to the 20:00 etv News on e.tv to find out the news but to see if the dog might appear, what Batman might do, and how the news anchor will play dog-mom. 

e.tv says that for the duration of South Africa's Covid-19 national lockdown period, the Terrier will stay in the TV news frame.


ALSO READ: Coronavirus: e.tv makes South African television history with the country's first done-from-home TV news bulletin broadcast as anchor Annika Larsen tells viewers 'We feel that you're family, and so you're welcome into our living room'.

INTERVIEW. Filmmaker Rick Kirkman on his Surviving Joe Exotic TV special on Investigation Discovery: 'I had much worse video and a whole lot worse things occurred at the zoo that never made it to air.'

by Thinus Ferreira

The filmmaker Rick Kirkham, the former producer of a reality series for the eccentric and now jailed Joe Exotic, is speaking out in a brand-new must-see TV special, Surviving Joe Exotic, coming to Investigation Discovery (DStv 171) on 11 June and says viewers will now get the chance to find out how it was that he got chosen to enter the zoo where his life turned into hell and how he tried to tell the "Tiger King" story.

Earlier this year the Tiger King documentary series had people stare in disbelief at the true-life tale of Joe Exotic - a series that includes Rick Kirkham as a former producer who was making his own show about Joe Exotic who ended up losing his footage in an arson fire after a fallout with the Tiger King.

In the new special Surviving Joe Exotic coming to Investigation Discovery (DStv 171) on 11 June at 21:50 viewers will see Rick Kirkham, who now lives in Norway, open up about how it all came to be and what has happened in his life since.

TVwithThinus got on the phone to Norway and spoke with Rick Kirkham about Surviving Joe Exotic and the surreal story he became part of.


What will viewers see in this Surviving Joe Exotic documentary on Investigation Discovery?
Rick Kirkham: I wouldn't call Surviving Joe Exotic a documentary, it's more a story of who I am and how I ended up going through this and how I became part of Joe Exotic's life.
What viewers are going to see is how I live my life now after having survived G.W. Zoo and survived not only that, but survived the making of and the airing of the Tiger King series itself. I've been through a lot of hell since that series came out because of the number of people who wanted to interview me and wanted to get to know me.


And would you say you sort of feared for your life afterwards or is that not one of the concerns?
Rick Kirkham: No, no. I have not feared for myself in any way. Joe Exotic is in jail where he belongs and the thing I more fear is the intrusion because of the number of journalists who had come here to Bodø in Norway where I live, trying to get interviews. It's been kind of nuts.


When did you realise that your life has changed because of Joe Exotic and Tiger King?
Rick Kirkham: I realised about an hour after the documentary started airing in California on the premiere night.
My phone here in Norway started ringing off the hook, my email addresses - all 3 of them, my Facebook messages started filling up from people wanting to ask me "is this real?" and "Hey, are you Rick?" and on and on.
Immediately I started doing interviews with some of the legitimate TV and newspaper journalists. The main thing was that the nightmares for me started coming back because everybody day and night was Joe Exotic related. The nightmares started coming back.
Within a couple weeks of the Netflix debut of Tiger King I had to start seeing a therapist again, and I'm still seeing that therapist now to help deal with all of this attention. You have to remember that Tiger King is all about Joe Exotic, not Rick Kirkham.
Joe Exotic happens to be stuck in prison for the next 22 years, so who is the next person to get the attention? Rick Kirkham. So it's the luck of the draw that while the series came out and did a good job, I'm the one who has the responsibility now of being here for it.


It's quite a while back but I'm wondering, during the filming of what was your show, when did you - being around Joe Exotic - did you realise that Joe wasn't quite the person that he appeared to be? And what did you think at the time because you kept filming but you started to have reservations about him?
Rick Kirkham: There was a specific moment. There came a point when I was shooting a reality TV series at the zoo and about three months into it I had my crew build a caged throne - an actual big chair - made out of solid wood and red velvet and I started telling Joe that we'll call you the Tiger King, that "you're the king of the tigers".
Anyway, we built this throne and we put it out into the middle of a big cage with real tigers running around and have him sitting in it and standing up and draw his gun and saying "Hi, I'm Joe Exotic, I'm the Tiger King". And it went to his head.
After that day he was not the same person. All of a sudden in his head he thought he was the king of tigers; that he could get away with anything and that he didn't have to hide any of the abuse anymore, he didn't have to hide the fact that he was an asshole.
Building that throne and putting him on it - you can imagine, if somebody gives you a king's throne and you sit down and then a trumpet blares - "ta-ta-ra-daa" - it went to his head.

