First HBO Harry Potter series official teaser released as Canal+'s MultiChoice and M-Net have still not secured it for DStv

by Thinus Ferreira

On Wednesday evening HBO released the first official teaser for its upcoming new Harry Potter series, entitled Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone that will debut over Christmas this year on its HBO Max video streaming service.

Canal+'s MultiChoice and M-Net (DStv 101) have so far failed to secure this series, set to run for a decade, for DStv subscribers in South Africa.

It means that currently, no DStv subscribers anywhere in Africa would be able to see the Harry Potter TV series when it starts in December 2026. 

Canal+ and M-Net have failed to extend the output deal that expired at the end of December 2025 with Warner Bros Discovery (WBD) that existed for decades for Warner Bros TV and film studios content like TV series and films, as well as HBO content for M-Net.

It means that no HBO series or Warner films are currently available on the M-Net channel or the M-Net Movies channels on DStv for subscribers, with Canal+ that is busy with aggressive cost-cutting at MultiChoice.

Sky in the United Kingdom as well as other pay-TV operators worldwide, secured the upcoming Harry Potter series over a year ago, but in March 2026 MultiChoice and M-Net have nothing.

J.B. Perrette, the CEO and president of global streaming and games at WBD, has repeatedly referred to the upcoming Harry Potter TV series as "the streaming event of the decade".

During a 2026 press event in London, Perrette further amplified this, saying that when the first season of the Harry Potter series starts in December, it would be "the biggest streaming event in history and arguably in streaming, period".

So far, Canal+'s MultiChoice and M-Net will not make South African pay-TV subscribers part of this global viewing event who will be excluded. 

Ironically, Canal+'s MultiChoice and M-Net will very likely be directly pushing many people who are not going to wait to see it, to pirate episodes of Harry Potter in order to watch it immediately in the way M-Net used to promote HBO's "Express from the US" content.

The official teaser of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone series was released on Wednesday evening, as part of a press event that HBO held in London for media.

Starting with the first of seven books of JK Rowling, it introduces the three central characters of Harry (Dominic McLaughlin), Hermione Granger (Arabella Stanton) and Ron Weasley (Alastair Stout) as 11-year-olds on the train to their first year at the Hogwarts wizarding school.

Scenes also include Harry meeting the half-giant Hagrid (Nick Frost), the introduction of Hogwarts' Sorting Hat and Harry's his first Quidditch game as Gryffindor seeker.

John Lithgow was cast as Headmaster Albus Dumbledore, with Janet McTeer as Professor Minerva McGonagall and Paapa Essiedu as Professor Severus Snape. 

Filming takes place at Warner Bros.'s Leavesden Studios in Hertfordshire, England, since July 2025 on the sets that were used for the Harry Potter movies.

ALSO READ: HBO Harry Potter series cast Dominic McLaughlin, Arabella Stanton and Alastair Stout as Harry, Hermione and Ron

HBO Harry Potter series cast Dominic McLaughlin, Arabella Stanton and Alastair Stout as Harry, Hermione and Ron

by Thinus Ferreira

HBO's upcoming Harry Potter drama series that will very likely be seen on MultiChoice's M-Net (DStv 101) has cast its main Muggles who will portray Harry Potter, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley, with Dominic McLaughlin, Arabella Stanton and Alastair Stout who will portray the three main characters.

More than 32 000 actors auditioned for these three lead roles. Filming of the new series in the United Kingdom at Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden is set to start within months.

"After an extraordinary search led by casting directors Lucy Bevan and Emily Brockmann, we are delighted to announce we have found our Harry, Hermione and Ron," showrunner Francesca Gardiner and executive producer and director Mark Mylod say in a statement.

'The talent of these three unique actors is wonderful to behold, and we cannot wait for the world to witness their magic together onscreen."

"We would like to thank all the tens of thousands of children who auditioned. It's been a real pleasure to discover the plethora of young talent out there."

The three actors join John Lithgow as Albus Dumbledore, Janet McTeer as Minerva McGonagall, Paapa Essiedu as Severus Snape, Nick Frost as Rubeus Hagrid, Luke Thallon as Quirinus Quirrell and Paul Whitehouse as Argus Filch.

HBO's Harry Potter drama series which is envisioned to run for a decade, is written and executive produced by Francesca Gardiner, who also serves as showrunner. 

Mark Mylod will executive produce and direct multiple episodes of the series for HBO in association with Brontë Film and TV and Warner Bros. Television. 

The series is executive produced by author J.K. Rowling, Neil Blair, and Ruth Kenley-Letts of Brontë Film and TV, and David Heyman of Heyday Films.

HBO's Harry Potter producers working through 32 000 audition videos, series to show unexplored parts of Hogwarts

by Thinus Ferreira

HBO's new 10-year Harry Potter drama series will start filming around June 2025 at the Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden in the East of England with the producers currently working through 1 000 audition videos per day out of 32 000 that were submitted for casting.

