1Magic: M-Net confirms the Tshedza Pictures produced The River won't run through it after 6 seasons.

Thinus Ferreira

M-Net confirmed industry whispers that the Tshedza Pictures produced telenovela The River for its 1 Magic (DStv 103) channel will be ending with the upcoming 6th and final season that will start on 6 February.

The River starring Sindi Dlathu and Hlomla Dandala and that introduced various new on-screen talent to viewers over the past half a decade, launched in February 2018 as a prime-time drama vehicle to anchor M-Net's 1Magic channel.

1Magic made its debut on DStv at the same time as The River which was positioned as the channel's flagship show, with the channel which was created as a premium version of the existing Mzansi Magic channel for higher-tiered DStv subscribers. 

The loss of The River set in the fictitious Refilwe, leaves 1Magic without an announced replacement, which means that M-Net is set to announce a new telenovela for the channel later this year to revitalise the channel's programming line-up after the end of The River.

Created by Phathu Makwarela and Gwydion Beynon, re-versioned for adaptations in Nigeria and Angola and winning 26 Golden Horn statuettes at the South African Film and Television Awards (Saftas), show star Sindi Dlathu also transitioned to become series co-executive producer.

Tshedza Pictures is now producing Gqeberha: The Empire which recently started on Mzansi Magic as the first telenovela being filmed in South Africa's Eastern Cape province.

M-Net in a statement confirms that "1Magic's The River is coming to an end with its upcoming sixth season".

"At M-Net local entertainment channels we would like to extend our most sincere gratitude to the cast and crew of The River for a memorable five years," says Shirley Adonisi, M-Net director for local entertainment channels.

"Their hard work, dedication and brilliance have led to the telenovela's success. The final season is going to be the show's most epic one yet. The drama will be bigger and better, setting the stage for the ultimate finale".

Showrunner Phathu Makwarela says "When we created The River seven years ago, we knew that we wanted to tell a story that will have a definite ending".

"Now on its sixth season, we feel the time is right to bring the story of these beloved characters to an end, on our own terms and when viewers still treasure the show. As the saying goes, 'a good dancer always knows when to leave the stage', and now it's that time for The River."

No, M-Net is not moving its telenovela, The River from 1Magic to Mzansi Magic or making episodes available on that DStv channel.

M-Net is not moving its new local telenovela The River on the 1Magic (DStv 103) channel to Mzansi Magic (DStv 161) and the pay-TV broadcaster has no plans at the moment to make episodes of the series available to lower-tiered DStv subscribers.

M-Net says The River - produced by Tshedza Pictures where it's written and executive produced by Phathutshedzo Makwarela and Gwydion Beynon with Connie and Shona Ferguson as supervising producers - will remain exclusively on 1Magic as a viewing offering for a DStv Premium audience.

"It was definitely a joke. The River is not moving to Mzansi Magic, Nondumiso Mabece, head of publicity at M-Net local entertainment channels, tells TVwithThinus.

It comes after the writer and producer Portia Gumede on social media told people on Monday - that happened to be 1 April - "Great news. The River on 1Magic is being moved to Mzansi Magic. Now we can all watch it". It turns out that it was an April Fool's Day joke.

The River on 1Magic is only available to DStv Premium subscribers since it started on 29 January this year, while Mzansi Magic is available to more pay-TV viewers including Premium but also DStv Compact Plus and DStv Compact subscribers.

While the ratings of The River of just a few thousand viewers per episode over the past two months has been so-so, it's to be expected and not out of line with some other Premium only DStv channels like M-Net (DStv 101), since the premium audience targeted telenovela is only available to the smallest potential pay-TV audience.

That upmarket audience lured to tune in to the weekday drama starring Sindi Dlathu and Hlomla Dandala - although small - are however highly courted and the most sought after by advertisers, justifying higher per thousand viewer ad spot rates for the 1Magic channel.

LET THE RIVER RUN. Sindi Dlathu to shock as devil diva in 1Magic's new diamond drama.