What will you talk about in Surviving Joe Exotic? Why should people make sure they watch it?
Rick Kirkham: Surviving Joe Exotic is really a story about my reaction - what I went through making it.
It also tells more of a story of how I came to go there in the first place, who I was before I went to the zoo, and why I was the person to take the job to film at the zoo.
If you want to know the story of how it is that Rick Kirkham himself came to be at the zoo - which is a story in itself - this special will tell you.
It also goes on to tell you what it's been like going through all the therapy I've gone through after having worked at the zoo; after having had the Tiger King series come out; the fact that I'm still seeing a therapist.
Surviving Joe Exotic will give you an idea of who I am instead of just Tiger King's Rick. Viewers can find out how it was that Rick got chosen and was willing to go into the zoo and who was the person who was chosen to tell the Tiger King story.


Wherever you are now in the Nordics, how was that adjustment moving there, and can you see yourself moving back to the United States or elsewhere in the future?
Rick Kirkham: I now live in a town called Bodø in Norway, it's in northern Norway, we are in the Arctic Circle and I'm from Texas, so obviously this is a very different place than Texas.
In Texas right now it's probably 85 to 95 ºF (29 °C) while here we're sitting at the beginning of summer and it's probably 45 ºF (7 °C), so a very different place. We don't get snow in Texas. We get a lot of snow in northern Norway.
I came here for one reason and one reason alone: Yes, I wanted to get away from America, I wanted to get away from Texas and Oklahoma where that zoo was, but more than that I had a girlfriend online that I've had for 10 years prior to that and I decided to come here and marry her. And that's exactly what I did.
So I came to Bodø and told her "I'm marrying you" and that was 2 years ago and I couldn't be more happy - we're soulmates.
Living in Scandinavia is a wonderful place, I love it. I don't like the weather necessarily but the people are wonderful and quite honestly, living in America right now at this moment in time isn't the best place to be these days for political reasons.
I'm very anti-Trump and I don't like what's happening in my country right now so I'm just happy to stay right here. Will I ever go back to America? I'll go back to visit but I will live and die in Bodø.


Part of the fascination with Joe Exotic I think is also because everything feels so surreal but it's not made up but people struggle to believe it. How would you describe, having more perspective now, how do you look back at this surreal story that you became part of as you tried to document it?
Rick Kirkham: You know, if somebody had written a book called Joe Exotic: Tiger King, nobody would have believed it. You just wouldn't have believed it.
The very fact that Netflix was able to get enough of the video that we had put online or we had in the cloud and actually show you that this is real, that is the only reason people believe it.
And let me be honest with you, I had much worse video and much crazier video and events on tape of Joe Exotic than what we could ever have dreamt about and that people can't see because it burnt in the fire.
So if you think that the Netflix Tiger King series was stunning, that's nothing compared to really went on. There was a whole lot more and a whole lot worse things that occurred at the zoo that never made it to air simply because there was no video. And who would have believed this series if it were just a book? Nobody.


Have you maybe thought of what you want to do next as a filmmaker?
Rick Kirkham: I don't know.
I'm so confused over what I've gone through. I've been going day and night - and in my dreams even - and seeing a therapist over Joe Exotic for 6 months now.
I'm not sure what I want to do next. I will obviously do a documentary of some sort. But it will probably be looking back and taking and creating a sequel to my original film, TV Junkie, that was about my life in 2006.


ALSO READ: Filmmaker Rick Kirkham to reveal more uncensored truths and stories in Surviving Joe Exotic TV special on ID Investigation Discovery on 11 June 2020.

From ladies living in lockdown to Zoom etiquette tutorials: The behind-the-scenes secrets of putting this week's second season finale of The Bachelor SA on M-Net together.

by Thinus Ferreira

The arrival of lockdown because of Covid-19 abruptly altered the originally planned, key light bright second season finale of The Bachelor South Africa that had been slotted into the M-Net (DStv 101) schedule months ago already and that will now be broadcast this coming Thursday evening at 19:00.

The Rapid Blue production team - working on a hopefully happy ending for the second season of the local adaptation of the Warner Bros. International Television Production (WBITVP) format - had to adapt and change the gameplan in putting Thursday's upcoming finale on M-Net together.

Some of the challenges ranged from having to deal with the ladies stuck in place because of lockdown across South Africa and Namibia, making it impossible to get them all back for a "Women Tell All" studio-seated reunion.

The show also had to help them to suddenly find their way through do-it-yourself video set-ups, providing them with Zoom "finishing school" masterclasses.

Then there was also the race against time to get equipment to locations, while trying to direct and edit a fitting finale without making it come across as a low-resolution clip show filled with webcam content.

On Thursday evening viewers will be able to tune in for the second season finale of The Bachelor SA as an hourlong "lockdown episode" on M-Net.

The usual preceding "Women Tell All" hourlong episode that was originally planned has been removed from the M-Net broadcast schedule by the pay-TV channel's execs - likely done to help lessen local production pressure on the show because of Covid-19 - and has been replaced with a The Bachelor SA Pyjama Afterparty reunion webisode.

