MultiChoice's DStv Stream adds its Watch from Start in preparation for the launch of DStv Glass.

by Thinus Ferreira

Like what has been possible with DStv decoders, MultiChoice has now added "Watch from Start" functionality to its DStv Stream app, making it possible for subscribers to begin watching content that has already started.

The Watch from Start functionality is something that is available in Sky's smart TV known as Sky Glass that works with an internet connection and no need for a mounted satellite dish.

MultiChoice is on track to launch a localised version of Sky Glass, rebranded as DStv Glass, by the end of this year in South Africa which will have to incorporate this function as well, hence its addition to DStv Stream.

Like with traditional DStv decoders where subscribers can drag back the cursor in the buffer bar to go back to the beginning or another point in the timeline, Watch from Start allows users to restart any live event by clicking a button.

According to MultiChoice, the newly added functionality is designed "to provide subscribers with greater control and flexibility over their streaming experience".

MultiChoice says Watch from Start "is a first step in bringing full cloud PVR functionality - recording live events from any device, to watch later - to DStv Stream customers, who could previously only access this if they were a PVR decoder viewer".

The Watch from Start feature is currently available in South Africa and the Rest of Africa on iOS, Android mobile, web, Hisense, tvOS, and most Samsung TVs. MultiChoice says it will be rolling out on other platforms soon.

"Along with this is a new and improved version of the smart TV user interface (UI) including enhancements that have made the app simpler for the customer to use and navigate. These updates have been rolled out on LG, Samsung and Hisense and will also be rolled out to DStv's connected Streama device soon."

Rochani Steenkamp, executive head of DStv Stream Product, says "These features not only improve convenience but also allow our subscribers to enjoy their favourite shows and live events exactly how and when they want".

According to MultiChoice the navigation for mobile has also been reworked to help subscribers with content discovery in the main section of the app.

Daniel Courtenay, DStv Stream executive head, says "These are just the first in a list of innovative improvements on our road map for the year".

Former M-Net and Amazon Studios exec Kaye Ann Williams jumps to Primedia Studios as content boss, rejoins Jan du Plessis to oversee SA coprods and series.

by Thinus Ferreira

The former M-Net content executive Kaye Ann Williams - who jumped to Amazon MGM Studios and was part of Amazon's brutal wholesale layoff of its entire South African and African development team - has reunited with her former M-Net boss Jan du Plessis at Primedia Studios.

Kaye Ann Williams has been appointed as vice president for content at Primedia Studios. 

At Primedia Studios the talented and respected Kaye Ann Williams will now develop and oversee its growing slate of South Africa co-productions and format series.

Primedia Studios has a burgeoning slate of co-productions and reality competition format shows like Deal or No Deal SA, Wheel of Fortune SA, MasterChef SA, The Masked Singer SA, SA's Got Talent, Raid the Cage SA and Ready, Steady, Cook SA it is currently producing for the South African public broadcaster's SABC1, SABC2 and SABC3 TV channels, with more in the pipeline.

Kaye Ann Williams was the head of M-Net's local productions and independent films and was at M-Net in Randburg for seven years before she joined Amazon MGM Studios in October 2022 when Amazon went on a head-hunting and hiring spree to bulk up its local content development teams in South Africa and Nigeria.

The South African and Africa content team expansion formed part of Amazon's big aspirations and promises to ramp up its own local African Originals slate.

It's a plan that came crashing down after just two years when Amazon Studios in America decided to drastically cut spending which meant the downsizing and evisceration of its entire Africa content rollout and expansion plan and that saw dozens of people who were appointed for the task lose their jobs and producers with existing development contracts getting cancelled.

Now the highly experienced Kaye Ann Williams has reunited with her former M-Net boss Jan du Plessis at Primedia Studios.

With Primedia Studios already described as "the new M-Net", Jan du Plessis and Kaye Ann Williams - who have years of shorthand rapport between them, together with an extensive diary of contacts and deeply forged industry relationships - are setting about building out its slate of shows with both new and well-proven South African production companies and producers.

ALSO READ: Former M-Net exec Kaye Ann Williams now heading up Amazon Prime Video South Africa's scripted series and movies division.

ALSO READ: Amazon slashing content funding for Prime Video Africa, retrenching staff including Prime Video Africa director Gideon Khobane with no new South African series or films to be commissioned.

SuperSport adds active rugby player Siya Kolisi as brand ambassador as MultiChoice and SuperSport ignore questions over conflict of interest.

by Thinus Ferreira

In a questionable move, SuperSport has added the still active rugby player Siya Kolisi as a SuperSport brand ambassador, with MultiChoice and SuperSport ignoring questions about creating a conflict of interest with the move.

