Sunday, February 28, 2021

Meet the 10 Islanders of Love Island SA on M-Net: A Hooters girl called Summer, a bodybuilder, personal trainers and a woman who says 'I'm tired of these rats and I wants a real man!'.


by Thinus Ferreira

On Sunday night, M-Net (DStv 101) introduced the first 10 single and sexy love hopefuls in the first season of Love Island South Africa who entered the Love Island SA villa for a "6-week bae-cation".

The 10 Islanders are they will be known, must couple up and live together all in the name of love and the chance to win R1 million in the process. 

Throughout the series, the Islanders will be forced to re-couple where they can choose - or be chosen - to remain in their current couple or swap and change, whilst also undergoing several dates, tasks and challenges, in the quest to avoid being dumped from the villa.

With 5 men and 5 women start Love Island SA, there will doubtless be more so-called Bombshells introduced to try and break some of the couples up to try and form new couples. Who will couple up with who and which couple will outlast the rest?

Leandie du Randt is the Love Island SA host while the voice-over artist Warren Robertson navigates viewers through the show. 

One-hour episodes of Love Island SA will be broadcast from Mondays to Fridays on M-Net at 21:30, with so-called "unseen-bits" that will be broadcast after the 20:00-movie on Sunday nights.

Here are the 10 Islanders that Love Island SA introduced on Sunday night:

Asad Boomgaard
Asad, a 24-year-old personal trainer from Johannesburg, says that he’s an old soul and a romantic at heart.

He enjoys surprising the people he loves and once flew cupcakes from Cape Town to Johannesburg for a love interest, only to end up friend-zoned. Asad enjoys being active and outdoors and is looking for "a good woman to keep me grounded".


Durang Atembe
This charming 22-year-old is from Cape Town and a personal trainer. He is confident that he’s what the ladies are looking for.

"I’ve got swagger, everyone said that I should join the show, I’m going with it and I’m interested. So, it will be a blessing having me on the show."

Durang says that he values the small things in life and knows that being humble and working hard gets you places. When he’s not in the gym training his ripped body, Durang spends his time taking road trips and listening to good music.


Erin Japhta 
The 22-year-old Erin, from Cape Town, is a marketing student who studies in Los Angeles. 

She believes that Love Island SA is her second chance, and says "I’ve moved around a lot; I somewhat believe I deserve another chance at love and really hoping this is my opportunity."

Erin has lived in Indonesia, Los Angeles and now Cape Town. She’s a social butterfly and enjoys singing, going to the beach, hiking, hanging with friends, games nights, and fun night clubs.


Ian De Beer
Bringing Afrikaans boy charm to Love Island SA is the 24-year-old Ian who describes himself as "confident and funny. I love awkwardness".

Ian is a law student and a bodybuilder and is determined to bring a ripped torso to the Love Island SA villa.

"I will come shredded for the show – I will have the best body," he says. He is looking for a mature girl because he has two older sisters and that is what he is used to. He knows his way around the girls and believes he won’t struggle to get them to like him. His hobbies are working out, hiking, running and gaming.


Jay Freemantle
Jay is a Sandton social media star.

At 23 Jay is the founder  and CEO of a digital marketing agency and a fitness influencer. "I hate the term influencer. An influencer is someone like Gandhi and Mandela, not a social media 'star'," he says.

He says dark eyebrows are a massive pull for him. His most significant relationship was with his high school sweetheart. Since then, he has not had a significant relationship and is hoping that Love Island SA will change that. 

Apart from being a fitness fanatic, Jay also spends his time cooking and doing photography.


Kaige Bertasso 
Kaige is a feisty 21-year-old from Durban, and says that "People confuse my confidence with arrogance – I love to boast".

In 2017, he experienced a life-altering event when his motorbike accident ended his professional tennis career. The experience taught him to never give up even when his whole world turned upside down.

Making lemonade out of the experience, Kaige became a professional tennis coach. He says that he will be loud and proud in the Love Island SA villa and believes he has the best banter with looks to match.


Millie Terblanche
The 20-year-old Millie is a quirky and outgoing influencer from Cape Town.

She says that she's here to entertain and bring about loads of banter. "I am funny... but dumb... but not dumb... but funny... but dumb."

At 17 she left her hometown to study in Cape Town, lost lots of weight and began taking care of herself while also creating a life that she loves. Millie entered the show to find love in a new and interesting way. 