This will roll out on the M-Net website on Thursday night right after the linear televised finale is broadcast on the M-Net channel on DStv.

The Bachelor SA Pyjama Afterparty online webcast will feature short clips that viewers can tune in to at their leisure. It will be embedded on the M-Net website as a special event to view indefinitely.

Meanwhile, the televised The Bachelor SA finale will combine the last of the footage that the love finding show filmed pre-corona in late-2019 including bachelor Marc Bucker's choice (if he makes one), new Zoom call footage with some of the women, and a look at what happened "after the final rose".

With a limitation on travel in cities, no domestic flights, and an ongoing ban regarding travel across provinces still in effect in South Africa - combined with strict social distancing rules - it is impossible to reveal, even if it was known, whether Marc will appear in-person in any post-Covid-19 scenes with either or both the speech therapist Marisia, or the extrovert Bridget who have been the last two women left.

M-Net is only willing to confirm that "Marc will be speaking to the final two ladies in some way or another while being in lockdown at his home".

Zhooshing up for Zoom
In terms of the production challenges around prepping and recording Thursday's finale, M-Net tells TVwithThinus that "Marc and all the various ladies have remained in lockdown at home or with loved ones".

"Andeline, for example, went to her family in Namibia just before lockdown had started and some of the ladies, who found love after not receiving a rose on the show, found new love and are spending lockdown with their new beaus," says M-Net.

 "A special shout out as well to soldier Tamryn from Pretoria who has been working keeping South Africans safe."

Asked about challenges the production says that doing The Bachelor SA finale in the time of Covid-19 presented a couple of challenges since it was completely new territory.

"Some of the challenges included communicating with the various ladies and obtaining various responses timeously, establishing their data connection speeds and access to technological equipment, and delivering relevant equipment within lockdown protocol where necessary."

Then, the women who are video-calling in, now have to do their own hair and make-up, and styling.

Of course video conference call etiquette classes is something that has suddenly become a much-needed requirement for reality TV stars when they are filmed remotely from their homes.

There are no floor managers and production assistants who can rush in from the off-camera side-closet or who can peek out from behind the bookshelf to make adjustments to webcam heights or to try and improve audio feeds.

Neither are there make-up artists who can quickly rush on-set to do powder touch-ups during ad breaks.

It was necessary to do some training for the women "on how best to present themselves during a Zoom interview and being cognisant of backgrounds, camera positions and posture," says the show.

"The most difficult part was putting together a high-quality production that allowed the ladies to be part of the show given the challenges of lockdown," says M-Net.

Host Jason Greer filmed the final interviews in-studio with the correct Covid-19 health and safety protocols that were followed and permits in place, with M-Net that says that the look and feel of the studio for the second season finale is on par with The Bachelor SA brand identity. "We believe that viewers will really enjoy this unique finale".


ALSO READ: Season 2 of The Bachelor SA to end with unique remote video conclusion followed by a special M-Net online pyjama reunion episode.

Coronavirus: A fifth SABC staffer tests positive for Covid-19 - its first at its Durban provincial office that is shutting down for a deep-clean - as Ukhozi FM and Lotus FM radio station staffers relocate to outside broadcast vans.

by Thinus Ferreira

The South African public broadcaster has shut its Durban office in KwaZulu-Natal after the SABC recorded its 5th staffer who has tested Covid-19 positive - leaving two SABC provincial offices now locked for deep-clean following the shuttering of its Cape Town bureau last week.

The SABC's Covid-19 staffer is currently under quarantine with staffers in Durban who will all be working remotely until the SABC can deep-clean the building. The SABC is also conducting contact tracing while those who had contact with the person will have to self-isolate for 14 days.

SABC staffers working for its regional radio stations, Ukhozi FM and Lotus FM, will be doing outside broadcasts from OB vans for the time being.

"The SABC can confirm a case of coronavirus at KwaZulu-Natal provincial office. The affected employee has been working on-site since the lockdown and is now under quarantine whilst being closely monitored," says Mmoni Seapolelo, SABC spokesperson.

"As a precautionary measure and to ascertain the extent of the risk of exposure of other employees, the office will be temporarily closed. During this time the office will be decontaminated from Wednesday until Thursday."

"The office is scheduled to reopen on Monday 1 June to resume with normal operations."

Contact tracing is also being conducted.

"As part of contact tracing, employees who will be identified as having been in contact with the affected employee will be advised and will be subjected to testing as well as the compulsory 14-day quarantine period," says Mmoni Seapolelo.

A 4th SABC staffer tested positive for the Covid-19 coronavirus at the SABC earlier, making it the second worker inside the South African public broadcaster's Auckland Park headquarters in Johannesburg, prompting a shutdown for another deep-clean there.