SuperSport now pays Siya Kolisi to be a SuperSport brand ambassador. How will - or will - SuperSport do credible, critical commentary and reporting about Siya Kolisi and his on-field performance?

Why did SuperSport decide that it's okay to sign an active player as a SuperSport "brand ambassador" when and while SuperSport is also in the game of commenting and talking about active rugby players?

Since Rendani Ramovha took over as new SuperSport CEO following a lot of turmoil behind-the-scenes at SuperSport, SuperSport no longer seems inclined to respond to media queries. SuperSport was asked about the apparent conflict of interest in a media query and decided to ignore it.

A week ago SuperSport in a press release announced that the former Springbok rugby captain who is currently playing for French club Racing 92 is now getting paid to be an official SuperSport brand ambassador.

This move makes it unlikely that SuperSport will ever say anything critical of Siya Kolisi as their official brand ambassador or will tone down anything "negative" about his gameplay, decisions, on-field mistakes or anything else that might be true or fair, but not deemed "positive".

"It is such an honour for me to be a brand ambassador for SuperSport, to join such an incredible team of people who are responsible to bring the world's best sport to the continent," Siya Kolisi said in a prepared quote in the press release. 

"I've always said I want to impact as many people as possible, whether on or off the rugby field, and this is another way to reach people across the continent and hopefully make a mark and inspire people."

Siya Kolisi is represented by Roc Nation Sports International.

Rendani Ramovha, SuperSport CEO, is also quoted in the press release saying "Siya Kolisi is someone who truly embodies the meaning of being a champion and we are extremely proud to welcome him to the World of Champions".

Sibusiso Mjikeliso, SuperSport spokesperson, was asked twice in a media query about the perception of a conflict of interest and how SuperSport will do independent and credible coverage, commentary and reporting on the gameplay of someone who is also a brand ambassador of SuperSport.

Sibusiso Mjikeliso didn't respond.

On Tuesday this week, MultiChoice was asked why SuperSport doesn't respond to media queries. 

Keabetswe Modimoeg, MultiChoice corporate affairs and stakeholder relations group executive, didn't respond to the media query.

Shaka iLembe: Bomb Productions extras threatened as Sasfed calls for full investigation over exploitation.

by Thinus Ferreira

As extras and potential extras have now had threats made against their lives if they dare to speak out about their horrifying experiences, the South African Screen Federation (Sasfed) says it demands a full investigation of MultiChoice and M-Net's second season of Shaka iLembe after allegations of background performers who were treated like slave labour by casting agencies for the Bomb Productions show.

Extras and potential extras say they've now been threatened if they speak out about the horrible living arrangements and treatment they've been subjected to since the beginning of May.

Bomb Productions employed over 8 000 people for the first season of the show - a number that is set to increase for the second season which will feature big battle scenes as a young Shaka amass a massive Zulu army.

The second season of Shaka iLembe, currently in principal photography in Johannesburg, is mired in scandal after revelations that the base camp has allegedly been surrounded for weeks by tent camps filled with people living in squalor here as well as a house in Kempton Park, hoping to get "roles" as background performers.

Bussed in at their own cost from KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga and paying "rent", while some managed to appear in filmed scenes, many have been hoping in vain to snag a role as an extra in Shaka while they've been struggling to find food to eat or accessing basic ablution facilities.

Lerato Taba, national coordinator of Sasfed - an umbrella body that represents production companies and South Africa's independent film and television industry - says extras on MultiChoice's prestige series for its Mzansi Magic (DStv 161) channel "may have been exposed to discriminatory conduct by certain casting agencies".

"Sasfed is opposed to all forms of mistreatment. It is for this reason that we call for a full investigation by relevant authorities into the matter. We also call on anyone with information to come forward and assist with the investigation."

MultiChoice and M-Net's Mzansi Magic channel only issued a terse statement earlier this week, nothing that "MultiChoice has been made aware of unauthorised camps established by casting agencies near the shooting locations for Shaka iLembe season 2" and that "these camps, housing hundreds of extras in unsafe and closed quarters, are not sanctioned by MultiChoice or any official partners associated with the series".

MultiChoice said "The unauthorised camps identified are in direct violation of these standards and pose serious risks to participants. We strongly advise all extras and potential participants to only engage with verified and legitimate casting agencies affiliated with our production."

MultiChoice and Mzansi Magic didn't respond to specific questions posed in a media query made on Tuesday. 

