SABC resets Muvhango amidst ratings and money woes, adds Leleti Khumalo.

by Thinus Ferreira

Like it did with Generations the SABC is giving Muvhango on SABC2 a reset after signing a new contract - with new faces including Leleti Khumalo as well as a younger cast, a new logo and intro theme and new storylines - saying it was forced to continue because of viewer reaction after news that the Venda soap was cancelled.

The long-running show that stopped filming new episodes on 15 June, is restarting amidst ratings and money woes for the SABC which realised that it had nothing else in development - and no money - to effectively serve as a placeholder for Muvhango.

After Muvhango's contract with Word of Mouth Pictures ended and filming stopped on 15 June, filming has now restarted for a 26th season, done cheaper, with new episodes that will again be broadcast from 5 August on SABC2.

"We had challenges. But we are here now and we are unveiling a new season," says Lala Tuku, acting group executive of SABC video entertainment, speaking at a hastily arranged media event in Fourways on Thursday night.

"We have no doubt that Muvhango will reach its targets for the slot, wink, wink. We've worked intensely with the team to bring you invigorated stories," she said.

She alluded that financial issues - the SABC is technically insolvent - and ratings - Muvhango has lost millions of viewers over the past decade - are the crux that caused "a tussle" in negotiations around signing Word of Mouth Pictures to bring Muvhango back for another season.

"The reality is that the SABC derives its revenue from advertising. We require audiences to choose to watch our content. The reality is we have brilliant content on our platform and we need our audiences to select it and come in."

Speaking about the decision to bring Muvhango back and to give it another contract after it was effectively cancelled, Tuku said "At the end of the day it was a tussle in the negotiating room around keeping a legacy property which we all believed in, including the SABC board".

"At the end of the day, it is the rands and the cents. The authenticity of the show, the boldness of the storytelling - we just could not do away with it."

Duma Ndlovu, Muvhango creator and executive producer, said "Muvhango has a new logo, we have a new title sequence, we've listened to the young people. We've come back with what we think is a stunning show."

"We decided to bring back some characters who were with Muvhango before and remake them."

Jacqui Hlongwane, acting SABC2 channel head, said "We respond to what viewers say" and noted that viewer response to Muvhango no longer being on the air pushed the SABC to decide to bring it back. "We are really changing things up in this new season."

Veteran actress Leleti Khumalo joins as a new character, playing Dr Nonhlanhla Ximba whose "enigmatic presence as a construction mogul set to disrupt the familiar landscape". 

Lebo Tisane and Wiseman Zitha are two former Muvhango actors who are rejoining the production. Other actors who have made appearances on Muvhango in the past, will return playing new characters.

While it lost several millions of viewers over the past years, Muvhango remained the most-watched show on SABC and the channel's only programme with more than a million viewers nightly. 

In June it drew 1.16 million viewers with the SABC that is adamant that the reset Muvhango should increase both its ratings and audience share.  

The hard reset of Muvhango, whilst keeping "the original DNA" of the show, is similar to what the SABC did in late 2014 when Generations creator Mfundi Vundla got rid of the main cast and did a reset of the show as Generations - The Legacy with a new cast, some older faces who returned, a new intro and logo and cheaper cast contracts.

The SABC told the media interviews would be done with the broadcaster's executives, the show's producers and selected cast members on Thursday night but publicist Caroline Phalakatshela failed to keep to the arrangements.

Thanduxolo Jindela of Kwathole Conexion, Muvhango's PR firm who is paid to communicate with media about the show, didn't respond to any of multiple calls and messages about the show.

ALSO READ: The SABC effectively cancelled SABC2's Muvhango that has run out of episodes with no further contract for Word of Mouth Pictures.

ALSO READ: SABC revives Muvhango for 26th season as cheaper show with new faces.

e.tv cancels Imbewu after 5 seasons.

by Thinus Ferreira

The Grapevine Productions show Imbewu on e.tv has been cancelled after 5 years with the KwaZulu-Natal series which will conclude at the end of March and get replaced by a new locally-produced drama series.

E.tv gave no reason for the Imbewu cancellation which launched in April 2018 and has been one of the most-watched shows on the red letter channel the past half a decade, with eMedia saying that it remains "committed to its investment in local programming".

The late prime-time series focused on two Durban families - the Bhengus and Rampersads - and aired over 1 000 episodes.