As a creator, she enjoys creating art and watching and creating YouTube content, but she also loves a good party.


Rochelle Van Vuuren
This stunning Demi Moore lookalike, Rochelle, is 23 and from Pretoria. 

She is a digital creator, qualified in BCom Strategic Management and also heavily involved in the fitness world. 

She competed in IFBB (International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness) in 2019 and won her first competition. She obtained her Gauteng North Colours and went on to compete for South Africa. This has taught her a whole new side to discipline.

Rochelle says that her weakness is that she forgives too easily – her ex cheated on her many times. "My ex wasn't even a trophy, maybe a bronze medal," she says.


Summer Da Cruz
A real Hooters girl, Summer who is 21 hails from Johannesburg.

She is a professional dancer and has worked on MSC Cruise liners, where she got to visit several beautiful and exotic countries.

"I’ve travelled the entire world and still haven’t met someone who sparks something in me, I’m sure he’s in South Africa ... somewhere," she says.

Summer is funny and clumsy but thinks on her feet. As a Love Islander, she brings her competitive streak and bubbly personality to the table and is looking for the guy with the good teeth.


Thimna Shooto
This 26-year-old from Mossel Bay is confident and charismatic. 

Thimna says that she considers the current dating world to be very superficial and is looking for a real connection.

"I'm tired of these rats and I want a real man."

She says that her intelligence and independence can be intimidating to some men. In 2018, she was in a long-distance relationship that taught her a lot about knowing her self-worth. She is not jaded and not afraid to express her feelings.


IN IMAGES. 17 photos of the Love Island South Africa villa's interior reveal a pretty-in-pink villa, infinity pool with a vineyard view, a bar, a gym, girls' dressing room, bedrooms, kitchen and fire pit.


by Thinus Ferreira

On Sunday M-Net (DStv 101) released a sneak peek first look at the pretty-in-pink rooms and pastel-coloured spaces inside the Love Island South Africa villa, revealing for the first time some of the design, decor, and layout of the Cape Winelands-set reality house.

The look inside reveals a pretty-in-pink Love Island SA villa that comes with an infinity pool that has a vineyard view, a bar, a gym, a neon-lit girls' dressing room, the big multi-bed bedroom with a baby blue floor, a kitchen and a fire pit.

Love Island South Africa, produced by Rapid Blue, will makes its debut on Sunday night at 20:00 on M-Net when it introduces the coterie of Islanders who will enter the villa for the next few weeks in M-Net's latest local reality format adaptation.

While the full Love Island SA villa will be revealed during Sunday's debut episode broadcast, M-Net released a short sneak peek first look on Sunday with host Leandie du Randt doing a Love Island SA villa tour.


Pink is clearly the Love Island South Africa set design's predominant colour with the colour palette augmented by a range of pastel colours including orange, yellow, baby blue and some purple.

The overall design is offset by some neon sign words visible all throughout the various rooms.


This looks like it could be the front entrance of the Love Island SA villa.


This is the kitchen or "kitchen area" with orange cupboard doors, and that looks like it might as well be an outdoor type of kitchen or a semi-outdoor kitchen:



There is this curved alcove wall and wall art:









The bedroom:


And the girls' dressing room inside the Love Island SA villa:



The outside gym looks like this with a yellow bench and again pastel-coloured accents with a weight-rack in the corner:


This is the outdoor, circular fire pit and fire pit seating area:



ALSO READ: Meet the 10 Islanders of Love Island SA on M-Net: A Hooters girl called Summer, a bodybuilder, personal trainers and a woman who says 'I'm tired of these rats and I wants a real man!'.

INTERVIEW. Love Island South Africa host Leandie du Randt: 'I'm excited to see if people find real love on this show - these days it's not bizarre really to discover that you meet the love of your life in a situation like this'.


by Thinus Ferreira

Leandie du Randt is the presenter of the first season of Love Island South Africa on M-Net (DStv 101), starting on Sunday 28 February at 20:00 and then with episodes from Mondays to Fridays at 21:30, where she will drop in to check on the Islanders - and maybe introduce some new Bombshells!

I asked her why she agreed to host this new reality show and how she's preparing, to what degree she might get involved in the Islanders' antics, and what's she's looking forward to.