The fourth Covid-19 case at the SABC and the second at its headquarters in Johannesburg, comes after the SABC was forced to shutter its Cape Town building in Sea Point last week after the first case of a worker there - its third case overall - tested positive for Covid-19.

Although the SABC closed its Cape Town building in Sea Point, the South African public broadcaster has kept open and continues to operate its Good Hope FM radio station studio on the left-hand side of the lobby entrance on the ground floor of the building.

The SABC in late-March 2020 shuttered its office in the Northern Cape in April after reporter Ulrich Hendriks tested positive for Covid-19. He has since recovered.

The SABC in late-March 2020 then had a second Covid-19 case - its first at its Auckland Park headquarters - at the SABC News research division, with the person who was hospitalised.

Meanwhile eMedia Investments reopened its e.tv Cape Town building in the Zonnebloem suburb without any announcement, following its first positive Covid-19 case and death of a staffer, Lungile Tom, two weeks ago, followed by a deep-clean and the self-isolation of over 70 staffers.

e.tv and eMedia Investments' pay-TV news channel eNCA (DStv 403) are once again back to using the Cape Town building with e.tv News once again making use of the studio facilities within the building and doing its TV news bulletins from there since Monday evening. 

Coronavirus: A fourth SABC staffer tests positive for Covid-19, the second at its Auckland Park headquarters.

by Thinus Ferreira

A fourth staffer has tested positive for the Covid-19 coronavirus at the SABC, making it the second worker inside the South African public broadcaster's Auckland Park headquarters in Johannesburg, prompting a shutdown for another deep-clean.

The SABC didn't respond to a media enquiry made on Monday morning seeking comment about the next Covid-19 case at the public broadcaster and what the SABC is doing about it, after sources told TVwithThinus that another staffer at the SABC is now Covid-19 positive.

The fourth Covid-19 case at the SABC and the second at its headquarters in Johannesburg, comes after the SABC was forced to shutter its Cape Town building in Sea Point last week after the first case of a worker there - its third case overall - tested positive for Covid-19.

Although the SABC closed its Cape Town building in Sea Point, the South African public broadcaster has kept open and continues to operate its Good Hope FM radio station studio on the left-hand side of the lobby entrance on the ground floor of the building.

The SABC in late-March 2020 shuttered its office in the Northern Cape in April after reporter Ulrich Hendriks tested positive for Covid-19. He has since recovered.

The SABC in late-March 2020 then had a second Covid-19 case - its first at its Auckland Park headquarters - at the SABC News research division, with the person who was hospitalised.

Meanwhile eMedia Investments reopened its e.tv Cape Town building in the Zonnebloem suburb without any announcement, following its first positive Covid-19 case and death of a staffer, Lungile Tom, two weeks ago, followed by a deep-clean and the self-isolation of over 70 staffers.

e.tv and eMedia Investments' pay-TV news channel eNCA (DStv 403) are once again back to using the Cape Town building with e.tv News once again making use of the studio facilities within the building and doing its TV news bulletins from there since Monday evening.

Season 2 of The Bachelor SA to end with unique remote video conclusion followed by a special M-Net online pyjama reunion episode.

by Thinus Ferreira

The second season "Women Tell All" episode and finale of The Bachelor South Africa on M-Net (DStv 101) will take the form of a world-first, uniquely done remote video ending, followed by a "Pyjama Afterparty" online streaming webisode but won't include all of the women.

On Thursday evening the second season finale of The Bachelor SA - where Marc Buckner may or may not choose a woman to get engaged to and produced by Rapid Blue - will come to an end but due to the Covid-19 national lockdown period the in-studio done "tell-all" episode as a reunion with all of the women, and the live-to-tape studio recording of the finale had to be reconceived.

It will now play out as a remote-filmed ending, followed by an online reunion episode that will be shown on M-Net's website.

On Thursday evening viewers will find out whether Marc Buckner has chosen the shy speech therapist Marisia, or the extrovert Bridget in the second South African end of the popular local adaptation of the Warner Bros. International Television Production (WBITVP) format.

Will Marc go down on a bended knee to propose after the first season of The Bachelor SA ended with all love lost?

"To keep our cast and crew safe and adhere to lockdown restrictions around travel and social gatherings, we had to turn to technology to bring back the ladies and ensure a fitting finale to a riveting season," says Lani Lombard, M-Net's head of publicity.

This will result in a 60-minute lockdown episode on Thursday that will integrate - as a world-first for the format - the last day at Kapama with Zoom calls during which some of the ladies share their thoughts about life in the mansion, Marc, and the love journeys of Bridget and Marisia.

At the end of the episode, The Bachelor SA viewers will also see what happened "after the final rose".

After the end credits roll on Thursday, viewers will be invited to the a unique and quirky The Bachelor SA Pyjama Afterparty on the M-Net website.