The Randburg-based pay-TV operator was asked whether it and Bomb Productions are now changing casting agents.

MultiChoice was also asked whether Bomb Productions and M-Net did due diligence in terms of extras casting for this season, and if so what it was; whether there are safety officers on set and if they were aware of what was happening and at these camps, and what MultiChoice makes of people who have now been threatened with their lives if they speak out about their experiences.

Bomb Productions in a statement said "We are extremely concerned by this and have launched an urgent investigation into the alleged agencies, as well as informed all who supply extras to our productions that any found to be contravening the code of conduct will not be engaged with".

According to the production company, while its legal and fact-finding investigation remain ongoing "Bomb received reports of a makeshift campsite housing many people claiming to work for Shaka iLembe and launched an immediate investigation discovering people had been invited by Becky Casting with a promise to work on Shaka Ilembe".

"Bomb has never requested or authorised this. Our investigation found people had paid Becky Casting for accommodation but were living in what we deemed an unsafe and undignified makeshift campsite. Bomb management acted swiftly, demanding Becky Casting address the worrying situation and disband, we also informed the local authorities."

"Bomb has a 20 year professional track record of commitment to creating as many employment opportunities as possible, paying people decent industry-accepted rates and paying on time. Anyone jeopardising this is reckless."

"We are thus deeply aggrieved by the scurrilous behaviour of casting agents for tarnishing the reputation of Bomb and this important historical project, which creates employment for so many."

The South African Guild of Actors (SAGA) says it continues to get calls and messages from people who say they were exploited and received "several verified reports that hundreds of background extras brought to Johannesburg from KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga to work on Shaka iLembe are being forced to pay their agent rent and have only had a few days' work in three weeks".

"Needless to say, the agent will still take their commission from the actors' earnings. The actors are not being fed, have no per diem, and they feel that the agent has abandoned them."

"SAGA is in communication with the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) and we have submitted an affidavit that will help them determine the way forward. We won't stop fighting for a safer and fair industry where exploitation no longer exists".

A veteran producer not connected with the show told me "it looks as if there won't be any repercussions as the victims are frightened of being blacklisted if they officially speak up. For once there needs to be real repercussions for all concerned - including the producers who did not do due diligence".

"These poor extras are now sent back to KwaZulu-Natal with no money and more out of pocket than they were before. This shouldn't be. There are safety officers that should be on set but they are mostly not used as broadcasters and streamers are cutting budgets and have no line item for safety officers. Where does the bucks stop?"

Two crew members of Bomb Productions die while working on MultiChoice's second season of Shaka Ilembe.

by Thinus Ferreira

Two crew members, including a make-up artist, working for Bomb Productions on the second season of MultiChoice and M-Net's historical drama series Shaka Ilembe have died.

The names of the deceased crew members are not yet known. Their cause of death are also not yet known.

Shaka Ilembe, a precolonial reinterpretation of the Shaka Zulu legend and produced by Bomb Productions, will run for three seasons on M-Net's Mzansi Magic (DStv 161) TV channel and MultiChoice's Showmax video streaming service, with principal photography of the second season that has recently started.

Rumours swirled that the deaths are due to alleged food poisoning on set.

Portia Hlongwane, Mzansi Magic spokesperson, in a statement says "Mzansi Magic can confirm that there was no food poisoning on the set of Shaka Ilembe. The make-up artist in question was employed on the set for only one-and-a-half days. On her second day, she reported feeling weak with flu-like symptoms".

"She was promptly sent to see the medic and her next of kin was contacted to collect her. Regrettably, her condition worsened, and she passed away 3 days later at home. Our thoughts and deepest condolences go out to her family and friends during this difficult time."

Raid the Cage SA for SABC2 from Primedia Studios inexplicably postponed as 260-episode Rose and Oaks Media produced game show will no longer start 27 May.

by Thinus Ferreira

After the SABC with great fanfare announced to advertisers and the media that it acquired the rights to a local version of the format and would do a South African version of Raid the Cage, the TV game show set to start on 27 May on SABC2, has quietly been postponed indefinitely.

In late March the SABC at a programming upfront in Johannesburg rolled out podcasters Sol Phenduka and Mac G on stage before stakeholders and announced them as the co-presenters of Raid the Cage South Africa that the public broadcaster said would start on 27 May on SABC2.

According to insiders, the SABC made the announcement about Raid the Cage and other shows without various contracts having been signed yet. 

