The 23rd season of The Amazing Race starting on Sony Entertainment Television (SET) on Sunday 13 July at 19:35.

The 23rd season of that show with the most ridiculously ambitious production elements in literally the entire world, The Amazing Race with presenter Phil Keoghan, will start on Sony Entertainment Television (SET) (DStv 127) this Sunday at 19:35.

The 23rd season of The Amazing Race - South African viewers are only one season behind which started in February - will see the contestants travel through 9 countries, 4 continents, visiting 21 cities and travelling 56 000 miles.

As usual there's 11 teams of two people each with some kind of a pre-existing relationship.

The new 23rd season of The Amazing Race keeps the "Double Express Pass" introduced in the 22nd season.

In this the first team to arrive at the first Pit Stop gets two Express Passes - so that they can of course give the other one to any of the other teams.

Some of the teams in this season of The Amazing Race include the wives of basketball players, maintenance workers, a former beauty queen,a former Lingerie Football player, married emergency room doctors, cousins, two theatre performers, a father and daughter team and two childhood friends.

The Arsenio Hall Show on Sony Entertainment Television (SET) cancelled after one season, despite previously renewed for a second.

The Arsenio Hall Show seen in South Africa on weekdays on Sony Entertainment Television (SET) (DStv 127) has been cancelled after its first season - despite earlier having been renewed for a second season.

"Unfortunately, The Arsenio Hall Show will not return for a second season," says the distributor in a statement; although an announcement was previously made that the late night talk show would be back for a second season.

"While there are many loyal fans of the show, the series did not grow its audience enough to continue. Arsenio is a tremendous talent and we'd like to thank him for all the hard work and energy he put into the show".

"When I started this adventure we all knew it would be a challenge. I'm gratified for the year we've had and proud of the show we created. I'd like to thank everyone on my staff for rallying around me and striving to make the best show possible every night," says Arsenio Hall in the statement.

The late night cancellation follows the cancellation news of Chelsea Lately on E! Entertainment (DStv 124).

Good but gory Hannibal on Sony Entertainment Television (SET) renewed for a 3rd season.

Hannibal seen in South Africa on Sony Entertainment Television (SET) (DStv 124) and currently rolling out new episodes of the second season, has been renewed for a third season in America.

The good but gory Hannibal, is executive produced by Bryan Fuller, with Gaumont International Television and Sony Pictures Television working together.

The dark story follows Will Graham (Hugh Dancy) and Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Mads Mikkelsen) solving intriguing cases together, before Will and others became aware that Hannibal was actually a cannibalistic serial killer.

'How you doin'?' Friends starting on Sony Entertainment Television (SET) from Monday with double episodes on weekdays at 19:05.

Friends - or as SABC2's plagiarising soap 7de Laan calls it: the place where we get out stories and scripts from - is starting from today, Monday, 3 February on Sony Entertainment Television (SET) (DStv 127).

Friends will be broadcast on SET with double episodes every weekday, from the first episode of the first season, at 19:05.

Sony Entertainment Television says it will be "screening every single episode, right from season one" of Friends, since its exactly 20 years since Friends started in 1994.

As a result, The Arsenio Hall Show will move to a later than usual timeslot on Wednesdays to Fridays, following the 20:00 movie on SET.

AMAZING CATCH-UP. The 21st season of The Amazing Race coming to Sony Entertainment Television with a brand-new twist.

Chippendales! Crazy goat farmers! Indian sisters! Injuries! Stolen passports! Collecting rats!

Sony Entertainment Television (DStv 127) has caught up in an amazing way with The Amazing Race for South Africa viewers with the excellent 21st season of The Amazing Race which will start on SET on Sunday 22 September at 19:35 for 11 episodes.

In the United States the 22nd season is the only remaining season of The Amazing Race left, with the 23rd season ordered. It means that SET has managed to catch up tremendously with this award winning reality show which is also being shown on SABC3 but which lags several seasons behind on the public broadcaster's channel.

Viewers who have perhaps drifted away from this acclaimed reality show which is a race for cash around the world through a myriad of countries need to tune in for this one - the 21st season will make viewers fall in love all over again with this season.

This season of The Amazing Race has eye-popping challenges ranging from synchronised swimming to a time zone challenge (not what you think!), insane flights competition (insane!!!) and lots of crying and mental breakdowns due to double crossing couples.

Part of the excitement of the 21st season of The Amazing Race is the new twist that the couple who wins the first leg of the race, can double their money if they're also the ultimate winners. It makes winning the first leg of the race that much more important.