On Thursday in London, HBO executives and the series showrunner and director gave an update to the media on the Harry Potter show that will very likely be on M-Net (DStv 101) and MultiChoice's video streaming service Showmax after it was reclassified a few months ago as an HBO Original and said that over 32 000 kids auditioned for the lead roles.

The Harry Potter series is expected to debut in 2026 and will very likely be an Express from the US title on MultiChoice's M-Net (DStv 101) channel on DStv.

According to showrunner Francesca Gardiner, producers are watching through almost 1 000 audition videos per day and haven't made any final casting choices yet.

According to Francesca Gardiner, the show will go according to the characters' ages as mentioned within the books, meaning that Professor Severus Snape will be 31 and Harry Potter's deceased parents James and Lily Potter will appear as 21-year-olds.

The series will make use of the existing sets at Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden where the Food Network (DStv 175) recently filmed its Harry Potter: Wizards of Baking food competition series, and which has been used for studio tours since the production of the Harry Potter film series ended.

Director and executive producer Mark Mylod said that the Harry Potter series will use the existing infrastructure and architecture and "won't mess" with The Great Hall at Hogwarts but will expand upon the architecture of Hogwarts and other well-known places within the Harry Potter universe.

New as-yet-unseen areas of the Hogwarts school will be shown and explored within the show.

About casting Mark Mylod said "We haven't made any final choices but we're workshopping with a shortlist in January and there are some crackers".

Sky sues Warner Bros. Discovery over withholding 'highly valuable' Harry Potter series, WBD says lawsuit is Sky's 'baseless' attempt to get HBO shows after 2025

by Thinus Ferreira

Comcast's Sky in the United Kingdom is dragging Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) to court over the upcoming Harry Potter drama series and is suing WBD for allegedly withholding the option for Sky to become a co-producer on the show and being in breach of a multi-year contract to partner on shows.

In a lawsuit that Sky filed late on Friday in a New York federal court, Sky says that WBD is in breach of a contract, signed in 2019 whereby WBD was supposed to offer Sky at least four TV shows, made for its Max streaming service, which Sky could pick from to co-produce.

Sky says WBD "fell far short of that mark" for the entire duration of the contract, that WBD deliberately didn't offer Harry Potter, and is deliberately keeping Harry Potter for itself for its own potential gain as "the cornerstone of the launch of its Max streaming service in Europe".

Harry Potter which is expected to run for a decade as a TV series is supposed to debut its first season in 2016.

It is still unclear whether Harry Potter will be on M-Net (DStv 101) on MultiChoice's DStv in South Africa but the odds increased tremendously after Harry Potter switched to become an HBO Original in June.

In its statement, Sky says it is taking WBD to court "to safeguard our interests and enforce our rights to partner in the production and distribution of highly valuable content".

"Warner has repeatedly failed to offer Sky the annually required minimum number of contractually qualifying series for its consideration," Sky says.

"Specifically, Warner was obligated to present Sky with at least 4 shows per year across 2021, 2022, and 2023 but undisputedly fell far short of that mark, in certain years offering barely a single qualifying series while also withholding critical, contractually required information necessary for Sky to evaluate any potential options that it did receive."

According to Sky, "This misconduct has deprived Sky of its bargained-for opportunity to co-fund, co-produce, and subsequently exploit exclusively in the UK and European territories all manner of top-end Warner content."

"If all that were not enough, Warner has now even brazenly denied Sky its right to partner on Warner's highly valuable decade-long, tentpole television series adapting J.K. Rowling's iconic Harry Potter novels, set to premiere in 2026 or 2027."

"Instead, Warner has largely disregarded the parties' agreement and sought to keep the Harry Potter content for itself so that Warner can use it as the cornerstone of the launch of its Max streaming service in Europe."

According to Sky's 2019 deal with Warner Bros. Discovery, "For each calendar year from 2021 through 2025, Sky shall be presented with all qualifying HBO Max original series, and not less than 4 in any event, that are one hour slot length in duration per episode, intended to be multi-season, produced by WBTV or HBO Max for premiere on HBO Max, and which are ordered within the applicable year to a first season. Sky shall select a minimum of 2 new series per year".

Sky says "We continue to work constructively with Warner Brothers Discovery and have a separate agreement in place that will ensure Sky customers continue to enjoy HBO shows, including new seasons, such as House of the Dragon, The Last of Us, The White Lotus and Euphoria, along with exciting new releases such as Dune: Prophecy, and many more for years to come".

WBD in a statement says WBD's licensing agreements with Sky will all expire at the end of 2015 and that Sky's lawsuit is " a baseless attempt by Sky and Comcast to try and gain leverage in its negotiations for our programming beyond that date".

"We know HBO branded shows are critical to Sky, as evidenced by their desire for over a year to find a way to renew our agreements, and this lawsuit makes it clear that Sky is deeply concerned about the viability of its business were it to lose our award-winning content."

"WBD will vigorously defend itself from this unfounded lawsuit as we move forward undeterred with plans to launch Max, including the new HBO Harry Potter series, in the UK and other European markets in 2026."

ALSO READ: Harry Potter series to debut in 2026.

