TV NEWS ROUND-UP. Today's interesting TV stories to read - 27 July 2020.

Here's the latest news about TV that I read and that you should read too:


■ Political interference increasing at the South African public broadcaster.
The SABC doesn't have enough money but politicians want to prevent the struggling and bloated SABC from firing staffers. The SABC says "this is a political issue and this is a repeat of what happened in 2018".
- 45% of the SABC's expenditure is on salaries and only 21% on content, compared to eMedia Holdings spending 11% on staff and MultiChoice spending 15% on staffers and 43% on content.


■ Nigeria's minister of information, Lai Mohammed who doesn't like MultiChoice allegedly plots to get the latest season of Big Brother Naija on DStv cancelled and shut down.
Told the Nigerian Broadcasting Commission (NBC) to take Big Brother Nigeria off the air so that it doesn't look as if it's his plan, and using Covid-19 as the excuse.
- Lai Mohammed says he didn't ask the NBC in a memo to suspend Big Brother Naija.

■ The former Disney actress Maitland Ward claims pornography saved her from Hollywood.

■ With almost no other live sports on TV, the start of baseball in America with MLB lifts the ratings of ESPN in the United States by 232%.

■ O, is it Over? After Associated Magazines ended O, The Oprah Magazine in South Africa, is it over for Oprah'sprint magazine in the United States after 20 years as well?
 - Ebony magazine is also forced into bankruptcy.

■ Mangaliso Ngema names himself as the actor who was fired from Quizzical Pictures' set of Lithapo after sexual harassment allegations at the SABC2 drama.
The actor claims he was adjusting himself in front of the actress and touched himself inappropriately because his costume was too tight.

■ Tarek El Moussa of Flip and Flop on HGTV (DStv 177) and Heather Rae Young are engaged.

■ Why so many WWE wrestling stars have lost their last names.

■ Cecil Sunkwa-Mills, MultChoice Ghana managing director, says cinemas in the country must open despite the shutdown of the Covid-19 pandemic.
"I know there’s Covid-19, but I think we need to bring cinemas back; with some hand sanitisers and so on. Cinemas provide the first revenue for filmmakers."

■ How the world turned on celebrities.

■ Trolls, tweets and famous friends: The vicious PR war between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard.

■ A curious Broadcasting Code.
Nigeria is changing that country's broadcasting code with new amendments after having changed it in 2019. Lai Mohammed (who else?) plans to take broadcaster's and pay-TV operator's exclusive content away.

■ Zambia's government has demanded that the private commercial broadcaster in that country, Prime TV, broadcast Covid-19 TV commercials for free.

■ No, Paw Patrol on Nickelodeon (DStv 305) with a police dog isn't cancelled despite the White House publicst Kayleigh McEanany claiming it is.

Quizzical Pictures removes actor from SABC2's Lithapo following sexual harassment complaints, actress Lorraine Moropa says 'I hope my example will give other women the courage to come forward with their stories'.

by Thinus Ferreira

Quizzical Pictures doesn't want to say what happened to him but according to insiders an actor has now been removed from SABC2's Lithapo set following sexual harassment complaints from one actress currently working on the Sesotho drama series as well as a former cast member.

It's not yet clear whether the actor has been fired from Lithapo, who can't be named and who has been warned before about problematic behaviour.

UPDATE Thursday 23 July 2020 - 18:00 - See the update below at the end of this report.

Earlier this week the Lithapo actress Lorraine Moropa (23) decided that she has had enough and took to social media to describe how she was allegedly constantly being sexually harassed by the actor on the Quizzical Pictures set.

After her, the actress and YFM DJ Altovise Lawrence, responded that the actor allegedly perpetrated the same sexual harassment behaviour in interactions with her on the same set.

Lorraine Moropa wrote that "Being constantly sexually harassed by a male senior at a workplace can not and should not be tolerated".

"Imagine working with someone who undresses you from how he looks at you. Someone that grabs his genitals on a set while looking at your ass or grabs your ass and laughs it off in front of a crew (yes my cases have always been in the presence of my colleagues). That to me is worse than a slap in the face."

"This is a father, who also happens to speak highly of their daughter whom by the way, is practically my age and also in the industry. I wonder if he would appreciate his daughter coming home with half the stories I have to go home and tell my mother due to his actions," Lorraine Moropa wrote.

"I did not sleep my way into any role and I refuse for my process to get into this industry and cement my name just for it to be tainted by an someone who has zero self-control or respect for us as professionals in the industry. Enough is enough."

Altovise Lawrence said that she "stands in solidarity with Lorraine Moropa who has had the courage to come out and say that she has been sexually harassed by an actor on set. The same man that sexually harassed her has sexually harassed me too on the very same set".