Read on to find out Leandie du Randt's advice for potential Islanders who might still want to enter Love Island SA, how she's built her social media presence and her advice about success, and everything else she's busy with.


Why did you say yes to be the Love Island South Africa host for M-Net?
Leandie du Randt: For one, I don't know who would not want to host such an amazing, international hit mega-show. What a privilege.

I love the previous seasons of the different countries - UK, US, Australia - so to be the host of the South African Love Island version is just like a dream come true. I've always wanted to be the face of a good international TV franchise, so I'm very, very grateful.


I know it's maybe not really possible to prepare for hosting something like a show like Love Island SA, but how dod you prepare yourself for what you're role will be a what is required from you within the style of the show, and what you're responsibilities will be?
Leandie du Randt:
So as you've said there are a lot of things you can't really prepare for because it's all going to depend on what the intrigue is week by week.

But we can prepare for the first episode - the 90-minute special on Sunday night on M-Net starting at 20:00 because it has a standard format since the show is a local adaptation of an international franchise where we are going to introduce the singles to each other, and they decide to couple up.

We are going to be introducing the various Islanders to the public. I've also trained with Fiona Ramsay, the actress and voice coach - because obviously I'm Afrikaans - so I had to make sure that I'm comfortable speaking English and Love Island South Africa is the first time for me hosting a TV show in English.

That's also why I'm so excited to do this because I've gotten so comfortable within the Afrikaans market and just being an Afrikaans TV presenter so this is a huge opportunity for me to just work on the experience of working in different markets.



With nature documentaries Sir David Attenborough always says the observer shouldn't get involved in things like trying to save the animals, or the psychologist shouldn't become a crutch for the patient. 
Do you think you'll be able to keep your distance from the Islanders when you maybe start to get a favourite and you want them to succeed and not get dumped? How much emotion will you show and to what degree will you interact with the Islanders?
Leandie du Randt: So, as the Love Island SA host I don't live in the villa, so automatically I'm not going to be so involved.

I only come in once a week, so over the course of this first season of Love Island SA, viewers will see me a limited number of times. I've got nothing to do at all with how the various Islanders go about their daily lives and what they decide to do or not.

I only come in as a change agent for the Recouplings and to mix things up a little bit. So my work is not to become their friend, my work is not to judge them, my work is just to facilitate conversations and decisions amongst them when needed.

The nature of what is expected of me will really not allow me to get involved too much. As as I know this is a job, you prepare yourself not to get involved, so like the M-Net viewers I will stand as an outsider looking in at what they're doing, if that makes sense.


In the time until Love Island SA concludes in April, is there something that you're maybe looking forward to do, or experience?
Leandie du Randt: For one, definitely to experience the Love Island South Africa production first-hand.

I can't tell you how many months of planning goes into producing a show like this and seeing that Love Island SA will be running 24/7 and there will be a new episode every day.

We almost have 300 crew members working day and night shifts to ensure that M-Net viewers can get a very entertaining programme every night. Just to be a part of this hard-working team is amazing. I'm really looking forward to seeing how they do what they are going to do.

I'm also excited to see if people find real love on Love Island SA - I mean these days it's not bizarre really to discover that you meet the love of your life in a situation like this. You see that people meet online, they meet in pubs - you never know when real love in real-life can strike you, so I'm excited to see if there will come real love from this.


On Valentines Day this year I saw your hotel Instagram images that are beautiful. You have so succesfully leveraged your social media profile to build your brand and presenting TV shows on kykNET (DStv 144) and elsewhere and now also M-Net. 
You're also a role model for young people who see how you utilise social media in a beautiful way of being an influencer and partnerships with products. People see the surface but what advice do you have for especially young people?
Leandie du Randt: It takes time, these things.

They always say someone's an overnight success but becoming an overnight success takes 10 000 hours you know?

There a book, Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell that is all about that. I've been in this industry for 12 years now, so it's something I've been building up a little bit by little bit.

I think with anything in life really, success has got everything to do with consistency and working hard consistently and making sure that the message you send out there is true and real and authentic. My number one advice will be if you want to do this, be consistent.

Secondly, create content that is authentic to who you are - never try and be something you're not. And never advertise or post brands or stuff that you don't want to be associated with and that's not you - you have a choice in this.

People are only going to know what you show them so you control the narrative. Therefore, make sure that it's a narrative that you like and that you feel is real and true. 