Raid the Cage SA for SABC2 is another one of the shows acquired by Primedia Studios and done for the SABC and is one of the new crop of localised format shows produced by Anele Mdoda and Frankie du Toit's Rose and Oaks Media like The Masked Singer SA and Ready, Steady, Cook for SABC3. 

Raid the Cage SA, which will have 260 episodes similar to Ready, Steady Cook and Primedia Studios' Deal or No Deal SA, is now suddenly off the SABC2 schedule since an unexplained schedule change affected last week and the show will now no longer start on 27 May after it was suddenly removed and postponed.

Raid the Cage is an Israeli television series format that has also been adapted with an American version on CBS.

SABC publicity specialist Caroline Phalakashela confirmed that Raid the Cage SA has been removed from the SABC2 schedule. 

Asked on Tuesday why Primedia Studios and Rose and Oaks Media will no longer do the show from 27 May on SABC2 as was announced and what the new envisioned starting date is, she said she would find out. On Wednesday she was asked again but didn't respond with the reason. It will be added here if received.

In the American version of Raid the Cage with co-presenters Damon Wayans Jr and Jeannie Mai, contestants compete in pairs to answer as many trivia questions correctly as possible in order to retrieve prizes locked in a special cage.

The big media fail of TCL Electronics with its launch event for new TV sets and home appliances for South African market.

by Thinus Ferreira

TCL Electronics on Friday held a launch event for new TV sets and some of its other products, for the Middle East and Africa region in Istanbul, Turkey.

Unfortunately, TCL Electronics couldn't be bothered to communicate with South Africa's media beforehand that it would take place, and sadly couldn't be bothered - either during or after the event - to do PR and send out basic press releases about what happened there and about its latest product line-ups.

TCL Electronics presumably wants press coverage in South Africa for its products and for its event but failed to engage with South Africa's media beforehand, during, and afterwards to try and get any kind of reporting, or to keep journalists informed about what TCL would do, or has done.

Sunny Yang, TCL Middle East general manager, apparently spoke at the event. 

It's unknown what Sunny Yang said since TCL Electronics couldn't be bothered to issue any transcripts of speeches or organise that media in South Africa hear what was said.

Home appliances like washing machines, air-conditioners and refrigerators for the Africa and Middle East region apparently formed part of TCL's launch event.

BBC Studios shutters its BritBox video streamer in South Africa after 3 years.

by Thinus Ferreira

The BritBox video streaming service is shutting down in South Africa and exiting in August just three years after it launched in South Africa and forms part of the ongoing trend of global streamer operators closing the taps on their money-guzzling video-on-demand plans for the African continent.

BritBox SA, run by BritBox International as a joint venture between BBC Studios and ITV, launched in South Africa in August 2021 as the fifth territory and only African region it expanded to. 

Earlier this year BBC Studios bought out ITV's share and took over full ownership of BritBox, also shutting down BritBox as a standalone service in the United Kingdom. 

BBC Studios runs the existing portfolio of BBC branded linear TV channels like BBC Brit, BBC Lifestyle, BBC Earth and CBeebies on MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV service.

In a statement, BritBox SA says "Sadly BritBox will be closing. Subscribers can watch all their favourite shows until August". BritBox joins the list of failed streamer attempts in South Africa like Altech Node, PCCW's OnTAPTV, Cell C's Black, Telkom ONE and Vodacom's Video Play. 

BritBox SA's PR company in South Africa in response to a media query says "BritBox is refocusing on its more established markets and the areas of the business that will have the highest opportunities for growth".

"A large proportion of the content on BritBox has been exclusive to the service in South Africa; however, we expect some of this great British programming will find a new home on other platforms and channels in the territory in the future. There is also a suite of BBC Branded channels on DStv - BBC Earth, BBC Brit, BBC Lifestyle, BBC UKTV, CBeebies and BBC World News".

It's unclear with how many subscribers BritBox exits South Africa and why BBC Studios felt that continuing with the investment into BritBox for the territory wouldn't bear fruit.

A year after BritBox launched in South Africa, Reemah Sakaan, BritBox International CEO, noted that the company was pleased with the performance of BritBox SA, that it had "a really fantastic start" in the country and had "thousands and thousands" of users. 

The shuttering of BritBox SA comes after the abrupt exit of AMC Networks' Acorn TV, another British streaming service, from South Africa in November 2022 after four years.

The shuttering of BritBox SA is part of a larger trend of the ongoing funnel of investment into streaming services in South Africa and across the African continent being markedly decreased.

It follows after a reset and decrease in budgets for content spending for streamers in the United States and with these decisions rippling outwards globally.  