"We'd like to thank the production for its commitment in delivering five great seasons of compelling stories, despite the highly competitive timeslots it found itself at 21:30 and 21:00," says Helga Palmer, eMedia's head of local programming.

The Imbewu co-executive producers, Leleti Khumalo; Duma Ndlovu and Anant Singh, in a statement say "We are proud to have created a trailblazing show that showcased the multicultural environment of Durban and KwaZulu-Natal".

"Imbewu changed the face of the daily drama offering on South African television with its unique storylines, cliffhangers and high drama, resulting in it becoming one of the most-watched shows. We are grateful to our broadcast partner, e.tv for their support of the show and for the opportunity."

Sarafina to dance again on e.tv on Youth Day for 30th anniversary.

by Thinus Ferreira

To celebrate 2022's Youth Day in South Africa and the 30th anniversary of Sarafina! starring Leleti Khumalo and Whoopi Goldberg, e.tv will roll out the red carpet for cinema showings on Wednesday and broadcast the musical drama film on Youth Day on Thursday.

e.tv first broadcast the Anant Singh produced and Darrell Roodt directed Sarafina! 20 years ago with the movie which was filmed at Morris Isaacson High School in Soweto, telling the story of the 1976 Soweto student uprising in the country, with a local and international cast including Whoopi Goldberg, John Kani, Leleti Khumalo and Miriam Makeba.

Sarafina! will be in South African cinemas again on Wednesday this week, with e.tv doing red carpet showings at Nu Metro in Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban, before broadcasting Sarafina! on Youth Day on Thursday on e.tv at 15:05.

"Sarafina! has remained an audience favourite and an important film in South African cinema. We are proud to partner with Videovision Entertainment to bring Sarafina! back to e.tv to celebrate this milestone," says e.tv content specialist, Marisa Hendricks.

Sarafina! had its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival 30 years ago and was released shortly thereafter at cinemas in South Africa.

Anant Singh who recently attended the Cannes Film Festival again, says "It was a truly nostalgic moment for me when I was walking on the red carpet at the Palais des Festivals where I met officials of the festival who could scarcely believe that it was 30 years since the momentous world premiere in Cannes".

"My journey with Sarafina! began 35 years ago when I saw the play at the Market Theatre in Johannesburg."

"I was moved and felt that I had to make a film about this amazing play. I was able to secure the film rights from Mbongeni Ngema and the rest is history."

"The important aspect for me was that Sarafina! was based on the watershed event of 16 June 1976 which changed the course of South Africa's history. Sarafina! was made shortly after Nelson Mandela was released from prison and we were fortunate to have had his support to make the film and have him as guest of honour at the South African premiere of the film."

"Today, 30 years later, we are delighted to be sharing our film, which perpetuates the contribution of the heroes of 1976 to our democracy, with the viewers of e.tv."

Actress Owethu Enhle Gambushe who appeared in e.tv's Imbewu dead after car crash in Durban.

The 22-year old actress Owethu Enhle Gambushe who made appearances in e.tv's local drama series, Imbewu, has died after a car crash in Durban early Saturday morning.

The vehicle she was travelling together with four other people crashed into a wall on Botanical Gardens Avenue in Durban.

The identity of the other woman, also in her 20s, who also died on the scene is not yet know.

A third person in the vehicle was also seriously injured.

Owethu Enhle Gambushe who studied television production at AFDA in Durban appeared in the role of Nonhlanhla in the Grapevine Productions series of producers Duma Ndlovu and Anant Singh and died just after 01:00 on Saturday morning after sustaining major injuries.

According to provincial police the driver (47) of the BMW who was allegedly driving under the influence of alcohol will be charged with culpable homicide after colliding with a road side and then hitting the wall. The man will appear in the Durban Magistrate's Court on Monday.

"It's unbelievable. We are liaising with the family and they have requested space to deal with this tragedy," said Leleti Khumalo, executive producer of Imbewu: The Seed in a statement.

e.tv's new soap, Imbewu: The Seed, gets slotted for a 9:30pm timeslot from 16 April as Leleti Khumalo goes from MaNzuza to MaZulu.

e.tv has scheduled the free-to-air commercial channel's new Imbewu: The Seed for a 21:30 timeslot, with the KwaZulu-Natal set weekday soap that will kick off on 16 April as the only local soap in the timeslot.