Don't do it if you don't want to do it. It's easy to build and work on something and become successful at it and in it if you really like it and have a passion for it.

Then you're automatically going to work harder at it and also it's not going to feel like work. If you find that it's hard to get motivated or to do it, then you're not in the right space. Ask yourself: Am I doing what I'm supposed to do, or am I just doing this because it's a trend and everyone's doing it? Then you're not going to have longitudinal success with it.


And how difficult is it to structure it out or plan out what you're going to do on your social media beyond your other ...
Leandie du Randt: Ha ha, no I'm not like that at all! No! I can't live like that.

It's not my job you know. I do it because I like it. So if I was at a hotel that I like and I want to post it them I'm going to do it. If a brand reaches out to me and they want to do something, if I like the product and I want to do it, then I'll do it. 

I'm not anal about "It's Monday and I have to post something inspirational, and on Tuesday I have to do this". I do something when it's real and when I feel I want to do it unless of course I get paid to do something really specific on a certain day and time.

Most of the time I don't plan anything out - I just post what I want to post and what's true and real for the day for me. 



With the last of summer and autumn starting and with your main commitment to Love Island SA for the next two months and being in Cape Town and the Western Cape winelands, is there something else you maybe want to do if there's time?
Leandie du Randt: No, there's nothing else I'm allowed to do or will have time to do! 

But in the days that I'm not working - like you've said my social media is a constant thing that I'm busy with - I'm busy reviewing the edited version of my book - my second book that will be published later in 2021.

Then an ongoing thing that I will always be busy with is my online shop, To Be Gift Boxes that I do with my sister in law. 

That is a full-time job of mine that I do every day. I'm creative director of that - I edit the photos, I run the social media, I upload all of the products on the website, I manage that and I make sure that everything looks and feels pretty.


With the entries for Love Island SA that remains open after the show launches on M-Net, what advice do you have for people who see it on TV and then decides to enter?
Leandie du Randt: That all depends on who's already in the villa and what personalities there are.

I can't say do this or be that - Love Island SA is a reality show and it's not scripted. The only thing you can take to a reality show is your work, yourself, your authenticity and your social intelligence.


Love Island South Africa starts on M-Net (DStv 101) on Sunday 28 February at 20:00 with new episodes Monday to Friday at 21:30.


eNCA's racist mask-scandal widens: SANEF criticises defensive eNCA for immature response, president Cyril Ramaphosa 'quite disturbed', UDM lodges broadcasting complaint, EFF demands inquiry and wants eNCA banned from parliament, IFP ghosts eNCA.


by Thinus Ferreira

The racist mask-scandal of eNCA (DStv 403) continues to widen with the South African National Editors' Forum (SANEF) that is criticising the TV News channel for its defensive and immature response that it says "lacks the maturity that this moment demands", while the country's president Cyril Ramaphosa says he was "quite disturbed" to see eNCA's mask double-standard approach.

At least one political party, the UDM, has now lodged an official complaint about eNCA at the Broadcasting Complaints Commission of South Africa (BCCSA); another political party, the EFF, has called for an official and urgent parliamentary inquiry into eNCA which it wants to be banned from the parliamentary precinct; while an IFP MP has said he won't be giving any further interviews to eNCA or e.tv's eNews until it changes its statement.

The latest controversy that the eMedia Investments TV news channel finds itself in started when viewers noticed during the channel's 2021 Budget Speech interviews on Wednesday to get reaction over Tito Mboweni's speech, how white and black politicians were treated differently during interviews.

Viewers noticed a pattern in the way in which reporter Lindsay Dentlinger, that eNCA said has 21 years of experience, did a series of interviews on the steps of parliament where black politicians were repeatedly asked to wear their Covid-19-masks but white, maskless politicians didn't get similar instructions.

eNCA blamed it on the pressures of "live television" and said that its reporter isn't racist and that the apparent double standard is not because of "malicious intent".

Viewers and politicians have been up in arms about the incident, angered even further by eNCA response which the TV News channel struggled to formulate and that only communicated about for the first time on Thursday night at 22:02 in a media statement.

Sbu Ngalwa, chairperson of the South African National Editors' Forum (SANEF) says "This issue and the responses that it elicited should be one big lesson for us as the media industry and it is not just about eNCA or their journalist but it is about us as the media".