Earlier this year Amazon MGM Studios shocked producers in South Africa and elsewhere on the African continent when all further projects and all TV and film projects already under development for its Amazon Prime Video service were abruptly cancelled. Amazon also retrenched its South African and Nigerian content commissioning teams.

Last year Netflix also said that it's decreasing its investment on content spending for African Originals, while Disney+ - which is only operational in South Africa in sub-Saharan Africa - also saw the culling of already-commissioned and filmed projects for the EMEA region.

MultiChoice's relaunched Showmax streamer as a joint venture with Comcast's NBCUniversal and Sky is the one African streaming service that has upped its capital expenditure and content investment over the past year to try and radically increase subscriber acquisition on the continent.

Paramount Global, which is struggling and under immense financial pressure in the United States, took too long to launch in South Africa and shelved plans to launch Paramount+ as a standalone service in the country. 

Instead, it recently opted to partner with MultiChoice and become just a branded studio tile destination within the relaunched Showmax service. Warner Bros. Discovery is yet to indicate when or whether it still plans to launch its streaming service Max in South Africa.

Showmax, Netflix SA, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+ and Apple TV+ are the main video streaming services aggressively trying to scoop up subscribers in South Africa. While battling each other, they also contend with smaller services like SABC+, eMedia's eVOD, PCCW Media's VIU, Marquee TV, PrideTV and CineMagic all trying to make inroads into the space.

Director and actor Adrian Alper dead at 51 after complications from tuberculosis.

by Thinus Ferreira

The director and actor Adrian Alper has died from complications with tuberculosis. He was 51.

On 14 May Actor Spaces announced that Adrian Alper had died.

After working as an actor, writer, comedian, presenter and voice-over artist, Adrian Alper moved into directing.

He studied at the United World College of the Atlantic from 1989 until 1991 and performed on stage in Wales after which he returned to South Africa where he continued to appear in plays, after which he transitioned to TV and film.

On TV, Adrian Alper had roles in series ranging from Gaz'lam and 7de Laan, to Generations, Isidingo, Isithembiso, Rhythm City, Plek van die Vleisvreters, Gwarra-Gwarra Munisipaliteit, Sterlopers, Trackers, Terug an Egipte, Suidooster, Vetkoekpaleis, Roer Jou Voete and koelpixels to Zero Tolerance. 

In film he appeared in Seconds, Susanna van Biljon and Droomman.

Besides voiceover work and TV commercials he directed episodes of soaps and sitcoms like Isidingo, Backstage, Madam & Eve, Shado's and e.tv's Scandal!.

IN IMAGES. 2024 Suidooster Stormsterk: See the cast behind the concert in 34 photos.

by Thinus Ferreira  

Under the strobe lights the air was electric. And I was behind the scenes with kykNET's Suidooster soap cast recently on a Saturday afternoon just before the third Suidooster Stormsterk concert in Cape Town's Artscape.

For the third time, the cast of the hugely popular Suidooster soap on kykNET & Kie (DStv 145) took to the stage to wow the audience inside the Artscape as the absolute highlight of 2024's Suidooster festival.

On the Saturday afternoon the Artscape was packed with 1 500 people. 

With not an empty seat in the house, the Suidooster cast - with the help of backup dancers - dazzled the audience as they sang and danced their way through a carefully rehearsed repertoire of popular hits.

In between the actors gave the Suidooster audience exactly what they needed: Jokes, teasers about what will happen to characters in upcoming episodes, solos, duets and group numbers, all while entertaining the crowd with what they love most - simply seeing the well-known faces they see on television but in-person.

Just before the curtain lifted, I got exclusive access backstage as the cast arrived in their dressing rooms, got their makeup done, got dressed and did a final full-show rehearsal before this year's show-stopper.

From Jill Levenberg and Denise Newman to Annelisa Weiland, Richard September, Eden Classens, Simone Biscombe, Marco Spaumer and Irvine van der Merwe, to Theresa Sedras, Esther von Walsleben and Gantane Kusch were all there. 

"Nie, mar die Wade is lekker kwaai," said a dad as he filed out and walked out and down the Artscape steps at the end with his wife and kids in tow - speaking about Dean Smith who was the master of ceremonies. "Our tickets for next year moet ons sommer nou gaan koop."

South African fans slam Netflix SA's 'very embarrassing' Bridgerton Tour: 'Dear Gentle Reader, South Africa does it again, doesn’t get it right'.

by Thinus Ferreira

South African viewers again slammed Netflix's second tryout at doing a "Bridgerton Tour" on Saturday night, with those who looked and followed the spectacle, overwhelmingly dissing the lack of effort that South Africans who attended had put into the event - as well as their lack of knowledge and having not watched the show on Netflix.