ALSO READ: No Penguin but Harry Potter and Green Lanterns series will now be seen on M-Net in South Africa after Warner Bros. Discovery switches them to HBO Originals.

Financial Times: Warner Bros Discovery decides not to split off its linear TV channels from its streaming and studio business.

by Anna Nicolau and James Fontanella-Khan, Financial Times

Warner Bros Discovery's senior management is looking to avoid a break-up of the company as executives race to reverse the Hollywood group's plunging share price, according to people familiar with the matter.

Following a fall of almost 70% in its stock price since WBD was formed in 2022, chief executive David Zaslav and chief financial officer Gunnar Wiedenfels have recently evaluated "all options" to arrest the decline, said two people familiar with the matter.

However, senior executives who carried out a detailed analysis of the consequences of a split have determined that fencing off the group's declining television channels from its streaming and studio business was not the best option at this time, according to people familiar with the discussions.

The Financial Times reported last month that WBD - which owns HBO, the Warner Bros. studio and CNN - was drafting a break-up plan.

But while such a split initially looked "compelling on paper, it would create very significant operational challenges: doing sports rights deals, determining what goes on linear television or what goes on direct to consumer streaming and when," said a person who was involved in the deliberations.

"In the best-case scenario, you'd be dealing with years of legal challenges," the person added. A company spokesperson declined to comment. 

Breaking up the storied Hollywood group would be likely to trigger lawsuits from debt investors, while also complicating the use of Warner's content across various platforms and networks, said the people familiar with management's thinking.

A corporate break-up was viewed as the "nuclear option", said another person close to WBD's management, but they cautioned that the situation was fluid and circumstances could change.

Zaslav and Wiedenfels are instead looking to offload smaller assets. They are considering offers to sell Polish broadcaster TVN or a stake in Warner's video games business, which holds valuable intellectual property to Harry Potter games, said people familiar with the matter. 

WBD's management hopes investors will remain patient as they work to turn around the company, they said, believing its true market capitalisation should be about $60 billion, or $25 a share, well above the $7.88 at which it closed on Monday. 

The group was formed in April 2022 out of a merger that was meant to help two legacy media companies, Discovery and WarnerMedia, compete in a brutal streaming battle with Netflix and Disney.

However, it has struggled to convince Wall Street, which has sliced its valuation and put pressure on WBD's management, to take action. The company is set to report its quarterly earnings on Wednesday. Since the merger, the group has focused on cutting costs and paying off debt, introducing several rounds of lay-offs and selling assets such as All3Media, the UK production company behind Fleabag.

Its news channel, CNN, last month laid off about 100 employees, or 3% of its staff, as part of a digital turnaround strategy. 

While WBD's management has been keen to sell assets, the bar for divesting CNN would be "very, very high" because of its strategic importance as well as the tax implications of a deal, said one person familiar with the matter.

This person added that WBD considered it unlikely that there would be an offer compelling enough to offset these concerns.

"Zaslav has also been very clear that he views CNN as a strategic and reputational asset. It is one of the flagship networks that helps us on the affiliate side," they said, referring to the payments cable companies make to television networks to run their programming.

Overall, WBD "should be worth significantly more. It shouldn't take another two to three years to get there," the person said. "But the market is tough right now and a lot of things have to go well."

No Penguin but Harry Potter and Green Lanterns series will now be seen on M-Net in South Africa after Warner Bros. Discovery switches them to HBO Originals.

by Thinus Ferreira

The boy who lived and a green lantern will now be on the channel that won't stop the magic - although The Penguin won't - after Warner Bros. Discovery in the United States decided to switch big-budget series under its Max Originals banner to HBO Originals.

Big-budget HBO Originals shows like House of the Dragon - currently in its second season - are guaranteed to broadcast on MultiChoice's M-Net (DStv 101) linear channel as well as its video streaming service Showmax due to existing output contracts.

Max Originals made for Warner Bros. Discovery's streamer Max - a video streaming service that isn't available in South Africa - are not guaranteed to air on DStv or Showmax.

In a strategic rethink, WBD and HBO executives have now decided to move all of its big and expensive series - whether originally earmarked for HBO or for Max - all to HBO. These shows will now debut first as HBO Originals on the HBO linear TV channel. 

Expensive shows like the Harry Potter TV series envisioned to run for a decade and the IT prequel series Welcome to Derry, originally earmarked as Max Originals, are now changing to HBO Originals.

HBO also commissioned a new 8-episode live-action drama series, Lanterns, chronicling an Earth-investigation by two Green Lanterns, John Stewart and Hal Jordan, which will now be an HBO Original series from the outset. 

Max Originals set for release within the next few months and later this year and which are already marketed and being sold and distributed internationally as Max shows, will however remain Max Originals. One of these is The Penguin, which M-Net told me last week it hasn't acquired the broadcasting rights for.

The Penguin, set for release in September, is an 8-episode limited series with an unrecognisable Colin Farrell starring as the Penguin, reprising his role from The Batman, alongside Cristin Milioti and Rhenzy Feliz. 