"I’m sorry I didn’t speak out when it happened Lorraine Moropa. But, I’m saying something now. What happened was disgusting and it can’t continue. I believe you. I support you. I’ve got you, sis."

The actresses received an outpouring of support from women in South Africa's TV and film industry ranging from Rami Chuene, Portia Gumede, Didintle Khunou, Dineo Langa, Thuso Mbedu and Florence Masebe to Rosie Motene.

After Quizzical Pictures on Tuesday in a statement said that it is "dealing with the issue", the production company in a follow-up statement on Thursday says that "Quizzical Pictures has resolved the issue on the Lithapo set".

Quizzical Pictures doesn't want to use the words sexual harassment and isn't willing to say how it resolved "the issue".

"The actress concerned is comfortable with the outcome," says Quizzical Pictures. "We would like to thank the cast and crew for their patience. Quizzical Pictures remains committed to creating a fair and respectful workplace for our cast and crew."

About the sexual harassment, Lorraine Moropa in a statement on Thursday says "this was the second reported incident caused by the same man who I had reported earlier this year".

"I have had discussions with Quizzical Pictures in which they have assured me of their intention to remedy the situation. I have been informed on the steps that they will be taking against the actor in question and I am happy with those steps."

"I wish to stand with all South African women when I say that enough is enough, and we will not be silenced."

"We will keep reporting these cases until we are taken seriously and until there are real consequences for perpetrators of sexual harassment and sexual violence in our communities. It is unacceptable that women should feel unsafe in their places of work or in their homes."

"I hope to encourage other women in the industry to do the same. We cannot fix the system until we expose the people who are creating it as well as those who benefit from protecting it."

"I hope my example will give other women the courage to come forward with their stories. We need our collective power to bring the perpetrators to justice," says Lorraine Moropa.

UPDATE Thursday 23 July 2020 - 18:00 - "Quizzical Pictures would like to announce that following the allegations of sexual harassment on the production Lithapo, we have taken a decision to remove the actor from the production with immediate effect. He is no longer part of the production and the story is being rewritten," says producer Harriet Gavshon in a statement.

"Quizzical Pictures deeply regrets the hurt that this has caused and would like to thank the actress for her bravery and speaking out against it."

"We take sexual harassment very seriously and will not tolerate any form of misconduct in our productions."

"We reiterate that this goes against our values, we subscribe to the Sister Working in Film and Television (Swift) and Independent Producers Organisation (IPO) code of conduct. All cast and crew sign declarations against sexual harassment as part of their contracts and Quizzical Pictures run sexual harassment workshops before any production begins."

"We endeavour to take swift action against any sexual harassment or act of misconduct whenever it manifests itself on our productions. We call upon all our cast and crew to come out and report any form of misconduct they may experience on all our productions."

"We stand in solidarity with all women in our society who have experienced this act. We equally condemn any act of harassment against all women in our society."

"We would like to thank the cast and crew for their patience while this matter was being dealt with. We remain committed to making our sets safe for all our cast and crew and have undertaken to review all our systems in this regard," says Harriet Gavshon.


ALSO READ: Alleged ongoing sexual harassment allegations on SABC2's Lithapo prompts investigation as Quizzical Pictures removes but doesn't fire problem actor from set.

Alleged ongoing sexual harassment allegations on SABC2's Lithapo prompts investigation as Quizzical Pictures removes but doesn't fire problem actor from set.

by Thinus Ferreira

Complaints from two actresses, one currently working on and a former cast member, on SABC2's Sesotho drama series Lithapo has prompted an investigation by production company Quizzical Pictures that has removed the actor from the set.

The Lithapo actress Lorraine Moropa (23) decided she's had enough and is speaking up and took to social media to describe how she is allegedly constantly being sexually harassed by an actor on the Quizzical Pictures set.

After her, the actress and YFM DJ Altovise Lawrence, responded that the actor allegedly perpetrated the same sexual harassment behaviour in interactions with her on the same set.

According to insiders, the actor - who has been warned before - has been removed from the set but has not been fired.

Lorraine Moropa wrote that "Being constantly sexually harassed by a male senior at a workplace can not and should not be tolerated".

"Imagine working with someone who undresses you from how he looks at you. Someone that grabs his genitals on a set while looking at your ass or grabs your ass and laughs it off in front of a crew (yes my cases have always been in the presence of my colleagues). That to me is worse than a slap in the face."

"This is a father, who also happens to speak highly of their daughter whom by the way, is practically my age and also in the industry. I wonder if he would appreciate his daughter coming home with half the stories I have to go home and tell my mother due to his actions," Lorraine Moropa wrote.