"It challenges us as newsrooms to now introduce standards of procedure in terms of how we treat guests during these times of Covid-19," he said.

"Those who are angry about this incident are justified," says Sbu Ngalwa. "The individuals who feel affronted have a right to be angry, they also have a right to be heard. This is a moment that calls for cool heads and for reflection."

"Where we have made mistakes we should admit our mistakes. We should not be defensive and cast those who criticise us as being malicious. Journalists are not above criticism. That is why I feel that the statement released by eNCA last night is quite unfortunate and it lacks the maturity that this moment demands."

"This is not the time for us to bury our heads in the sand and to be defensive," says Sbu Ngalwa.

Cyril Ramaphosa, South African president, says "When I saw what happened outside the doors of parliament I was quite disturbed". 

On Friday the #NotInMyNameInternational civil rights organisation picketed outside the eNCA headquarters in Hyde Park, Johannesburg.

The United Democratic Movement (UDM) political party on Friday lodged an official complaint against eNCA with the BCCSA over what it says is the apparent double standards of the eMedia Investments TV news channel's interviewing techniques, and the conduct of the eNCA production team as well as reporter Lindsay Dentlinger.

The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) political party has now written to the Speaker of the National Assembly, requesting that an urgent inquiry be instituted against eNCA and Lindsay Dentlinger, accusing eNCA and the reporter of racism within the parliamentary precinct.

The EFF says that Lindsay Dentlinger violated Section 9.4 of South Africa's Constitution. The EFF wants parliament to fire or ban Lindsay Dentlinger from the parliamentary precinct and wants eNCA removed, fined or banned from parliament for defending her actions.

Mkhuleko Hlengwa, MP of the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), said that he will not be giving any further interviews to either eNCA or e.tv's eNews until eMedia Investments revises its statement about the mask incident and the conduct of Lindsay Dentlinger.


Your 2021 Golden Globes broadcast snack pack with M-Net and E! scheduling details.


by Thinus Ferreira

M-Net will once again bring America's 78th Golden Globe Awards to viewers in South Africa and across sub-Saharan Africa as a live broadcast very early on Monday morning 1 March, and again later during prime prime, with live pre-coverage shown on E!

The 78th Golden Globe Awards, as chosen by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) and hosted by Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, will award statues to the American television of 2020, as well as film in 2020 and early 2021, and will be shown as a live broadcast on M-Net Movies 1 (DStv 104) on Monday morning from 03:00 (South African time).

The 78th Golden Globes will again be shown during late prime time on M-Net (DStv 101) on Monday night at 22:30. 

This year's Golden Globes - smaller and more "intimate" than before due to the Covid-19 pandemic will be the first "bi-coastal ceremony" with Tina Fey anchoring and hosting from the Rainbow Room in The Rockefeller Center in New York, and Amy Poehler anchoring the ceremony from the Golden Globes' usual eat-laugh-drink-and-be-merry home of The Beverly Hilton hotel in Los Angeles.

It will be the 4th time since 2013 that Tina Fey and Amy Poehler are co-hosting the Golden Globes, but this time they won't share a stage. 

This year The Golden Globes and the HFPA received criticism over some controversial nominations and its absence of any black members over the past two decades that it said it would correct.

The 2021 Golden Globes pre-coverage will start on E! (DStv 124) at 01:00 on Monday morning until 03:00 when the ceremony starts on M-Net Movies 1.

Giuliana Rancic will be hosting E! Live from the Red Carpet: The 2021 Golden Globes, produced by Den of Thieves on E! with co-host Karamo. Interviews will be done live from the Beverly Hilton. This coverage will repeat on Monday at 15:25 and 22:00.

Joining Giuliana will be E's style correspondent Zanna Roberts Rassi and Erin Lim, the presenter of E!'s The Rundown.

Friday, February 26, 2021

TV NEWS ROUND-UP. Today's interesting TV reports and articles to read - 26 February 2021.



Here's the latest news about TV that I read and that you should read too:    




Disney is creating massive confusion and big questions for its international partners making use of its content distribution system for shows ... that are and will dry up.

An idea that seemed like a real plus when video streaming was newer, has now become a cliché.

In an era of way, way too much TV, things get lost.


From reboots and spinoffs to streaming services - enough already!






The struggle to speak truth to power in the age of streaming.