The science fiction drama series, Dune: Prophecy is likewise a Max Original and since it's also set to be released later this year, will also remain a Max Original.

Green Lanterns detective series

Meanwhile, HBO has announced that Chris Mundy, Damon Lindelof and Tom King will co-write and executive produce the new 8-episode Lanterns live-action drama series, done in association with Warner Bros. Television and DC Comics.

According to HBO "The series follows new recruit John Stewart and Lantern legend Hal Jordan, two intergalactic cops drawn into a dark, earth-based mystery as they investigate a murder in the American heartland".

James Gunn and Peter Safran, co-CEOs of DC Studios, in a statement, say "We're thrilled to bring this seminal DC title to HBO with Chris, Damon and Tom at the helm. John Stewart and Hal Jordan are two of DC's most compelling characters, and Lanterns brings them to life in an original detective story that is a foundational part of the unified DCU we're launching next summer with Superman".

Casey Bloys, chairman and CEO of HBO and Max content, says "We are elated to be reuniting with both Chris Mundy and Damon Lindelof as they partner with Tom for this fresh take on DC's Green Lantern. As part of James and Peter's vision for the DC Universe, this first new live-action series will mark an exciting new era."

Lanterns which would have been a Max Original is now a HBO Original.

ALSO READ: Harry Potter series to debut in 2026.

Harry Potter series to debut in 2026.

by Thinus Ferreira

The Harry Potter TV series that will run for a decade just like Friends will likely start two years from now in 2026, Warner Bros. Discovery says.

WBD is creating the Harry Potter drama series for its Max streamer which isn't available in South Africa but promised last year that the show will be made available globally.

It means the show - like for instance Paramount Global's Halo made for Paramount+ which isn't in South Africa but was acquired for Showmax or Netflix's Orange is the New Black and House of Cards which went to M-Net before Netflix was locally available - will have to find another platform.  

It's still unclear whether M-Net (DStv 101) or MultiChoice's revamped streamer Showmax might be able to snag the as-yet-untitled series but like Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon which was also from the WBD and HBO stable and went to M-Net, the show would be a big coup for whoever brings it to viewers in sub-Saharan Africa.

MultiChoice has existing deals with WBD and HBO in place for M-Net and Showmax making these the most likely outlet for the Hogwarts-set series.

In the company's 4th quarter earnings call on Friday, David Zaslav, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO, said that "We've not been shy about our excitement around Harry Potter".

"The last film was made more than a dozen years ago. I was in London a few weeks ago with Casey Bloys (HBO boss) and Channing Dungrey (WBD TV boss), and we spent some real time with J.K. Rowling and her team. Both sides are thrilled to be reigniting this franchise."

"Our conversations were great and we couldn't be more excited about what's ahead. We can't wait to share a decade of new stories with fans around the world on Max. We're aiming for a debut in 2026."

WBD announced the Harry Potter TV series last year and promised that it would be a "faithful adaptation" of each of Rowling's seven Harry Potter books, stretching over a decade.

In a press release WBD said "Each season will be authentic to the original books and bring Harry Potter and these incredible adventures to new audiences around the world, while the original, classic and beloved films will remain at the core of the franchise and available to watch globally".

"We are delighted to give audiences the opportunity to discover Hogwarts in a whole new way."

"Harry Potter is a cultural phenomenon and it is clear there is such an enduring love and thirst for the Wizarding World. In partnership with Warner Bros. Television and J.K. Rowling, this new Max Original series will dive deep into each of the iconic books that fans have continued to enjoy for all of these years."

WarnerBros. Discovery relaunches HBO Max as just Max as the streamer announces new Harry Potter and Game of Thrones prequel series with a glimmer of hope for a South African launch date.

by Thinus Ferreira

On Wednesday night WarnerBros. Discovery made the expected announcement that it's renaming its HBO Max video streaming service to just Max, together with new TV show announcements like another Game of Thrones prequel series and a Harry Potter TV drama series which will last a decade, with Max that might finally be launching in South Africa sometime in 2024 as part of "new markets".

At a glitzy "Streaming Product Press Event" WarnerBros. Discovery held on Wednesday night inside Stage 14 on its Warner Bros. lot in Burbank, Los Angeles for journalists and investors and streamed globally for media, WBD CEO David Zaslav announced that HBO Max is being shortened to just Max from 23 May.

HBO Max - now just Max - as well as the company's discovery+ streamer from the merged WBD are not yet available in South Africa.

Max will however likely - like Paramount+ which is also not yet available in South Africa - eventually join the flurry of existing streamers like MultiChoice and NBCUniversal's Showmax, Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+, Disney+, BritBox, eMedia's eVOD, VIU, TruthTV, WOW Presents Plus and MarqueeTV.

JB Perrette, president and CEO of global streaming and games for WarnerBros. Discovery, said that HBO Max will be changing to Max in the United States first, followed by Latin America later this year and Europe next year.

South Africa might get Max sometime in 2024, with Perrette who said that WBD will look to expand and launch Max into "new markets" around the world next year. 