This is where the ladies will get the opportunity to grill Marc about his decisions and their departures, and clear the air around some of the drama in the mansion.

This online webisode will include Zoom group calls, as well as individual video sessions from the women's homes. Viewers will get to see how lockdown has been treating them and if they have perhaps found another love interest after leaving the show.

Some of the clips that will feature during The Bachelor SA Pyjama Afterparty on Thursday 28 May will include Bridget, Nolo, Pasha and Andeline (talking about their relationships in the mansion), Qiniso, Daniella, Silke, and Stefanie (sharing some behind-the-scenes moments not seen on screen), and Marc (answers questions from Gillian, Rikki, Pasha, Jess C, Andeline, and Silke).

Also included are host Jason Greer and Marc getting real as they reflect on the season and find out whether Marc would change anything. Xia, Greta, Pi, Tamryn, Michaela, Mulesa and Parushka will share where they are now and reflect on their experiences from this season.

Then some of the women and Marc will respond to some spicy social media commentary they've received from viewers.

ALSO READ: From ladies living in lockdown to Zoom etiquette tutorials: The behind-the-scenes secrets of putting this week's second season finale of The Bachelor SA on M-Net together.

Filmmaker Rick Kirkham to reveal more uncensored truths and stories in Surviving Joe Exotic TV special on ID Investigation Discovery on 11 June 2020.

by Thinus Ferreira

In a new documentary coming to ID: Investigation Discovery (DStv 171), Surviving Joe Exotic on 11 June at 21:50, the filmmaker Rick Kirkham will reveal more harrowing truths and share his nightmares and the obscene events behind the making of the Netflix docuseries Tiger King. 

In the Swedish-produced Surviving Joe Exotic, Rick Kirkham reveals further truths behind his time with the eccentric character of Joe Exotic.

"At first I really liked him. He was such a personality and he was so much fun to be around. But that changed after a few months with him and I started seeing the real Joe Exotic," says Rick Kirkham.

Just months after Rick Kirkham was hired by Joe Exotic to produce his internet show, Rick realised there was no turning back from the nightmare that was the G.W. Zoo. 

He stayed close to a year recording and documenting the fellowship between all the misfits and their caring for the animals. The material he collected while being at the Zoo was unique and he knew it would be invaluable for his own reality show.

After a quarrel with Joe Exotic, all of this material was lost in a suspected arson, and after another fire in his new home, Rick Kirkham chose to flee far from Joe Exotic and leave the United States. 

He sought protection in Bodø in northern Norway, where he now lives together with his Norwegian wife. This is his last interview about what really happened during the nightmare he and others endured at the G.W. Zoo.

Now in Surviving Joe Exotic, Rick Kirkham will tells his incredible and uncensored story one last time. "It's a moving and unbelievable story," says Ulrika Bokstad, executive producer at Discovery Networks Sweden.

Surviving Joe Exotic contains never-before-seen material, produced by the Swedish production company Nexiko which will be shown worldwide on Discovery's linear TV channels.


ALSO READ:  INTERVIEW. Filmmaker Rick Kirkman on his Surviving Joe Exotic TV special on Investigation Discovery: 'I had much worse video and a whole lot worse things occurred at the zoo that never made it to air.'

How the South African Afrikaans true-crime film Griekwastad stunned with over 50 000 digital rentals - and counting - through DStv BoxOffice amidst Covid-19.

by Thinus Ferreira

The Afrikaans film Griekwastad has stunned with over 50 000 digital rentals so far on MultiChoice's DStv BoxOffice since the true-crime drama meant for a big-screen release was forced to skip the cinema circuit because of South Africa's Covid-19 national lockdown period and released earlier this month straight to the next window as a video-on-demand (VOD) title.

Because of the Covid-19 coronavirus Griekwastad is the first locally-produced South African film meant for the big screen that had to forego a red carpet premiere and the usual press tour to make its debut on the small screen on 5 May, starting with the premium pay-per-view (PVOD) window that usually follows after a theatrical and DVD release.

The result has been astounding.

Available exclusively on DStv BoxOffice online and on DStv PVRs, Griekwastad is based on the best-selling book by veteran journalist Jacques Steenkamp, directed by Jozua Malherbe and starring Arnold Vosloo and Rolanda Marais about the horrific murder on the Naauwhoek farm in the Northern Cape in April 2012.

The 50 000 rentals and counting is even more spectacular for Griekwastad keeping in mind that it has an 18SVNL age restriction. The higher the rating the more limited the potential audience of a movie. Secondly, dark subject matter like crime thrillers, especially based on gruesome real-life events, lure fewer moviegoers than comedies, romcoms or adventure films.

"Griekwastad has been rented more than 50 000 times," Tim Theron, who plays Jacques Steenkamp in the film, tells TVwithThinus.