MultiChoice launches new Early Access functionality for DStv Premium subscribers who will now be able to watch episodes of M-Net's Love Island SA an hour earlier on DStv Catch Up before its linear broadcast.


by Thinus Ferreira

MultiChoice is introducing a new concept entitled "Early Access" that will launch with the debut of Love Island South Africa on M-Net (DStv 101) whereby DStv subscribers can watch episodes of certain shows earlier on a particular day before its linear-scheduled broadcast time.

Love Island SA will be the first Early Access-accessible show with DStv Premium subscribers who will be able to watch the episodes of the reality series from Monday 2 March to episode 35 on Friday 9 April on DStv Catch Up or any device connected to the internet an hour before that day's episode is broadcast on M-Net.

The 90-minute launch special of Love Island SA on Sunday 28 February at 20:00, as well as the finale, will both be live on M-Net without the option of Early Access. 

With MultiChoice's Early Access, DStv subscribers essentially become TV critics with journalists who review TV shows who are usually sent pilots and episodes of TV shows before their linear broadcast in order to preview and write reviews to co-incide with the broadcasting date.

MultiChoice says that plans are underway for more content across DStv to be included over time in the Early Access function.

Early Access will initially only be made available to DStv Premium subscribers who consumer content on the DStv app and a DStv Explora decoder that is connected to the internet.

"Our customers’ viewing habits and preferences continue to drive our innovations," says Yolisa Phahle, MultiChoice Group CEO of general entertainment and connected video.

"Early Access gives customers an unprecedented opportunity to watch exclusive content first on their connected devices. Driving value and convenience for audiences is at the heart of enhancing the customer’s viewing experience. Our world-class content can be viewed on multiple screens, at the customer’s convenience."

ViacomCBS unwraps its Paramount+ video streaming service: Here are the 44 biggest announcements from Frasier and HALO to Rugrats and Trevor Noah.


by Thinus Ferreira

As the last of Hollywood's big studio-distributors to launch a global video streaming service, ViacomCBS has taken the wrapping off its plans for Paramount+ but with no news of a launch date for South Africa.

Paramount+ will include a library catalogue of 30 000 hours of shows and 50 exclusive and original new series that will debut over the next two years - including a Frasier and Rugrats series revivals and HALO - with 36 of these that will launch in 2021.

In a virtual investors' presentation done from inside a studio on Los Angeles' iconic Paramount lot, adopting the same style and format that Disney for Disney+ and Discovery Inc. used for Discovery+ the past few months, ViacomCBS executives unveiled its new Paramount+  - and with it the glut of content it plans to place on it. 

"We know how to make hits. ViacomCBS has been and remains a consistent hitmaker, across genres, across demographics, across formats and across platforms," said Bob Bakish, ViacomCBS president and CEO.

As with HBO Max, Disney+ and Star, Discovery+, as well as peacock, ViacomCBS didn't announce or say anything about a rollout date or timeframe for South Africa - Africa's most developed TV market.

Paramount+ will launch in the United States, Canada and Latin America on 4 March, the Nordics on 25 March and in Australia later in 2021.

ViacomCBS executives did however say that the plan is to aggressively launch Paramount+ globally and wants to have between 65 and 75 million global subscribers by 2024. 

That makes it highly likely that Paramount+ will eventually be made available in South Africa where it could also foreseeably be included as a tile on MultiChoice's latest DStv Explora Ultra decoder that already carries Netflix SA and Amazon Prime Video.

Paramount+ will cost $9.99 (R149.28), but a cheaper ad-supported version costing $4.99 (R74.56) will launch later this year. 

ViacomCBS said that Paramount+ will cost considerably less outside of America - very likely in order to aggressively compete with Netflix and Disney+ as the two top global subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) services.

"We're leveraging the massive global reach of ViacomCBS to distribute Paramount+. We have a deep history of relationships with multichannel video programming distributors (MVPDs) and telco partners in every major market around the world," the company said.

Nicole Clemens, the head of Paramount Television Studios, said that ViacomCBS is harnessing "Paramount's incredible library to create shows that come with a built-in fanbase for Paramount+. While we have no shortage of source material, we're being very selective and strategic in choosing what IP is best positioned for modern streaming consumers".



From a Grease prequel to a fatal attraction
Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies will be a TV series with both classic and new songs and a diverse cast as serve as a prequel to Grease. It will tell the story of how Frenchy's older sister Jane founded the Pink Ladies.