"From the biggest superheroes to real-life champions; from culture-shaping dramas to taste-shaping entertainment; from fantastical realms to the realest of worlds, Max will offer an unrivalled range of choice,” said JB Perrette.

"This new brand signals an important change from two narrower products, HBO Max and discovery+, to our broader content offering and consumer proposition. While each product offered something for some people, Max will have a broad array of quality choices for everybody."

Perrette said that in the global streaming war where services chased subscribers and have a "subscriber growth at all cost mentality", consumers are overwhelmed by content and content choices.

"We suddenly find ourselves in the fog of what many people have dubbed, the era of peak confusion," Perrette said. "The result is that consumers are overloaded. So, in this era of peak confusion, we're trying to simplify and improve the experience for consumers focusing on quality not just quantity."

David Zaslav said that "Max is the one to watch because we have the largest TV library in the world, thousands of shows Including shows that are loved everywhere like Friends, ER and The Big Bang Theory. And we have a number of the biggest quality makers of content that will feed and grow Max in the years ahead. They're ours."

Similar to how Disney+ has various content verticals known as tiles, Max will house HBO originals, Warner Bros. films, Max Originals, the DC universe, the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, kids content, and Discovery content across food, home, reality, lifestyle and documentaries from HGTV, Food Network, Discovery Channel, TLC and ID. The relaunched Max will roll out roughly 40 new titles monthly. 

During the press event, WBD made announcements about new TV shows which will be made for Max. 

It's not yet clear whether these might remain exclusive to Max, or might become available through international distribution like some HBO content have been for MultiChoice's linear M-Net (DStv 101) channel and Showmax, until such time as Max launches in South Africa.

The new Max series are:

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight  

This second HBO prequel series of Game of Thrones is based on George R.R. Martin's Dun and Egg books and will be based on the series of fantasy novellas which follows the story of Ser Duncan the Tall known as Dunk and the young Aegon V Targaryen known as Egg. It is set 90 years before the events transpiring in the book A Song of Ice and Fire.

HBO released an official logline for the series, saying "A century before the events of Game of Thrones, two unlikely heroes wandered Westeros… a young, naïve but courageous knight, Ser Duncan the Tall, and his diminutive squire, Egg. Set in an age when the Targaryen line still holds the Iron Throne and the memory of the last dragon has not yet passed from living memory, great destinies, powerful foes, and dangerous exploits all await these improbable and incomparable friends."

George R.R. Martin will be the writer and executive producer along with Ira Parker who was a co-executive producer on the first season of House of the Dragon which just started filming its second season in the United Kingdom. Ryan Condal and Vince Gerardis will also be co-executive producers.

Harry Potter TV drama series

WBD announced it is turning J.K. Rowling's entire 7-book Harry Potter series, already made into a film franchise, into a TV drama series, which will be rolled out over the course of a decade, with a new cast and with each book being a season.

J.K. Rowling will be an executive producer, with David Heyman who produced all eight films, in negotiations to become co-executive producer, with the production looking for a writer and a showrunner. 

The series will be produced by Warner Bros. Television in association with Brontë Film and TV, with Neil Blair and Ruth Kenley-Letts as co-executive producers. 

In the press release, WBD says "The stories from each of Rowling's Harry Potter books will become a decade-long series produced with the same epic craft, love and care this global franchise is known for".

"The series will feature a new cast to lead a new generation of fandom, full of the fantastic detail, much loved characters and dramatic locations that Harry Potter fans have loved for over 25 years."

"Each season will be authentic to the original books and bring Harry Potter and these incredible adventures to new audiences around the world, while the original, classic and beloved films will remain at the core of the franchise and available to watch globally."

Casey Bloys, chairman and CEO, HBO & Max content, says "We are delighted to give audiences the opportunity to discover Hogwarts in a whole new way".

According to Bloys the budget for the Harry Potter series will be "on the scale or higher" than Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon and "whatever it takes to make a quality show". 

"Harry Potter is a cultural phenomenon and it is clear there is such an enduring love and thirst for the Wizarding World. In partnership with Warner Bros. Television and J.K. Rowling, this new Max Original series will dive deep into each of the iconic books that fans have continued to enjoy for all of these years."

J.K. Rowling says "Max's commitment to preserving the integrity of my books is important to me, and I'm looking forward to being part of this new adaptation which will allow for a degree of depth and detail only afforded by a long-form television series".

WBD says the "Max Original series will be available on Max in the United States and globally once produced".

Another Big Bang Theory spinoff series

Casey Bloys announced that a new Big Bang Theory spinoff series is being developed by Chuck Lorre who created The Big Bang Theory and the first spinoff Young Sheldon.

A The Conjuring TV series

Also announced at the event is that New Line Cinema's The Conjuring film franchise is being turned into a TV drama series.

According to Warner Bros. Discovery, The Conjuring TV series will continue the story and world established within the six existing films with a 7th - The Nun 2 - which will be released in September. 

The TV series is produced by Atomic Monsters Productions, Warner Bros. Television and Safran Company, with Peter Safran as executive producer. James Wan who served as producer and director on several of the films is in negotiations to be co-executive producer.