BREAKING. Hannibal, the new TV drama based on the cannibal serial killer, coming to Sony Entertainment Television from 23 April.

You're reading it here first.

I can exclusively break the news that Hannibal, the new TV series based on the movie Silence of the Lambs is coming to South African and that this new drama series will start on Sony Entertainment Television (DStv 127) on Tuesday 23 April at 20:55.

Sony Entertainment Television just told me the starting date of the new TV drama which started filming in July last year without a pilot episode - Hannibal was picked up straight to series for a first season of 13 episodes.

Mads Mikkelsen will be seen in the role of the cannibalistic serial killer dr. Hannibal Lecter and Hugh Dancy plays special agent Will Graham and criminal profiler who hunts serial killers on the loose.

Hannibal's starting date was just moved up in America by the NBC network after the dismal failure of the new drama Do No Harm; Hannibal will replace Do No Harm in its timeslot and start in America on Thursday 4 April.

That means that South African viewers will be seeing Hannibal only 3 episodes behind America.

Hannibal for Sony Entertainment Television follows series such as The Firm and the upcoming Saving Hope starting on 4 March on South Africa on SET are all NBC shown drama series which have involvement from Sony through Sony Pictures and Sony Television.

BREAKING. David Letterman dumped from Sony Entertainment Television as licensing rights to the late night talker not renewed.

You're reading it here first. 

David Letterman just got dumped - to South African viewers who are wondering what happened to the The Late Show with David Letterman on Sony Entertainment Television (DStv 127), I can reveal that the late night talk show won't be back and has been pulled from the line-up by the channel which will not be showing it anymore.

Sony Entertainment Television introduced The Late Show with David Letterman to South African TV audiences on DStv with great fanfare, and was the first American TV talk show to have its broadcasting date of episodes moved up dramatically.

The show was the first America talk show to have weekday episodes broadcast in South Africa just a week behind transmission dates in America. Earlier in the year South Africans tuned to The Late Show with David Letterman to watch the South African group Die Antwoord perform on his show recorded in the Ed Sullivan theatre in New York.

Shocked viewers asked me what has happened to David Letterman in South Africa and why the show disappeared from the SET schedule apparently without warning. It's because the channel will no longer continue with the distribution contract.

"The Late Show with David Letterman will no longer be airing on Sony Entertainment Television on DStv channel 127 as from 30 December," Sonja Underwood, territory director for Africa channels at Sony Pictures Television tells me in response to a media enquiry.

"Sony Entertainment Television is not renewing the licence for the show," says Sonja Underwood. No reason has been given.

BREAKING. Sony Entertainment Television will show The Firm in South Africa from 19 February 2012 as the drama kicks off globally.

Sony Entertainment Television (DStv 113) just confirmed that the TV channel will have the new TV drama The Firm, based on the John Grisham novel, for South Africa in 2012.

Sony Pictures Television (SPT) says in a statement that The Firm will start on 19 February worldwide - following the sudden global trend of Fox International Channels (FIC) and BBC Worldwide Channels to bring TV shows to viewers around the globe much sooner and within days of their American broadcasting date.

The Firm ''marks the first time the channels will launch a premiere event day and date across their footprint in every international region,'' says SPT.

''The Firm is a brand-defining show for our channels and this launch marks a key milestone in our strategy to produce more tent pole original series for our global portfolio,'' says Marie Jacobson, the executive vice president for programming and production, networks at SPT. ''With a great stable of partners, an unrivaled cast and a killer creative team, we are beyond excited to bring an entirely new chapter of The Firm to our audiences around the globe.''

Lukas Reiter and John Grisham are the executive producers with The Firm produced by eOne Television in association with SPT Networks and Paramount Pictures. The Firm that was also made into a 1993 movie with Tom Cruise, has a first season order of 22 episodes and is filmed on location in Canada.

WATCH WORTHY. Amazing Race is back. With a marathon sprint.

You're reading it here first. The reality show The Amazing Race is back in October on Sony Entertainment Television (SET) (DStv 113).

The 14th season will start on 11 October at 19:45.

Some of the teams who will be racing around the world this time include Harvard lawyer graduates who are brother and sister, a Hollywood writer and his gay dad, stuntmen brothers, the first ever deaf contestant and his mother and - gotta have them - a pair of former cheerleaders.

There will also be a catch-up Amazing Race marathon weekend.

The 12th season will start as a marathon broadcast on Saturday, 3 October at 11:15.

The 13th season will start on Sunday, 4 October at 11:15.