After a "Bridgerton Affair activation" in South Africa two years ago that was widely pummelled by the public and the press for being off the mark and its lack of Indian representation, Netflix and Netflix South Africa tried again to get more traction for the upcoming third season of Bridgerton which will release in two parts starting in mid-May.

Like two years ago, Netflix once again flew people from elsewhere in Africa like Nigeria and Botswana to South Africa to play dress-up in old English outfits. Many however seemed clueless about what Bridgerton is, opting to over-focus on simply the fashion and photos.

Adjoa Andoh who portrays the character of Lady Danbury in Bridgerton, was also flown to Johannesburg and attended Saturday's event at the Memoire Events and Wedding Venue in Muldersdrift.

The PR company of Netflix South Africa, Eclipse Communications, didn't respond to media queries about the Bridgerton Tour in South Africa made last week and over the weekend.

On Saturday fans and viewers told Netflix South Africa in no uncertain terms that the people and what they saw as part of the Bridgerton activation on the night once again failed to impress - especially the lack of South African effort.

"Dear Gentle Reader, South Africa does it again, doesn't get it right," said Zamo Shangase. 

"The most known of society were in attendance but know the show, they did not. It's a shame that the creators and fans of the show were not in attendance. I wonder why? Anyways, I've heard that this was not the first, nor will it be the last where the people behind-the-scenes just miss the spot. Imagine Gentle Reader, meeting a DIY creator at a Maybelline event. Scandalous!"

Lazolala said it's embarrassing that Netflix SA "keep gatekeeping this event for celebs who don't even watch it and fans are left out in the cold".

Mtrinnisha told Netflix SA "the live was embarrassing. Most of the people there didn't know anything about Bridgerton", with Natasha Leigh who said "Half the people didn't even know the characters names or quotes. 

Talia Jadegov said "Just stop bringing this event to South Africa if you are only inviting people that don't even watch Bridgerton. How embarrassing!", while Kwezi Mshengu noted that "This is proof when South Africans go to an event they're going for food and alcohol".

Lucritia G said Netflix SA's Bridgerton event was "non-inclusive and people who seem not to have watched Bridgerton. Maybe listen to the feedback from your Dear Readers for once? Bridgerton is a global following and frankly this is very embarrassing for our local scene".

Nomkhosi Sabela said "That's what you get for inviting content creators instead of inviting fans - people who have watched the show. There's no way they were going to ace the looks because they know nothing about the show".

IamGrace said Netflix SA's event "was absurd. Most people couldn't answer the questions, indicating that they likely hadn't seen the series". 

Mitchie remarked: "Shout out to the Netflix team member who thought this was a good idea doing a live event - showing us what we had assumed with most Netflix events: Inviting a bunch of John Snow influencers who never truly appreciate the event that is organised".

ALSO READ: TV CRITIC's NOTEBOOK. Netflix South Africa's botched Bridgerton Affair and its lack of Indian representation - a media perspective.

M-Net's Queen Modjadji for Mzansi Magic - first offered to SABC multiple times - starts filming in secret location.

by Thinus Ferreira

Filming has started for M-Net's Queen Modjadji drama series which will broadcast on Mzansi Magic (DStv 161) from July this year, with cameras that are rolling in a secret location in South Africa.

The Mzansi Magic drama series is inspired by the Balobedu legend of rainmaker Queen Modjadji whose bloodline ruled Southern Africa's Lobedu clan for centuries. The series is produced by Rhythm World Productions and Duma Ndlovu responsible for Muvhango on the SABC's SABC2 channel.

The City Press newspaper, which had a journalist who was part of a set visit by M-Net to the Queen Modjadji film set in late April, reported that produced Duma Ndlovu said he pitched Queen Modjadji to the SABC several times which didn't want to do the show.

Regarding the Balobedu royal family, Doma Ndlovu says "They are still very secretive - there are still certain things that we can't touch but the story is a universal story of a queen who could make rain and that's not a secret".

Rhythm World Productions wanted to film Queen Modjadji in South Africa's Limpopo province but couldn't find a suitable location. Set construction of a village started in January this year and took two months, after which filming started in March.

Some of the Queen Modjadji cast include Ndavi Nokeri, Shudufhadzo Musida, Helen Lepebe, Ngelekanyo Ramulondi, Thabo Bopape, Wiseman Zitha, Masutang Rasekele who is also one of the language advisors and script writers on the production.