"I did not sleep my way into any role and I refuse for my process to get into this industry and cement my name just for it to be tainted by an someone who has zero self-control or respect for us as professionals in the industry. Enough is enough."

Altovise Lawrence said that she "stands in solidarity with Lorraine Moropa who has had the courage to come out and say that she has been sexually harassed by an actor on set. The same man that sexually harassed her has sexually harassed me too on the very same set".

"I’m sorry I didn’t speak out when it happened Lorraine Moropa. But, I’m saying something now. What happened was disgusting and it can’t continue. I believe you. I support you. I’ve got you, sis."

On Tuesday TVwithThinus asked the SABC in a media enquiry what exactly the public broadcaster about the alleged ongoing sexual harassment on the Quizzical Pictures production.

SABC2 publicist Lebo Malete on Tuesday evening responded by emailing the statement photo that Quizzical Pictures put on social media earlier on Tuesday.

In it, Quizzical Pictures said that "Quizzical Pictures is aware of the sexual harassment accusations made on social media which pertains to one of our sets."

"We take the issue extremely seriously. We subscribe to the SWIFT and Independent Producers' Organisation (IPO) conde of conduct. All cast and crew sign declarations against sexual harassment as part of their contracts and Quizzical Pictures run sexual harassment workshops before any production begins."

"We are dealing with this issue with the people concerned".

The SABC was asked if the actor has been removed from the Lithapo set and whether that happened immediately and if he was told not to have any contact with the rest of the cast and crew any further.

The SABC was also asked if an investigation was started into the allegations, and if so, who is doing it, if it's an independent outside investigation, or done by the Quizzical Pictures or the SABC, and when it was that complaints were received about the person.

The SABC and SABC2 were asked if there is any statement from the public broadcaster and its TV channel about how it regards these allegations, and if, for instance, it is something that the SABC takes seriously and that the SABC sees as a problem.

The SABC was also asked if the person or people who complained are getting any counselling at the moment, and if so, in what form, and if the SABC or the production company have been aware of any prior complaints regarding sexual harassment about the person.

The SABC and SABC2 haven't responded to these specific questions at the time of publication but responses will be added here if received.

UPDATE Wednesday 22 July 2020 14:40 - The SABC says in a statement:

"The SABC strongly condemns abuse and as part of its continuous commitment, the corporation has put measures in place to transform the public broadcaster into a truly accountable and responsive corporate entity".

"The SABC can confirm that it is aware of the matter raised, however, it should be noted that the production house responsible for Lithapo is dealing with the matter directly. We are therefore not in a position to respond to these allegations and all questions should be directed to the production house."


ALSO READ: Quizzical Pictures removes actor from SABC2's Lithapo following sexual harassment complaints, actress Lorraine Moropa says 'I hope my example will give other women the courage to come forward with their stories'.

Coronavirus: SABC2's Lithapo the next South African TV show to shut down as the Sesotho telenovela also gets a Covid-19 positive case.

by Thinus Ferreira

SABC2's Sesotho telenovela Lithapo is the next South African local TV production that has been forced to shut down after a Covid-19 positive case has been identified among the production staff.

Lithapo filmed at Fleet Street Studios in Ferndale, Johannesburg shut down on Friday 26 June and will be closed until at least 6 July, after the show shut down temporarily two weeks ago for a few days also over alarm around Covid-19 but one which turned out to be negative. Production resumed a week ago just for the shutdown to happen on Friday.

Lithapo is produced by Quizzical Pictures for SABC2. Quizzical Pictures' other how - the weekday soap Rhythm City on e.tv - is also shut down because of positive Covid-19 cases.

SABC2 spokesperson Lebo Malete told TVwithThinus that Lithapo "has shut down since Friday 26 June until further notice".

"The production house is currently following all protocols and measures that are in place. Once all has been completed, production will restart. The producers will advise when production will restart. SABC confirms that there will be no break in transmission ensuring viewers will still enjoy Lithapo."

M-Net's The River produced by Tshedza Pictures on 1Magic (DStv 103) was the first show to shut down because of a positive Covid-19 case after South Africa's film and TV industry reopened following the extended national lockdown period. The River is once again filming.

After The River, Skeem Saam on SABC1, and Word of Mouth's Venda series Muvhango on SABC2 have both been forced to shut down because of positive Covid-19 coronavirus cases.

They were followed last week by SABC2's 7de Laan on SABC2 produced by Danie Odendaal Productions, as well as both of e.tv's weekday soaps Rhythm City produced by Quizzical Pictures and Scandal! produced by Ochre Media - all three of them filmed at Sasani Studios in Highlands North in Johannesburg.