Imbewu: The Seed that will broadcast Mondays to Fridays on e.tv, has a cast including Thembi Mtshali (MaNdlovu), Sandile Dlamini (Phakade), Mpumelelo Bhulose (Zimele) and Leleti Khumalo going from MaNzuza in SABC1s Uzalo to MaZulu.

It will be the only show of its type during the 21:30 timeslot as e.tv decided not to schedule Imbewu during the heated and strongly contested 20:00 hour.

SABC2's Keeping Score ends on 10 April and is replaced by old rebroadcasts a week before Imbewu kicks off.

Imbewu shares a lot of similarities with SABC1's Uzalo as the show that Leleti Khumalo used to be in before jumping to Imbewu and where she now, besides an on-screen role, also gets an executive producer credit.

Imbewu: The Seed is produced by Grapevine Productions, a joint venture between Videovision Entertainment, Word of Mouth Pictures and Luys Productions with Duma Ndlovu and Anant Singh.

Imbewu: The Seed revolves around two brothers - one leading a rural life, the other one rich in the city. One can't father children and the other one is asked to impregnate his brother's wife in order to ensure the legacy and dynasty of the family name.

Controversy already stirred over the show, shot on location in KwaZulu-Natal, before a single episode has been shown.

The anti-Indian group knwon as the Injenje Yaba Nguni Council in February threatened to burn down Anant Singh’s Videovision offices if Imbewu dares to portray racial tensions between Indians and other groupings.

e.tv said that it found the "threat of violence against Videovision Entertainment disturbing, and should this materialise, it will be dealt with, within the confines of the law".

Forget SONA2018, the TV drama tonight will be Uzalo's celebrity funeral spectacle with Babes Wodumo and Hlengiwe Mhlaba.

Forget the State of the Nation 2018 broadcast on South African television on Friday evening - the TV drama will be in Uzalo tonight where the celebrity funeral spectacle to mourn MaNzuza and Smangele's after their double murder will be packed with stars, all snagging top seats from Babes Wodumo and gospel singer Hlengiwe Mhlaba, to Durban's current mayor all making appearances.

The weekday prime time telenovela on SABC1 will be a special hour long funeral episode tonight packed with histrionics and special guests.

The hour-long episode was filmed a month ago on 16 January as a razzmatazz TV funeral for the killed off characters of MaNzuza and Smangele who were both murdered after Leleti Khumalo quit the show for more money in e.tv's upcoming Imbewu also filmed in Durban and Sihle Ndaba got fired.

Viewers tonight are in for drama and emotional moments in scenes filmed on the Newlands sound stage in Durban where the Stained Glass TV production roped in guest stars like the current Durban mayor, Zandile Gumede who will make an appearance as a community representative.

The veteran gospel singer Hlengiwe Mhlaba will lead the congregants in some gospel melodies.

According to the producers the "the funeral service is a send-off that no-one expected will happen. People have to hold on to their faith, some on their weapons, to make sure that they stay alive and breathing".

Viewers will recognise familiar faces snapping up top seats at the TV celebrity funeral including Babes Wodumo - no visa required - and Mampintja, Tzozo, The Legacy, Selbeyonce, Zodwa Wabantu, Destruction Boyz, Dumi Mkostad and others.

Kid Sithole appears as Pastor Goba and Dudu Khoza is the master of ceremonies.

Uzalo characters from Mkhonto and Advocate Zulu to Mabuza, Sibahle, Mumsy, as well as Gundi and Jabulile go to church to mourn, plot and scheme in front of the caskets.

Tonight's special episode of Uzalo at 20:30 on SABC1 will also explore the theme of violence against women.

Actress Leleti Khumalo swops KwaZulu-Natal drama series as she switches from SABC1's Uzalo to e.tv's new Imbewu and add executive producer credit.

Actress Leleti Khumalo is jumping from one KwaZulu/Natal drama series to another and adding an executive producer title as she switches from the SABC's Uzalo to e.tv's new Imbewu: The Seed starting in April.

After contract negotiations to remain on the show for the 4th season didn't work out, Leleto Khumalo has left Stained Glass TV's Uzalo on SABC1 that is filmed on location in KwaMashu, Durban for a new drama series, Imbewu: The Seed - starting in April on e.tv and also filmed in the KwaZulu/Natal province.