TimTheron is one of the film's producers through the SCENE23 production company, together with Deon Meyer, Cobus van den Berg and Tracey Lange.

"There is no way to know how many people actually watched the film when rented, but it's safe to assume that in most cases it would have been more than one person, which would put the film somewhere close to, or just over, 100 000 in terms of people that watched it," he says.

"We're extremely thankful for the support and overwhelmingly positive reaction to the film," says Tim Theron, explaining how Griekwastad had to adapt its film release.

"When we decided to release the film digitally on DStv BoxOffice, we changed our entire marketing approach to digital and social media, with support form kykNET/M-Net and DStv BoxOffice on their channels - and it seems to have worked, despite the film not having a cinema window."

"It wouldn’t have helped at all though if we didn’t have the extremely positive word-of-mouth which is still the best marketing tool out there."

About the already-incredible numbers Tim Theron says "this is definitely not a record yet".

"We're pretty sure there have been films on DStv BoxOffice that have had more rentals. So we'll have to see once the rental period ends."

"The movie was made for the big screen - the way it was shot, the way the music and score were mixed, so we would definitely have loved for people to be able to enjoy and watch this film in a cinema."

"The one advantage for the viewer is definitely that this allows you to watch a film with a more serious, and somewhat upsetting subject matter, in the comfort of your own home," he says.

"We think and believe the reason people gravitate towards Griekwastad is the same reason the actual case was able to grab the attention of the whole country - everyone wants to know the answer to one question: Why? Why did this happen? Why did a teenage boy kill his entire family?"

"We don’t try and answer this question in the film, but what we do show is the journey of everyone, especially our police detective, that was pulled into this tragic event and had to try and make sense of it."


Incredibly positive must-watch buzz
While Griekwastad had a blue carpet premiere last year at kykNET's 2019 Silwerskermfees with Arnold Vosloo who jetted to South Africa from Los Angeles, Covid-19 prevented a red carpet premiere in 2020 as Ster-Kinekor, Nu Metro and independent theatres all abruptly shuttered because of the coronavirus.

"The film would have had a red carpet première with its cinema release, and one of the major disappointments of that not happening, was that Arnold Vosloo couldn’t come back out to South Africa to celebrate the release with the rest of the team," says Tim Theron.

"Not having a cinema release has also meant that the film loses out on a major potential income stream, which is a massive blow to any South African film."

"We would need the film to do about double the rentals it has done so far to really lessen that blow, so we’re all holding our breath to see what happens in the next few weeks and if the film can keep its momentum. So far so good!"

Tim Theron says that so far the word-of-mouth buzz around Griekwastad as a must-watch film has been amazing.

"During the first few days of the release on DStv BoxOffice we had some amazingly positive reviews come out for the movie, and then we had the first buzz of people posting on social media about what they thought."

"This was similar to the opening weekend in a cinema release and was crucial to the film reaching 10 000 rentals within the first few days."

"Obviously releasing during the lockdown, when our audience was looking for entertainment and content to watch, also helped a lot."

"The lockdown was actually one of the main reasons we decided to take the chance on releasing digitally. Not only because the cinemas were closed, but because we knew we had a captive audience looking for content."

He says that "One of the things we're most happy about when it comes to people's reaction to the film, is that so many have highlighted the sensitivity with which the story was handled".

"We never set out to make a gory, exploitative and sensationalist film, preying on the emotions surrounding the tragedy, and it’s good to see that people are noticing that."

"The film is about one man, our police detective, and his journey into the depths of this tragedy to not only make sense of it, but also find the truth about what happened on that night."

Coronavirus: Cape Town partially reopens the city's film permit office, only accepting and processing applications online amidst Covid-19.

by Thinus Ferreira

Cape Town has partially reopened the city's film permit office after it was completely shut down amidst the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic in South Africa and will now process applications again.

Walk-in applications at the Cape Town Civic Centre are not be allowed and applications for film permits can only be done online.

Dan Plato, Cape Town executive mayor, in a statement says that the gradual reopening of Cape Town'sfilm industry will result in some economic relief for the city's local economy.

"This is an important industry because not only does it provide entertainment, it is a great financial contributor to the local economy, with an estimated R3.5 billion ($198 million) a year and employs thousands of people, creating job opportunities for our local Cape Town communities."

"Ensuring the safe, regulated return to the film work of this industry will act as a catalyst for the return to work of the broad range of service providers that support this industry."

Cape Town's film permit office has developed standard operating procedures (SOP) which require that productions and production companies screen all staff - whether cast, crew or other workers - daily and keep a record.

Covid-19 awareness and information notices must be displayed around the workspaces and every employee should receive a copy. No more than 50 people are allowed on a set. Production sets should be regularly sanitised and equipment and props should be disinfected.