Lithapo producers on Thursday last week informed the cast and crew in an email to "kindly note that we won't be shooting tomorrow, Friday 26 June, due to one of our crew members who has tested positive for Covid-19".

Lithapo crew and cast have bee instructed to self-isolate at home.

The shuttering of a growing number of TV series comes after the entire South Africa film and TV industry abruptly closed in late-March for the national lockdown period which has seen the already-struggling industry shed thousands of jobs in the two months that cameras were turned off and studio doors closed.

Coronavirus: Quizzical Pictures restarts production on SABC2's Sesotho telenovela Lithapo as crew and cast get face masks and hand sanitiser.

by Thinus Ferreira

Production and filming has restarted this week on SABC2's local Sesotho telenovela, Lithapo, produced by Quizzical Pictures following a studio-held Covid-19 orientation session with the crew and cast.

Filming on Lithapo began in early October 2019 on location in Qwa-Qwa and continued in Johannesburg until production was abruptly shuttered 7 weeks ago when South Africa entered its national shutdown period to try and curb the spread of the Covid-19 novel coronavirus in the country.

With enough episodes in the can, Lithapo has managed to stay on-air on SABC2 uninterrupted with its existing 3 episodes per week rollout schedule.

With the relaxation to Level 4 of the shutdown, South Africa's TV and film industry has returned to studio lots where they have to keep to extreme health and social distancing regulations with Lithapo that resumed filming this week.

Lithapo cast and crew were handed face masks and hand sanitiser on Wednesday.


ALSO READ: Coronavirus: IN IMAGES - A look behind-the-scenes as South Africa's TV soaps return to production amidst Covid-19.

Daddy-issues will surface in SABC2's new Sesotho telenovela Lithapo in January 2020 with newcomer Khojane Morai alongside veterans Joyce Skefu and Mangaliso Ngema.

by Thinus Ferreira

SABC2's new Sesotho telenovela, Lithapo starting in January 2020 will bring some new on-screen talent to TV screens in a story that will cast a spotlight on "daddy-issues" and oscillate between the rich-poor worlds of Sandton and Alexandra in Johannesburg.

Produced by Quizzical Pictures and with filming that started in early-October on location in QwaQwa and continuing in Johannesburg, Lithapo, will bring a story to free-to-air viewers that shares several similarities with M-Net's Impilo that was produced for Mzansi Magic (DStv 161) and its pay-TV audience in 2019.

Lithapo will start on Monday 13 January 2020 on SABC2 with three episodes per week from Mondays to Wednedays.

In Lithapo - meaning "ties that bind" - Lehlohononolo or "Nolo" for short (played by newcomer Khojane Morai) decides to leave QwaQwa after his mother dies suddenly.

He sets out to try and find the father he never knew and to claim his father's name, but finding his dad is a difficult task.

Nolo settles in Alex and quickly gets caught up in the dog-eat-dog world of a township that is on fire with protests and despair. Meanwhile, in the adjacent, wealthy Sandton lives the Hlongwane family whose lives are the opposite of Nolo's although their destinies are intertwined.

A love triangle develops when Nolo falls in love with Pabi (Katlego Nakedi) although their relationship is thwarted from the start as Nolo gradually discovers that his life has been a lie.

The Lithapo cast includes Joyce Skefu (Moipone), Seputla Sebogodi (Kabe), Mangaliso Ngema (Senzo) and Sthandiwe Kgoroge (Thandiwe), alongside Israel Zulu, Angela Sithole, Sibongile Nojila, Clementine Mosimane and Lebohang Msiza as Nkosana.

"SABC 2 is excited to welcome a brand new Sesotho telenovela aimed at captivating the audiences with authentic, local storytelling capturing the spirit of both our traditional rural communities in and the buzz of kasi life," says Jacqui Hlongwane, SABC2 programme manager.

"Viewers can look forward to seeing the difference of both the streets of QwaQwa and Sandton through the lens of an enchanting story."

"We are also excited that Quizzical Pictures gathered a strong cast and talent second to none. As SABC2 we also continue to keep our promise of bringing our audience more gripping drama in the 21:30 timeslot and we hope that Lithapo will deliver to both ours and the viewer’s expectations."

Siphiwe Hlabangane, Quizzical Pictures producer, says that "Telling a Sesotho story in a saturated telenovela market, we chose to tackle issues around class, sexuality, land and race head-on in the hopes that audiences would find the issues relevant, and the show entertaining, especially across the magnificent backdrop that is QwaQwa".

"From the very beginning of the writing process, we knew that something special was brewing and that this project would task us with the responsibility of enthralling, amusing, educating and entertaining our audience, all of which the script delivered."