IN IMAGES. 30 photos of the interior design of Big Brother Mzansi: Umlilo

by Thinus Ferreira

Big Brother Mzansi, bannered as Big Brother: Umlilo - started on MultiChoice's DStv on Sunday evening with Red Pepper Pictures which made another redress of the camera-house-filled studio space in Johannesburg.

Big Brother Mzansi: Umlilo executive produced by Natalie Bleksley is the fifth season under the Big Brother Mzansi moniker and the  11th season overall of Big Brother South Africa done by MultiChoice and M-Net in the country according to the Banijay format.

Big Brother Mzansi: Umlilo will run until 23 March with a 24-hour pop-up channel on DStv channel 198, as well as highlight programmes and a weekly roundup and eviction show on Mzansi Magic (DStv 161).

M-Net PR this past Friday gave Johannesburg media, social media influencers, as well as actors Sana Mchunu and Ishmael Songo, access to the Big Brother Mzansi: Umlilo studio house for a day but didn't bother with any publicity initiative for media elsewhere in the country.

For the press conference last month for Big Brother: Umlilo at MultiChoice City in Randburg, MultiChoice and M-Net PR, together with Playmakers, likewise couldn't bother to tell media outside of Johannesburg about it, with several Johannesburg-based press who were also kept out of the basic communication loop. 

Before Sunday night's walk-in of the new crop of "housemates" on Mzansi Magic, M-Net PR had nothing for media in terms of virtual roundtable interviews with producers or M-Net execs to preview the upcoming season or field questions.

Now DStv subscribers and media scribes are sitting back and watching for the inevitable Big Brother Mzansi: Umlilo controversy that will likely follow this season (as in all previous seasons) in the Lottostar and Robertson Spices sponsored show, while housemates are plied with copious amounts of liquor, gamble and wager, and become involved in squabbling and fights on TV.

Here is a look at the interior design of the Big Brother Mzansi: Umlilo studio house:

ALSO READ: M-Net will do 'devious things' and make housemates 'as uncomfortable as possible' in 2025's Big Brother Mzansi Umlilo with new host Afrika Mdutyulwa

ALSO READ: TV CRITIC's NOTEBOOK. Yet another Big Brother Mzansi. Yet another big M-Net and MultiChoice media fail

M-Net will do 'devious things' and make housemates 'as uncomfortable as possible' in 2025's Big Brother Mzansi Umlilo with new host Afrika Mdutyulwa

by Thinus Ferreira

MultiChoice and M-Net will do another season of reality show Big Brother Mzansi that will start on 12 January 2025 and run until 23 March, with M-Net which says it will do "devious things" and make the contestants extremely uncomfortable.

On Thursday afternoon MultiChoice and M-Net's Mzansi Magic (DStv 161) channel held an official media launch event at its MultiChoice City headquarters in Randburg, Johannesburg for a certain group of media and influencers which it didn't bother to tell broader media would be happening.

To those who attended and sat in MultiChoice City's cinema venue, Shirley Adonisi, M-Net director of local entertainment channels, said "We're really going to make the housemates uncomfortable".

"We're experimenting with things never done before. We're determined to make them as uncomfortable as possible. We’re really pushing the envelope. We'll test their intolerance to see how much they can take without breaking any legal rules. The team has come up with devious things."

The upcoming Big Brother Mzansi season is produced and conceptualised with the theme of "Umlilo" meaning "fire" in isiZulu.

Big Brother Mzansi "Umlilo" is the fifth season of the show under this moniker but the 11th season overall of Big Brother done by M-Net in South Africa according to the Banijay format.

The upcoming Big Brother Mzansi season will once again be produced by Red Pepper Pictures.

Besides strands on Mzansi Magic (DStv 161) and MultiChoice's video streaming service Showmax, Big Brother Mzansi will also again run as a 24-hour linear TV channel on DStv channel 198 until the finale on 23 March 2025.

Lawrence Maleka has been replaced by Afrika Mdutyulwa, known as Smash Afrika, as the host for the fifth season. 

It's not known what he said at MultiChoice and M-Net's media launch event on Thursday and Mzansi Magic didn't share comments or a transcript or include any quotes in a press release.

In a press release quote, Christinah Mazibuko, the M-Net group of channels' head of marketing and publicity, says "We're incredibly excited to bring Big Brother Mzansi back for the fifth season".

"This season is about pushing boundaries, and with the Umlilo theme, we're sure to give our viewers a hot, unmissable experience. Working with Smash Afrika as the host takes the energy to a whole new level, and we can't wait to see how his charisma sparks more fires in the house. It's going to be an unforgettable ride."

Previous seasons of Big Brother Mzansi, including the last, have all filled with controversy with housemates evicted previously and during the last season for shocking behaviour and utterances, causing brand damage to M-Net, Mzansi Magic and sponsor LottoStar associated with it.

M-Net then contracted these people and are currently paying them to be Mzansi Magic brand ambassadors.

ALSO READ: TV CRITIC's NOTEBOOK. Yet another Big Brother Mzansi. Yet another big M-Net and MultiChoice media fail