The film Flashdance is becoming a new drama series and will pick up from where the story left off but will be set in the present day. 

The film Love Story is also becoming a series from Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage who were responsible for Gossip Girl and The O.C.

Fans of The Italian Job and The Parallax View can also look forward to series based on these iconic films. 

Fatal Attraction is also being turned into a TV series for Paramount+, described as "a deep-dive reimagining of the psychosexual thriller" that starred Glenn Close and Michael Douglas. 

An intriguing series is The Offer as a fictional series, but based on real-life, detailing the mafia-filled drama behind the making of the film The Godfather

The Star Trek universe is expanding with Strange New Worlds with Anson Mount as Enterprise Captain Pike, while the kids animation series, Star Trek: Prodigy has abruptly moved from Nickelodeon to Paramount+. There will also be a second season of Star Trek: Picard.

The crime procedural Criminal Minds is also revived as a TV drama series and bringing the gang back together with the same showrunner, same breaking down of the criminal psyche and catching the bad guy. "Instead of a new case each week, it will be a single, fascinating case-story told over 10 episodes each season," said Nicole Clemens.

The Real Criminal Minds will be a "true crime" documentary series where a real FBI profiler analyses real cases and real criminal behaviour, illustrated by clips that viewers will remember from the series.

Paramount+ will also do a follow-up to the miniseries Waco as part of an anthology series entitled American Tragedy. Each season of American Tragedy will tackle difficult and complicated conspiracy-riddled moments in history.

The dramedy Younger is also moving to Paramount+ for its 7th and final season.


Paramount+ will also have 6666 (working title) as a spinoff from the Yellowstone drama series that will basically tell the story of how cattle ranches started and grew in America. 

"Founded when Comanches still ruled West Texas, no ranch in America is more steeped in the history of the West than the 6666."

"The 6666 is where the rule of law and the laws of nature merge in a place where the most dangerous thing one does is the next thing. The 6666 is synonymous with the merciless endeavour to raise the finest horses and livestock in the world, and ultimately where world-class cowboys are born and made".

Yellowstone is also getting a prequel series, Y: 1883. It will follow the Dutton family as they embark on a journey "west through the Great Plains toward the last bastion of untamed America. It is a stark retelling of Western expansion, and an intense study of one family fleeing poverty to seek a better future in America’s promised land — Montana".

Mayor of Kingstown will follow the McLusky family in Kingstown "where the business of incarceration is the only thriving industry. Tackling themes of systemic racism, corruption and inequality, the series provides a stark look at their attempt to bring order and justice to a town that has neither".

Land Man, also set in West Texas is described as "a modern-day tale of fortune-seeking in the world of oil rigs. The series is an upstairs/downstairs story of roughnecks and wildcat billionaires fueling a boom so big, it’s reshaping our climate, our economy and our geopolitics".



"I'm listening"
"One of the most successful comedy series of all time - Frasier - is coming back," Nicole Clemens said, exclusively to Paramount+.

" The new series will have everything you love about the original: Coziness, great writing, and of course a cast led by multi-Emmy winner, Kelsey Grammer. It's nostalgic and contemporary all at once."

In a statement released at the same time, Kelsey Grammer said "having spent over 20 years of my creative life on the Paramount lot both producing shows and performing in several, I'd like to congratulate Paramount+ on its streaming world entry. I gleefully anticipate sharing the next chapter in the continuing journey of Frasier Crane".



Master Chief on the move
In an eye-popping announcement ViacomCBS also announced that its science-fiction drama series HALO based on the hugely-popular video game that would have been on Showtime is abruptly shifting to Paramount+ as an exclusive where it will launch in early-2022.

While HALO if it remained on Showtime would likely have been acquired by M-Net (DStv 101) similar to shows like Billions, it now seems as if HALO is getting locked out from international distribution similar to Disney+ shows.

HALO, filmed in Budapest where Netflix's The Witcher also shot, stars Pablo Schreiber in the role of the iconic Master Chief and Natascha McElhone playing both Dr Catherine Halsey, the creator of the Spartans soldiers, and Cortana, the most advanced AI in human history who could save the human race.

HALO is clearly Paramount+'s answer to Disney+'s The Mandalorian.