All the elven fantasy TV news fit to whisper: From Netflix's The Witcher spin-off and possible Harry Potter series to Game of Thrones and Amazon Studios' Númenor-set Lord of the Rings prequel series.

by Thinus Ferreira

The Witcher prequel series on Netflix is casting, Game of Thrones will chronicle a new Westeros war, there will be familiar and new characters like Sauron in Amazon Prime Video's The Lord of the Rings series, and the sorting hat might be dusted off to sort a new class in a Harry Potter TV series on HBO Max. 

In an announcement, Netflix said that Jodie Turner-Smith has been cast in the role of Éile in the upcoming series The Witcher: Blood Origin spin-off.

This limited, 6-episode, live-action series is set "in an elven world" 1 200 years before the events depicted in The Witcher, which is busy filming its second season in the United Kingdom with Henry Cavill in the lead role as Geralt of Rivia.

According to Netflix, The Witcher: Blood Origin will "tell a story lost to time – the creation of the first prototype Witcher, and the events that lead to the pivotal 'conjunction of the spheres', when the worlds of monsters, men, and elves merged to become one".

Netflix's character description states that Jodie Turner-Smith will "play Éile, an elite warrior blessed with the voice of a goddess, who has left her clan and position as Queen’s guardian to follow her heart as a nomadic musician. A grand reckoning on the continent forces her to return to the way of the blade in her quest for vengeance and redemption".

Declan de Barra serves as executive producer and showrunner of The Witcher: Blood Origin with Lauren Schmidt Hissrich, creator of The Witcher series, as executive producer, together with Tomek Baginski and Jarek Sawko from Platige Films.

Besides this limited spin-off, Netflix is also working on an animated film titled The Witcher: Nightmare Of The Wolf, that will tell the origin story of Geralt’s Witcher mentor Vesemir.

More Hogwarts and Westeros

As the video streaming wars continue to ramp up and studios are scouring their intellectual property catalogues that they could potentially build out into new content to set them apart and lure viewers, the Hollywood trades are reporting that WarnerMedia executives, in early discussions, are thinking about developing a live-action Harry Potter TV series for its HBO Max video streaming service.

In an official statement, Warner Bros. and HBO Max say that "there is no Harry Potter series in development at the studio or on the streaming platform".

Obviously, this statement is technically true - a series isn't in actual "development" - but it is only true insofar as everything that Professor Albus Dumbledore ever said to Harry Potter was technically true, although it wasn't at times all of the truth that was available.

According to the Hollywood reports, HBO Max and WarnerMedia execs have been and are talking about the possibility of developing a Harry Potter TV series and they see "expanding the world of Harry Potter as a top priority", similar to the way in which HBO's Game of Thrones fantasy series is being expanded with several prequel spin-off series.

Besides the already-announced House of the Dragon series that will debut in 2022 and that will chronicle the start of Westeros' Targaryen civil war, HBO is now also developing a George R.R. Martin Game of Thrones spinoff book series as a new Tales of Dunk and Egg TV series.

This spinoff drama series, with hour-long episodes and set 90 years before the existing TV series, will revolve around the adventures of Ser Duncan the Tall (known as Dunk) and a very young Aegon V Targaryen (known as Egg).

HBO Max is not available in South Africa or sub-Saharan Africa and WarnerMedia doesn't want to talk about a possible launch date for the country or the continent.

However, last week Christina Sulebakk, the boss of WarnerMedia's HBO Max for the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region, announced her senior executive team specifically for this region - a strong indication that HBO Max will eventually make its way to South Africa similar to Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV+.

A Sauron origin story

Amazon Prime Video has released an official description for the New Zealand-filmed Lord of the Rings prequel TV series, confirming that it will be set during the Second Age of Middle-earth, will include the island of Númenor and the elf-capital Lindon as locations, and that viewers will see "characters, both familiar and new" which means a young Sauron.

The as-yet-untitled Lord of the Rings series, the world's new most expensive TV series ever, is only expected to be released on Amazon Prime Video in late-2021, or during 2022 with Amazon that hasn't given a definite release date yet. 

While the prequel series takes place thousands of years before the events depicted in The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit films and books, several of the inhabitants of this world have long lifespans like the dwarfs who live for several centuries and elves who are immortal. 

According to Amazon Prime Video's new official synopsis for the series, "Amazon Studios' forthcoming series brings to screens for the very first time the heroic legends of the fabled Second Age of Middle-earth's history".

"This epic drama is set thousands of years before the events of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, and will take viewers back to an era in which great powers were forged, kingdoms rose to glory and fell to ruin, unlikely heroes were tested, hope hung by the finest of threads, and the greatest villain that ever flowed from Tolkien’s pen threatened to cover all the world in darkness."

"Beginning in a time of relative peace, the series follows an ensemble cast of characters, both familiar and new, as they confront the long-feared re-emergence of evil to Middle-earth."

"From the darkest depths of the Misty Mountains, to the majestic forests of the elf-capital of Lindon, to the breathtaking island kingdom of Númenor, to the furthest reaches of the map, these kingdoms and characters will carve out legacies that live on long after they are gone."