Face masks and/or face shields must be provided to staff and sanitiser made up of 70% alcohol must be made available to all employees.

JP Smith, member of the mayoral committee for safety and security, says "This document was shared with members of the film industry for comment and they have agreed to abide by the strict guidelines aimed at avoiding the spread of Covid-19".

"It also outlines the basic technical measures the companies have to put in place in the workplace to contain the spread of the coronavirus and to protect their employees."

"We would like to urge all those attached to the film industry, and who will be going out to film locations, to please adhere to the protocols as well as all applicable regulations in terms of hygiene on set and observing physical distancing to ensure the safety of all those on set."

Risk assessments and a Covid-19 mitigation plan for every location needs to be conducted before a film permit is issued. Law enforcement agencies will monitor compliance safety measures and mitigation from Covid-19 from production companies.

Coronavirus: SABC Cape Town office shuttered to undergo a deep-clean after staffer tests positive for Covid-19; personnel to self-isolate for 2-weeks as they work from home.

by Thinus Ferreira

Two weeks after eMedia Investments had to shutter its e.tv Cape Town building in the Zonnebloem district the South Africa public broadcaster has been forced to shut down its Cape Town building in Sea Point for a deep-clean after a SABC staffer tested positive for the Covid-19 coronavirus.

SABC staffers have been ordered home for quarantine to self-isolate and will work remotely from home says Mmoni Seapolelo, SABC spokesperson.

"Management has put in place business continuity measures and employees will continue to discharge their responsibilities remotely while in isolation."

Kenneth Makatees, SABC News Western Cape regional editor said that a staff member went for a test on Monday after displaying flu-like symptoms that got worse.

"The employee received her test result on Thursday. As a precautionary measure, SABC protocols have been implemented."

"The SABC office in Sea Point has been closed with immediate effect. All staff members who were still working from the office, will self isolate for 2 weeks and continue to work remotely from home. The SABC building in Sea Point has been closed for deep cleaning to ensure that it is safe when employees return to work," said Kenneth Makatees.

The SABC News bulletin writer Sarel Meintjes, radio news reporter Chris Mabuya and Kenneth Makatees, who took a picture, were the last to leave the SABC News Cape Town newsroom in Sea Point before it was closed for decontamination.

Netflix joins the cancel culture: Video streamer will now automatically delete inactive accounts if you haven’t used it in a year

by Thinus Ferreira

Netflix has joined the cancel culture so to speak: The global video streamer will now automatically cancel subscribers' accounts who haven't used it for a year and who haven't actually watched anything for 12 months.

Netflix announced the fascinating development in its latest company blog post, saying it has started to automatically cancel people's Netflix subscriptions if they haven't been used.

It will be interesting to see whether other video streamers like MultiChoice's Showmax, Apple TV+, VIU, Amazon Prime Video, Vodacom Video Play or any of the other subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) start to follow Netflix's lead in this regard.

"We’re asking everyone who has not watched anything on Netflix for a year since they joined to confirm they want to keep their membership. And we’ll do the same for anyone who has stopped watching for more than two years," says Eddie Wu, Netflix's director of product innovation.

"Members will start seeing these emails or in-app notifications this week. If they don’t confirm that they want to keep subscribing, we’ll automatically cancel their subscription."

Netflix says that if a person changes their mind, they can restart Netflix.

These dormant accounts form part of less than 0.5% of Netflix's total subscriber base globally - a few hundreds thousand accounts.

Netflix says losing the money from these inactive accounts have already been factored into its financial guidance.

So why is Netflix doing this? The streamer likely wants to buy some general goodwill from its entire customer base with some who might feel pressure on their discretionary budget spend during the global Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic.

"We've always thought it should be easy to sign up and to cancel. So, as always, anyone who cancels their account and then rejoins within 10 months will still have their favourites, profiles, viewing preferences and account details just as they left them. In the meantime, we hope this new approach saves people some hard-earned cash," says Eddie Wu.

TV REVIEW. Netflix's Cape Town-set youth series Blood & Water is a shallow déjà vu but the teens will splash in it.

by Thinus Ferreira

You know what they say about the kiddie pool: The water's warm.

Blood & Water, the 6-episode South African series from Gambit Films releasing during the global Covid-19 interregnum remains at the all-too-familiar and shallow end of the content youth genre pool where it's safer - with some splashy drone-shot visuals and a CW network-type story that its older teen audience will likely be more than fine with.

Following after Queen Sono as Netflix's second commissioned Netflix Original for Africa, Blood & Water is an achievement in existence for South Africa's TV industry but disappointingly never enters a new or deeper side of the pool to break bigger waves.

It doesn't swim out further than where pay-series like ELITE, The Girl from St. Agnes and the well-done Grassroots, from Clive Morris Productions seen on Mzansi Magic (DStv 161) and Showmax, have already gone before, but it does bring another Cape Town-lensed high schooler drama to an international audience.