ALSO READ: MultiChoice and M-Net's Mzansi Magic bringing rainmaker legend Queen Modjadji to life in new Rhythm World Productions drama series.

Actor Mpho Sebeng dead at 31 after Potchefstroom car accident.

by Thinus Ferreira

Actor Mpho Sebeng died on Sunday morning after a car accident in Potchefstroom in South Africa's North West province. He was 31.

"The family of the South African entertainer, Mpho Sebeng, are saddened to confirm,to the public and media, that their son has indeed passed away," the family confirmed in a media statement on Sunday.

"Mpho met his untimely death in the early hours of Sunday 5 May 2024 due to a tragic car accident in Potchefstroom. Whilst the family appreciates the immense outpouring of love and condolences, the family requests some space to process the news," Oupa Morake, family spokesperson said.

"The details of his home-going celebrations will be communicated in due course and we request that you continue to hold the Sebeng family in prayer."

Born in Soweto on 1 December 1992, growing up in Witpoortjie, Randburg and studying politics and philosophy at the University of Witwatersrand, Mpho Sebeng became known for TV roles in series like Zero Tolerance, gang leader Slay in SABC1's Soul Buddyz, Justice for All, and M-Net's The Queen on Mzansi Magic (DStv 161). 

On e.tv he appeared in the drama series Z'bondiwe in 2015 and a year later in the e.tv telenovela Ring of Lies for which he got a Best actor nomination at the South African Film and Television Awards in 2018.

 Appearances in other e.tv's series included both its soaps Rhythm City and Scandal!. 

Appearances in other TV series included Bay of Plenty, Hush Money, Kokota, Saints and Sinners, The Throne, and M-Net's The Estate.   

In Netflix series he had roles in Savage Beauty, The Brave Ones and Miseducation.

In film Mpho Sebeng appeared in Mngani Wam', Thando, Man in Crisis, The Jakes are Missing, and 2011's Winnie Mandela.

In 2019 he tried to venture into rap music and released a debut hip-hop song, "Phuso Phala Anything".

The SABC in a statement said the public broadcaster "is saddened by the untimely passing of the actor Mpho Sebeng. His immense contribution to the entertainment industry will never be forgotten. The SABC extends its heartfelt condolences to his family, friends and fans".

The streaming service Netflix South Africa said "A life well lived. Rest in peace Mpho Sebeng".

TV REVIEW. The SABC’s 18th Metro FM Music Awards was once again a shockingly bad trash telecast.

by Thinus Ferreira

The SABC's 18th Metro FM Music Awards was a shockingly bad, highly embarrassing, ineptly produced and mistake-riddled live TV broadcast done by amateurs who either can't or won't do what's required to fix ongoing, glaring issues that do a disservice to artists, the industry and viewers.

A dad taking video on a cellphone at a kid's primary school concert will come back with better or the same fail-level footage as the SABC's 2024 Metro FM Music Awards, which was a cringe-inducing trash telecast on SABC1 on Saturday night.

Many of the problems, outright mistakes, overlooked oversights, bad and wrong production decisions, impractical setting and stage issues, production blunders due to a lack of planning and mapping, and mistakes due to inexperience from runners to directing and from camerawork to sound, can all easily be avoided by doing a post mortem after its conclusion. 

Yet again, the SABC and the production companies clearly ignored the multiple messes of the ghastly 17th Metro FM Music Awards which was also staged in the impractical Mbombela stadium, and decided to once again gaslight viewers with another awfully shoddy live awards show on TV that would get a failing grade if done and handed in as a student group film project. 

Yet, the SABC, Metro FM and SABC1 fully produced and dished up this televised trash-TV and had the audacity to tell presenters to keep telling viewers that it's "trending" - oblivious or in denial that viewers are talking about it because what they're seeing and being subjected to,  was so deplorably bad.

Does Nada Wotshela, SABC radio boss and Lala Tuku, acting head of video entertainment, truly think what the SABC radio division and SABC TV did and showed with the 18th Metro FM Music Awards on Saturday night is standard-level fine television? 

What was learnt from, and implemented, from last year's Metro FM live awards show disaster? Instead, it comes across as nothing but a massive waste of money and resources.

This year's awards show - with hosts Tebogo Thekisho known as "ProVerb" and Luthando Shosha known as "LootLove" - looked even worse than 2023 on screen and yet again there was also the telling sign of a badly produced live televised event: The broadcaster, channel and producers failed to bring the bloated awards show in one time.