The Second Age is of course when Sauron rose to power and corrupted the human leaders living on Númenor, leading to the fall of the Nine Kings. 

The series cast includes Robert Aramayo, Owain Arthur, Nazanin Boniadi, Tom Budge and Morfydd Clark as a young Galadriel.

ALSO READ: Amazon Studios' Lord of the Rings fantasy drama series will be set during the Second Age and include the island of Númenor.

ALSO READ: Netflix commissions The Witcher fantasy spin-off with a 6-episode prequel series The Witcher: Blood Origin set 1 200 years earlier during the Elven civilisation.

M-Net turns 30 years old as it celebrates three decades of bringing viewers in South Africa and across Africa a premium TV experience.

M-Net officially turns 30 years old today - celebrating three decades of bringing viewers in South Africa and across the African continent premium TV content since it changed and revolutionised the face of South African television on 26 October 1986 forever.

It's today - exactly 30 years ago - that M-Net went live in South Africa and broke the stranglehold of the often staid South African public broadcaster's moribund programming.

M-Net introduced viewers to exciting TV content and concepts - from the soaps Loving and Egoli and the latest movies shown without commercial breaks, to M-Net East Net for Indian viewers, a dedicated youth slot, KTV; real magazine and investigative programming ranging from Revue Plus to Carte Blanche, and buzz-worthy reality shows from Idols to Big Brother and beyond.

M-Net started with R50 000 after securing a pay-TV licence in April 1985 and while its start was catastrophic - it lost R3.5 million per month just six months after it started - the Randburg based pay-TV operator started to break even on a monthly basis just two years later and since then, has never looked back.

In 1990 the existence of M-Net, that at that time passed the 400 000 subscriber mark, led to the creation of MultiChoice and its DStv satellite pay-TV service that has grown to provide M-Net supplied as well as global third-party channels to million of DStv subscribers in South Africa and across more than 50 countries in Africa.

Remember M-Net Open Time during which viewers could get unencoded access to the M-Net magic on a daily basis between 17:00 and 19:00? 

Remember the multiracial M-Net continuity presenters - white black, Indian, and coloured - all on one channel together - that presented a vision to South African viewers of not how the country was, but who it could be?

With an M-Net decoder costing R595 and a monthly subscription of R29, viewers gorged on the feast of international content and growing local slate as the pay-TV subscribers started running rings around the SABC, realising that viewers wanted to be treated like consumers, instead of being spoonfed on old series and hokey local programming with bad production values.

It also held true for South African and international sports coverage. 

Creating the SuperSport brand, M-Net revolutionised outside broadcasting for sports events - especially rugby - realising that consumers will pay for premium coverage, in multiple languages, with multi camera-angles and insightful commentary, of live events.

While the kids watched the goofy KTV presenters and dad watched the Currie Cup, mom watched Egoli, the local soap from Franz Marx that set new benchmarks for serialised daily TV storytelling in South Africa and spawned the creation of all the other local soap operas that came after it.

From Survivor South Africa, to Who Wants to be a Millionaire? to Dali Thambo's talk show Night Moves, from Sex Etc. to Trevor Noah's first TV talk show and from the creation of kykNET to Mzansi Magic and M-Net Movies, M-Net has always pushed the boundaries to better what South African television could be.

Idols that started in 2002 on M-Net and that is still on, is as popular, judged by the ratings, as when it first aired 14 years ago while M-Net kept with what worked and added: everything from The Weakest Link and MasterChef South Africa to The Voice South Africa.

As M-Net grew, shows like Big Brother SA grew into Big Brother Mzansi and Big Brother Africa - indicative of M-Net and MultiChoice's continental television expansion drive that became and remain as ambitious as when Koos Bekker in the early 1980's at Columbia University in New York did his thesis on a pay-TV model for South Africa and started to dream about bringing a better world of television to viewers.

M-Net's 30th anniversary celebration will carry on during November. M-Net is running a pop-up channel, M-Net Movies BlockParty on DStv channel 109 during October and will do a M-Net Movies Harry Potter pop-up channel during November.

M-Net is doing a 30th anniversary theme song competition in which 30 viewers can each win R30 000 with their rendition of Queen's iconic theme song A Kind of Magic that M-Net used as one of its theme songs, and there is the The Greatest Movie Ever Made competition. 

A coffee table book is in the works, while M-Net is also producing a new TV special looking back at its three decades as a pay-TV broadcaster that will be shown across M-Net's channels on DStv during November.

From this coming Friday, M-Net and DStv will open three of its DStv Premium channels, M-Net (DStv 101), M-Net Edge (DStv 102) and VUZU AMP (DStv 103) to all DStv Extra and DStv Compact subscribers until Sunday night, 30 October at 23:59.

"M-Net has grown immensely over the past 30 years – from being one pay-television channel to producing more than 40 channels for different audiences across the continent on different platforms," says Yolisa Phahle, M-Net CEO.