Leleti Khumalo's original character MaNzuza that she's portrayed since the first season is being killed off by Stained Glass TV, but Leleti will live again as a brand-new character in Imbewu: The Seed that will tell a new story set in the humble streets in eNquthu and the township of Chatsworth as well as the most-affluent parts of Umlazi.

Leleti Khumalo won't just appear as a character in the show, she is also an executive producer behind the scenes, teaming up with with TV veteran Duma Ndlovu producing Muvhango for SABC2 and the South African film producer veteran Anant Singh.

Imbewu: The Seed is produced for e.tv by Grapevine Productions, a joint venture between Videovision Entertainment, Word Of Mouth Pictures and Luyks Productions.

Anant Singh from Videovision Entertainment and Duma Ndlovu from Word Of Mouth Pictures will be at the helm of the production of the drama series. e.tv hasn't yet announced a timeslot for Imbewu, with speculation now swirling that the show might be scheduled at 20:30 on e.tv as counter-programming for the SABC1 ratings juggernaut.

Imbewu: The Seed will revolve around the family dynasties and two brothers in KwaZulu/Natal - interestingly just like how Uzalo started out in late-2015. "Imbewu focuses on the ties that bind families through blood and spirit, asking sobering and controversial questions that are relevant to all South African cultures," says e.tv.

"A deep and unspoken truth, representing the cultural legacy between two brothers, is at the centre of the series’ captivating plot," says e.tv that says brand-new talent are part of the cast, alongside veteran actors.

“One of e.tv's commitments in 2018 is to invest in provinces beyond Gauteng. KwaZulu-Natal is the country’s fastest-growing province with a strong focus on the entertainment industry,” says Ziyanda Mngomezulu, general manager of e.tv's local content division.

“We are honoured to be partnering with film, television and theatre greats in Anant Singh, Duma Ndlovu and Leleti Khumalo, from the newly formed Grapevine Productions, and look forward to presenting viewers with a fresh reflection of KZN that is all encompassing”.

Anant Singh says that Imbewu: The Seed will “reflect the multi-cultural environment which makes Durban and the province of KwaZulu-Natal unique.”

“The show has the ability to cross the cultural divide and promote social cohesion in South Africa, showcasing a hybrid of cultures in South Africa today. We are extremely excited to be embarking on this amazing television series in KwaZulu-Natal with our partners, e.tv”. 

Duma Ndlovu says he is “very excited for this opportunity to tell an authentic South African story. I am excited to be partnering with Anant Singh and Leleti Khumalo as we prepare to give South Africans a new and unique story.”

“In South Africa, we have not yet had the opportunity to see Indians and Africans come together to tell a story with a social cohesion message and Imbewu: The Seed will deliver this to audiences.”

Uzalo kills off Leleti Khumalo's MaNzuza and Sihle Ndaba's Smangele in a double murder story line with an hour long funeral special episode on SABC1 set for 16 February.

Producers of the weekday drama Uzalo on SABC1 have decided to kill off the characters portrayed by Leleti Khumalo and Sihle Ndaba with a double murder story line that will get rid of the characters of MaNzuza and Smangele.

Leleti Khumalo decided to quit the show that is filmed and set in KwaMashu, Durban when contract negotiations for the 4th season didn't work out while the show's producers, Stained Glass TV, fired Sihle Ndaba.

The actors' exit from the show was announced in October 2017 with Leleti Khumalo who has been with the show from the show's start in February 2015.

The KwaMashu matriarch MaNzuza is murdered along with Smangele, with the prime time double murder that will result in a double funeral in the church set on the Newlands studio sound stage in Durban.

The Uzalo double funeral will be broadcast on SABC1 on Friday 16 February as an hour long special episode.

The tragic funeral - complete with church choir send-off and celebrity guests appearances - was filmed on Tuesday 16 January, a month before the SABC1 airdate.

So far there's been no statement or comment from Stained Glass TV and its co-owners Gugulethu Zuma ka Ncube and Pepsi Pokane about the characters being killed off and new additions to the show.

In December 2017 Uzalo retained it's title as the most watched show on SABC1 and in South Africa with 9.15 million (26.3 AR) viewers and a 68.2 share, meaning that more than 2 thirds of all switched-on TV sets in the country were tuned to the show during the 20:30 timeslot.

Second season of Uzalo on SABC1 will start tonight, continue seamlessly, as hit telenovela officially becomes a soap, promising 'new surprises'.