Unnecessary talking heads, waiting for winners to get to stage, waiting for sponsor add-ons to be rambled off, and sitting through multiple ad breaks, meant that the awards show, done from an uninspired stage design and that was supposed to end at 22:00, once again ran over time - 49 minutes this year.

Bonngoe TV and Dzinge Productions produced the egregious TV travesty which was marred by technical, sound, stage, live editing, directing, presenter and camerawork mistakes as well as very bad and shocking pre-production choices. 

The solemn In Memoriam segment for instance was turned into a crass Assupol funeral cover commercial and the inclusion of other sponsor-filler like Santam also seriously detracted from the pace of the show.

Pepsi Pokane and Letitia Masina from Bonggoe TV were the executive producers of the 18th Metro FM Music Awards, with Lesego Moleofane-Chemane as line producer and Fortune Masina as creative director. Letitia Masina also did duty as technical director. Shandu Nesengani was Dzinge Productions' EP on the project. 

The Mpumalanga provincial government paid to once again have the Metro FM Music Awards hosted there - a massive waste of money.

Sadly the subpar standard of this live broadcast once again achieved the exact opposite: Making Mpumalanga and the Mbombela stadium look like a place not conducive, or not having the capacity, to successfully pull off a live outside broadcast of this nature.

Overall the sound TV viewers heard from the Metro FM Music Awards was very bad throughout. 

Multiple times, instead of the mic sound channel, viewers heard the unmistakable, echoey and hollow second-hand sound piped through from the house mix. 

At 09:40 it happened the first of multiple occurrences throughout. Multiple times there was no sound at all - just lingering silence. No background music, no audio - except for sometimes people talking whose mics were not muted at the sound desk.

Multiple times cameramen were wrongly positioned and final mix control vision controllers were either too lazy, too late or too incompetent to switch to the right camera feed as the outgoing live cam. The result: Awkward angles and awkward scenes. Add into the mix amateurishly done shaky and patchy Steadicam camerawork.

Multiple times presenters just stood and seemed as if they didn't know what to do, or what to read. Autocue off? Autocue slow? Autocue non-existent? Were the stage director(s) non-existent or just not briefed? 

Multiple times presenters for categories waited very long for winners - who were no-shows (like the very first award). It looked extremely unprofessional and disorganised.

This happens when the SABC and producers either don't know whether winners are locked-in within the location and present and that they have physically arrived, where they are seated or located. Precious time is wasted, waiting, only to awkwardly go: "We will accept the award on their behalf", or "it's all right, we'll hand it to him".

Were spotters empowered to do their jobs?

And talking about seating, once again viewers were subjected to a litany of empty seats with no seat fillers.

Rows of empty seats constantly popped on screen since each empty one had a big white A4 page with a seat number printed on it attached to the backrest. 

It sends the message to viewers - rightly or wrongly - that this isn't something worth their own time or worth watching since the people in attendance aren't bothering either.

Those shown seated, are shown looking down and being on their phones. 

Multiple times people are seen just standing around, milling about, or in front of the stage looking like last year's unorganised chaos. Other times, people took too long to get to the stage since they were obviously seated too far away. 

No professional seat-fillers were employed and the cameras constantly showed empty seats.

Multiple politicians and representatives were unnecessarily included as presenters who didn't know how to speak properly on stage within an awards show format and made mistakes - likely due to not having practised speeches or keeping to prepared speeches, making for extremely cringe-embarrassing errors and spouting things like "And the various winners are" instead of saying "nominees" for instance.

Several didn't understand, or didn't adhere to (or maybe wasn't told) the need to stand directly behind, and close to the stage mics when speaking. The result: Many couldn't be heard or were too soft. 

During the In Memoriam segment, shockingly an Assupol logo for funeral cover was plastered over the segment, turning something that should be solemn and professional looking, into a tacky, unprofessional commercial cash grab for attention.

Even after it was over, the unprofessionalism of the 18th Metro FM Music Awards wasn't over.

Adding insult to injury, multiple media complained that they didn't receive the winners list or a basic press release on Saturday night (which is an unnegotiated must from an awards show) from the SABC or an outside PR company which was again contracted this year. 

This was only emailed out on Sunday at 13:00 by Bluecloudai, and only after requested by which time it was too late.

South Africa's music industry, artists, agents and record labels, South Africa's broadcast and film industry, the Mpumalanga provincial government, as well as ordinary viewers subjected to this bad television and forced to sit through sit, all deserve better TV than the failing standard of the SABC's Metro FM Awards.

ALSO READ: TV REVIEW. 2023's returned 17th Metro FM Music Awards was shockingly bad. The bigger question is why - again?