"But we wouldn't have been here without the continued support of every single person who finds our kaleidoscope of story-telling entertaining, informative or inspiring."

MultiChoice adding a Harry Potter pop-up channel from M-Net to DStv from 4 November; lowering DStv subscription prices in several African countries.

MultiChoice announced that it will be lowering monthly DStv subscription fees from 1 November in several African countries where the DStv prices were out of line with the average and will add a temporary Harry Potter pop-up channel from M-Net.

DStv will also add several TV channels to lower-tiered bouquets in several countries and make more soccer viewing available on SuperSport channels given to its lower-tiered offerings, to boost the content offering for cheaper DStv packages and to add content value.

Several countries, including Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Ethiopia, Sierra Leone, Ghana, Uganda, Zimbabwe and Botswana - but notably excluding South Africa and Nigeria, it's two biggest markets - will see a significant reduction in monthly DStv subscription fees from 1 November.

The DStv price reduction comes as tough economic conditions facing consumers and greater competition in the pay-TV market from rivals like StarTimes, EcoNet, Zuku and others, have seen the pan-African pay-TV operator decide to lower prices to try and stem the tide of MultiChoice Africa customers cancelling subscriptions.

In Nigeria DStv prices are not lowered but some new local channels like ROK are being added and several channels previously only accessible to DStv Premium subscribers are being made available to lower packages to add bigger content value to cheaper subscription options.


New channels added
Elsewhere in Africa new TV channels like Eva+, a sister channel to the telenovela channel Eva, will be added to DStv, along with the Nigerian entertainment channel ROK from ROK Studios, with several channels that will be upgraded to high definition (HD) quality similar to South Africa.

While DStv Premium subscribers across the continent and including South Africa can watch the pop-up M-Net channel M-Net Movies BlockParty on DStv channel 109, MultiChoice in a statement says DStv subscribers can "look forward to more exciting pop-up channels in the coming months like the M-Net Movies Harry Potter pop-up channel which will run from 4 to 14 November".

The Harry Potter pop-up channel will show all of the Harry Potter movies before the debut of the first movie in the new spin-off film series, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them that is scheduled for a worldwide release on 18 November.

It's similar to what M-Net did with its Star Wars pop-up channel late last year before the release of the new Star Wars film.


Significant price drop
The DStv price reduction starting 1 November, comes in a year in which MultiChoice Africa decided not to increase subscription fees in several countries outside of South Africa, and following a first-ever double price increase in 2015 to try and keep up with local African currencies' ongoing depreciation against the American dollar in which most premium TV content are acquired.

The stiff DStv price hikes put subscribers under pressure and led to the loss of 288 000 subscribers in one year as people could no longer afford the service or no longer saw it as valuable enough, at the same time as competing services like the subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) service like Naspers' ShowMax and America's Netflix launched their services across Africa.

About the move to adjust prices in several African countries, MultiChoice Africa says that "when reviewing our packages and prices in each country, we take into account local dynamics such as inflation, content costs, foreign exchange rates, local taxes and overheads required for each business".

"The price of DStv in South Africa as well as some of the other markets including Nigeria compare favourably with the pricing in the countries where subscription prices are currently being reviewed downwards".

In East African countries like Kenya, DStv subscribers will pay between 5% to 13% less from 1 November for the various packages.

In Uganda, a MultiChoice spokesperson said it "realized that it increasing subscriptions all the time is not sustainable. In the long run, people will not afford our services if we continued this way".

In Uganda DStv subscriptions are dropping from November by up to 15%.

In Zimbabwe DStv subscriptions are dropping between 11% and 21% from November with subscribers to cheaper packages in this country, as elsewhere, getting more soccer content with the addition of more UEFA Champions League matches as well as coverage of the best European football leagues and the Europa league on SuperSport.

"The significant price drop, coupled with the major boost in entertainment value across all DStv bouquets, demonstrates our commitment to ensuring DStv customers receive the best possible access to great entertainment and outstanding value," says MultiChoice Africa in a statement that was slightly adjusted for each African country where DStv price reductions are being introduced.

"These changes are not only a defining moment in our MultiChoice story, but also a defining moment in the African entertainment landscape and we are proud to be pushing as hard as we can to delight every television entertainment fan in Africa".


No price reduction in South Africa
MultiChoice in South Africa says South African DStv subscribers won't see a price reduction and that the price of DStv Premium in South Africa compares favourably with the pricing in other African countries.

"We review the DStv prices once a year when we do our business planning - our prices for next year will be announced before 1 April 2017".

MultiChoice South Africa says "when reviewing our packages and pricing in each country, we take into account local dynamics such as inflation, content costs, foreign exchange rates, local taxes and overheads required for each business".

"We've done a lot of research into what pay-TV costs in other parts of the world, and we believe that DStv offers good value for money in the countries in which it operates."

"In South Africa we've implemented a number of cost-saving options for our customers - those who pay annually receive one month free, and our Price Lock packages enable customers to freeze their package price for two years".

MultiChoice currently has close to 10 million subscribers in 49 sub-Saharan African countries.