The new diamond drama, The River, will start as a new locally-produced telenovela on the new 1Magic channel on Monday 29 January 2018 with M-Net that's managed to lure well-known TV talent like Sindi Dlathu, Hlomla Dandala, Don Mlangeni and Motshidi Motshegwa to put a face to the new channel.

Like SABC3's Isidingo produced by Endemol Shine South Africa, The River, produced by Tshedza Pictures, chose a South African mining community as the fictional setting where a clash between downtrodden yet aspiring blue collar workers and high-society wealth-wielders will play out when the telenovela starts on weekdays at 20:00.

Similar to the first local drama forays of Mzansi Magic, The River will combine the conflict inherent in township struggles where ordinary working class South Africans have bigger dreams, but are in part prevented from realising those aspirations due to capitalist greed and pervasive corruption within the upper classes.

The River will be the flagship show on the soon-to-launch 1Magic (DStv 103) that is replacing the VUZU AMP channel after three years that tried to court a younger viewership.

The creation of 1Magic is signaling M-Net's latest shift to a bigger focus on broader, general local entertainment through telenovelas and dramas to try and lure a wider audience than just youth viewers, something that the VUZU and VUZU AMP channels have struggled with.

"The River is just the type of drama that fans have been waiting for," says Reneilwe Sema, the M-Net director of local entertainment.

"The storyline combines the allure and ruthlessness of the business world, with the raw essence of township struggles, making for the type of story lines our viewers love."

Sindi Dlathu who left SABC2's Venda-soap Muvhango for this new top billing role, will now appear as Lindiwe, the ruthless matriarch of a mining family.

It will be a stunning role-reversal character portrayal for Sindi Dlathu, beloved by millions of South African viewers for her Thandaza Mokoena character in Muvhango, with viewers who are going to be shocked and bowled over by her cunning, vicious and "love to hate her" new evil on-screen persona.

When the stiletto'ed Lindiwe, living in an upper-crust mansion one the one side of a river, discovers that a township community on the other side is unaware that they're sitting on a valuable diamond treasure, she is adamant to secure the land and riches and will let nothing stand in her way.

Desperate to unearth the diamonds, she is as quick to put bodies into the ground when people stand in her way.

Hlomla Dandala who was in Isidingo and headlined M-Net's very first "Africa drama" Jacob's Cross a decade ago in 2007, returns to M-Net as Zweli, the husband of Lindiwe.

Newcomer Larona Moagi plays Itumeleng, a young character from the township, described as a "feisty rebel who refused to be silenced and roll over when her family and community become casualties of greed and excess" and who wants to put an end to Lindiwe's "ruthless gluttony" at the expense of the local mining community.

The veretan actor Don Mlangeni plays Thato, Itumeleng's dad, with veteran actress Moshidi Motshegwa appearing as her mom, Malefu, a "pillar of strength in the family and township community".

Lawrence Maleka will appear in the role of Zolani, the adopted son of Lindiwe who "bites into forbidden fruit" and is the eyewitness to a terrible tragedy.

Michael Mol, Hlomla Dandala named as hosts for the Royalty Soapie Awards now set for 8 March 2014.

Michael Mol and Hlomla Dandala will be the hosts of the Royalty Soapie Awards which has now been moved to the new date of 8 March 2014 at the Durban International Convention Centre in Durban.

The Royalty Soapie Awards will likely be broadcast on SABC1 but it's not yet clear whether it will be a live broadcast or be shown at a later date.

The Royalty Soapie Awards - not representative of South African TV soap opera industry since broadcasters such as M-Net and e.tv are not allowing some of their soaps to be voted for - caught flack from the TV industry for the way it's organised, for judges being kept secret, and broadcasters saying they don't know and have not been told how the judging works.

The list of soaps in the category for Most Popular Soap which viewers vote for, excludes certain TV soap which makes it a hollow, credibility-less victory for whichever soap wins.

The new awards show production has also already seen its fair share of drama behind the scenes.

"We will focus our energies on producing a top-class event that reflects the excellence of the work done by South Africa's burgeoning television soap industry," says Sindile Xulu, the Royalty Soapie Awards project director "As a team we are relieved to have a firm date".