The second season of Uzalo on SABC1 starts tonight and will continue seamlessly with most of the original cast as the former telenovela officially becomes a soap.

With blowout ratings in 2015, SABC1 was reluctant to let go of Uzalo as a capped, one series affair with a definite end.

The SABC decided to turn the production that was originally sold as a KwaMashu set "telenovela" with a specific beginning and end, into a multi-season soap - deciding to follow the Mzansi Magic (DStv 161) playbook where isiBaya that started as a telenovela, was turned into an ongoing soap to keep luring viewers and advertisers.

Uzalo quickly stole the damaged Generations - The Legacy's ratings crown after that show's reset following the firing of its entire cast. Uzalo's viewership success spurred rival broadcaster e.tv to commission a competing new prime time show that will start within months and will also be filmed and set in KwaZulu-Natal.

Generations that for years reigned supreme as the most watched soap, most watched local show, and overall most watched TV show in all of South African television now trail Uzalo and its 7.1 million viewers as the Monday to Wednesday appointment television at 20:30 with a riveting storyline that South African viewers just can't bear to miss.

Besides the firing of Mpumelelo Bhulose who appeared as Gxhabashe, most of the original Uzalo cast, including  Leleti Khumalo, Dawn Thandeka King, Naymaps Maphalala and Ayanda "Kay" Sibiya will be "back" for the seamless second season starting tonight on SABC1.

Uzalo is still filmed on location in Durban on a film studio as well as in KwaMashu's streets, and promises "new surprises".

New Uzalo faces include Zimiphi "Zim Dollar" Biyela as MaNzuza's (Leleti Khumalo) sister, as well as Mfana Jones Hlope as MaNgcobo's (Xulu's wife) new love interest.

"Uzalo launched with an outstanding debut season and the second season is bringing back favourite characters and a few exciting new faces," says Mmamitse Thibedi, Uzalo's creative director.

"Although much has changed, Uzalo will still serve a provocative, bold and authentic story of two family dynasties and the two young men who carry their hopes and legacies as they face the complexities of identity, inheritance and belief."

SABC1's new telenovela, Uzalo, set to take on Mzansi Magic's Isibaya from 9 February in the same timeslot of 20:30 for 3 days a week.

The SABC first rejected the pitch for the show and forced the producers to retool it, but now, 3 years later, the new Zulu telenovela Uzalo from Stained Glass Productions will finally make it to TV.

The ambitiously filmed KwaZulu-Natal local drama Uzalo will starts on 9 February at 20:30 on SABC1 - trying to win back some audience share and viewers for the SABC against the Mzansi Magic (DStv 161) telenovela-turned-soap soap juggernaut Isibaya in the same timeslot.

Each half hour episode which SABC1 will broadcast from Mondays to Wednesdays from 9 February, revolves around the Mdletshe and the Xulu families, straddling the world's of crime and church.

Uzalo is set in KwaMashu in Durban and also filmed on location in the township's F-section since December 2014.

Despite several production and writing challenges SABC1 and the production company believe that the new telenovela following after Generations - The Legacy in the 20:30 timeslot will keep viewers tuning in.

SABC2 plans to have its own telenovela on the air this year, and told TV critics in 2014 that it is looking at July 2015 to start its own local telenovela - the South African public broadcaster's second one.

One of president Jacob Zuma's daughters, Gugulethu Zuma-Ncube is the producer of Uzalo, together with Pepsi Pokane, with the playwright-producer Duma Ndlovu now writing the scripts after several other writers were initially tasked with producing scripts but left.

SABC1 describes Uzalo as "a provocative, bold and authentic narrative that tells the story of two family dynasties and the two young men who carry their hopes and legacies as they face the complexities of money, family and love".

What is means is that Uzalo will revolve around two sons of two families - one "good" and one "bad" and the conflict and friendship between them and their families.

The KwaMashu-born Bheki Mkwane from Isibaya on DStv's Mzansi Magic channel supplied by M-Net, will now appear in the rival localdrama Uzalo as patriarch pastor Melusi Mdletshe. Leleti Khumalo plays the pastor wife Zandile Zulu.

Other Uzalo stars include Khumbulani 'Kay' Sibiya, Naymaps Maphala and Mpumelelo Bhulose and Dawn Thandeka-King.