Stocked with all-too-familiar TV tropes and aptly done teen-emo mood music to suit, Netflix's Blood & Water borrows a lot for its teen melodrama scripts from the real-life tabloid headlines of the kidnapping of Zephany Nurse.

Zephany who was abducted in 1997 from the Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town, grew up with people she believed were her "parents".

Older people in real-life would already have read over months in the YOU and People SA magazines all the uncanny twists and turns.

In TV form however Blood & Water - executive produced by Bradley Joshua, Nosipho Dumisa, Daryne Joshua, Travis Taute and Simon Beesley, with Nosipho Dumisa also directing, gets a C- with its youth audience that will likely be unperturbed about the roughly inspired copy-and-paste story.

They will probably find the Blood & Water story about a sister looking for her sibling who was abducted 17 ago a novelty.

Looking like a more scripted version of Clifton Shores with some forced acting, added obligatory "edgy" sex scenes and perfunctory profanity, the 16 age restriction makes Blood & Water unsuitable as family viewing - an odd creative decision from Netflix.

It's difficult not to see how Blood & Water doppelgänger-ed a lot of what came before it if you've already seen streamer series like Spain's ELITE on Netflix and then The Girl from St. Agnes from MultiChoice's Showmax that went before it - along with a scenic set design déjà vu from Netflix's The Kissing Booth that was also done in Cape Town and even using the same film locations like Camps Bay and the University of Cape Town.

While the Blood & Water script, acting and set design at moments seem to hint at deeper plot promise, character layers as well as symbolism that will later be explored, it frustratingly never arrive.

Instead, the show leads the audience through a rushed and mostly shallow 6-episode paint-by-numbers story with some pacing issues in the first half that improves in the last few episodes.

"If I didn't think I'd be much happier" - a quote from Sylvia Plath - flashes within the first few seconds of the opening episode. Instead of foreshadowing any deeper bildungsroman theming, character-building or symbolism it is a prescient warning about how to approach Blood & Water as you watch it.

Towards the end when one character says ""It's just high school drama. It will blow over" the meta-remark comes too late.

Under the older and more experienced cast Gail Mabalane shines most convincing as mom Thandeka Khumalo with authentic emoting gravitas. Among the younger cast especially Natasha Thahane excels and stands out as sassy maroon beret prep school social activist Wendy.

Honourary mention goes to Ama Qamata as the ingénue Puleng thrust into the make-believe world of Llandudno where teen house parties apparently come with a bouncer.

A stilted Ryle de Mornay should have spent a lot more time with a dialogue coach. His delivery is flat and unconvincing as this series' obligatory teacher who is having the affair with a student. It's dangerous to cast "sexy teacher" on looks alone.

The acting of a clearly too-old-for-high-school Arno Greeff in the role of bisexual Chris also needs a lot of refinement - one of many one-dimensional characters who are introduced but of whom the backstory, motivations and side-arcs are simply largely left unexplored.

What looks best in Blood & Water is a visually idealised Cape Town achieved through well-done camera drone work and scene-setting editing.

The lighting overall gets high marks with attention to detail and the camera angles that will be used - ranging from difficult to lit club bathroom scenes, to light-falling-through-the-window half-profile illumination.

Script-wise the 6 episodes feel rushed with a lot of character motivation never explained. What seems like it might become new plot points are started but not further developed.

Several unrealistic scenes throughout the 6 episodes, as well as set design mistakes will, again, probably not bother the younger crowd but they do detract from Blood & Water's authenticity.

Besides the poor teachers' cars, private schools like the fictional Parkhurst College actually have rows of SUVs parked outside. South Africa doesn't do American-styled school-staircase media briefings, and not even private schools have flanked banner flags outside the front door.

At no school newspaper or magazine will the kids ever be able to publish anything without strict prior teacher editorial oversight first but it happens in Blood & Water because it's needed to advance the plot and character conflict.

One hopes that after Ted Sarandos, Netflix's chief content officer, and new-hire Dorothy Ghettuba, who leads African originals at Netflix, toured South Africa as the streamer's latest outpost earlier this year in which they want to produce more original content, that they will be mindful in focusing on commissioning projects that make South Africa and Africa shine in unique stand-out series instead of programming that's more additive in nature.

Netflix Originals for Africa should be "Original" - new stories, on a canvass with Netflix budgets resembling what's given to other regions.

It should be projects that showcase Africa, projects that expand and go further than content that had already been done; projects that tell a story in budget and scope that existing pay-TV in South Africa and Africa can't or won't.

Blood & Water is fine but there already exists enough of this type of story. Netflix that has more than adequate lung-capacity can and should go jump in, and dive deeper, into a bigger story pool.


- The review is based on Blood & Water's first season of 6 episodes.