"The upcoming HALO series will weave intimate personal stories with incredible action and a lavishly imagined vision of the future," said David Nevins, Showtime Networks CEO. 

"HALO has been in production in Hungary and I can tell you it's visually stunning, totally thrilling; and significantly it offers true 4-quadrant general audience appeal. We all believe that HALO is going to be a defining show for our super-service. We see this as another example of us marshalling the finest resources of the company in service of Paramount+".



From Dexter to Ray Donovan
Paramount+ is also doing a The Man Who Fell to Earth series that will star Chiwetel Ejiofor based on the iconic science-fiction novel and film. "It tells the story of a man who arrives on Earth and reveals more about human nature than humans ever could," said Nicole Clemens.

Guilty Party is a dark comedy with Kate Beckinsale as a journalist who gets in over her head when she tries to salvage her career by investigating the story of a young woman in jail for murdering her husband. 

BET's The Game is revived with a mix of original cast and new players. It will offer an examination of black culture through the prism of American pro-football. 

The famous fixer Ray Donovan is returning, this time in a feature-length movie to wrap up the TV series, and possibly setting up a movie franchise. 

Michael C Hall also made a brief appearance during the investors' presentation with the series Dexter that is being revived as a limited series about the serial killer. The revived Dexter will however stay on Showtime.

Tyler Perry is producing All The Queen's Men for the BET+ streaming service - a new drama series revolving around the female owner of a strip club in Atlanta and her group of male strippers.




Trevor Noah working daily - and now weekly
South Africa's Trevor Noah hosting The Daily Show on Comedy Central (DStv 122) is expanding his workload and appeared at the investors' presentation to announce that he is doing The Weekly Show With Trevor Noah - an initial 6 episodes that will be available on Paramount+ and that he will also be producing.

In The Weekly Show with Trevor Noah he will talk to people "behind the headlines".

Amy Schumer is returning to her original sketch comedy series and will be doing 5 Inside Amy Schumer TV specials for Paramount+. The comedy series Reno: 911! is revived with Reno: 911! The Hunt for QAnon based on the original series.

The MTV animation characters Beavis & Butt-head are coming to Paramount+ in a new and as-yet-untitled feature film, as will a film based on the Comedy Central series Workaholics.

The Nirvana drummer and Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl is making a non-scripted series for Paramount+ based on his mother's book with the 6-episode programme that will tell the stories of the special relationship between successful musicians and their mothers. 

Paramount+ will also roll out several new MTV Unplugged specials and is also reviving its music documentary series, Behind the Music.



Crazy kids
Meanwhile the original voice cast of the kids animation series Rugrats is returning for a revival series on Paramount+.

"Rugrats is one of the most iconic cartoons recognized by fans around the globe, and this original version is one we are taking great care and pride in creating for a brand-new audience," said Ramsey Naito, president of Nickelodeon Animation. 

ViacomCBS is creating Avatar Studios that will be entirely dedicated to creating content based on the animation series Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra. with new series and films that will be created telling these stories further.

Get ready for a Dora the Explorer live-action series based on the iconic character and aimed at an older kids audience aged 6 to 11, as well as an iCarly revival series in which the original cast members Miranda Cosgrove, Nathan Kress and Jerry Trainor join new friends for a look at their characters' present-day lives, adventures and comedic mishaps.

Kamp Koral: SpongeBob’s Under Years is the first-ever SpongeBob SquarePants spinoff series with the new series that will take viewers back to when the iconic characters of Bikini Bottom met for the very first time in a summer camp like no other.

The Fairly OddParents is a live-action revival of the long-running Nickelodeon animation series.


Reality
RuPaul’s Drag Race is getting a singing competition spinoff at Paramount+ entitled Queen of the Universe in which drag queens from all around the world will compete to see who sings the best.

The Real World reality series is also being revived with the original cast and will now be entitled The Real World Homecoming: New York as a "multi-episode docuseries".

The reality series Road Rules is also being revived in which strangers are dropped in a far-flung location, have to live in motorhomes and complete challenges as they drive from location to location.

The Challenge: All Stars will see former contestants of the reality series Real World and Road Rules return to compete again.

The tattoo reality series Ink Master that was cancelled last year is also being revived and will now continue on Paramount+, with the reality dating series Dating Naked that was cancelled in 2017 that is also being brought back for new episodes for the streaming service.