The Flash to end its run with a shortened season 9 of 13 episodes.

by Thinus Ferreira

The Flash has run out of time on television with the series starring Grant Gustin as Barry Allen, the DC Comics superhero defending Central City, which will end with a shortened ninth season of 13 episodes.

The Flash, seen in South Africa on M-Net (DStv 101) and Netflix SA as a spinoff from Arrow, announced its cancellation on Monday night, when executive producer Eric Wallance in a statement said "Nine seasons! Nine years of saving Central City while taking audiences on an emotional journey full of heart, humour and spectacle. And now Barry Allen has reached the starting gate for his last race".

"So many amazing people have given their talents, time and love to bring this wonderful show to life each week. So, as we get ready to honour the show's incredible legacy with our exciting final chapter, I want to say thank you to our phenomenal cast, writers, producers and crew over the years who helped make The Flash such an unforgettable experience for audiences around the world."

South African actors like Kim Engelbrecht and Neil Sandilands have had roles in the series over the past eight years.

Production on the final season of The Flash produced by Warner Bros. TV and Greg Berlanti Productions and filmed in Canada will start in September.

Racist Hartley Sawyer of The Flash seen on M-Net City fired over his disgusting and shocking series of racist, homophobic and misogynistic tweets.

by Thinus Ferreira

Actor Hartley Sawyer has been fired by Warner Bros Television and Berlanti Productions and won't be back on the superhero series The Flash seen on M-Net City (DStv 115) after a barrage of shocking and disgusting messages from him surfaced on social media, ranging from racist to homophobic and misogynistic tweets, including about sexual assault.

Hartley Sawyer appeared as the character of Ralph Dibny/Elongated Man on The Flash since the 4th season in 2017 and was upped to regular cast member status in 2018 but he has now been fired by Warner Bros. TV, Berlanti Productions and the CW TV network in the United States.

"In regards to Hartley Sawyer's posts on social media, we do not tolerate derogatory remarks that target any race, ethnicity, national origin, gender, or sexual orientation," says Warner Bros TV, Berlanti Productions and The Flash showrunner Eric Wallace in a statement.

"Such remarks are antithetical to our values and policies, which strive and evolve to promote a safe, inclusive and productive environment for our workforce."

In a separate statement Eric Wallance, on Twitter, said that  "Concerning Hartley Sawyer's social media tweets, they broke my heart and made me mad as hell. And they're indicative of the larger problem in our country".

"I am committed to bringing permanent change to the work environment here on The Flash. I will continue to find black and brown writers, directors, actors and producers of all genders to help tell The Flash stories. Their stories are part of the American narrative, too, and must be heard."

"And the more you hear and see us, the more you will begin to recognize one simple fact: We're human beings, too."

Although Hartley Sawyer deactivated his Twitter account his disgusting, extremely offensive and disturbing public remarks surfaced from before he joined The Flash as shocking screenshots and circulated in public over the past two weeks.

In May 2011 he wrote that "all women should be in sex farms" and in February 2012 that "If I had a wife I would beat the hell out of her tonight LOL".

In June 2012 he tweeted that "The only thing stopping me from doing mildly racist tweets is the knowledge that Al Sharpton would never stop complaining about me".

In December 2012 he wrote that "one of my favourite activities was kidnapping homeless women and cutting off their breasts" and later that same month "Outside of the 7-11 where I assaulted my ex-girlfriend".

Others include "the biggest lie the devil ever pulled was convincing me he didn't have genital warts before he sexed me" and "Date rape myself so I don't have to masturbate".

In February 2014 he wrote "Enjoyed a secret boob viewing at an audition today" and in April 2014 that his "whore dog hasn't joined me in bed yet" and that "I think I could work at a tit factory and be pretty happy

 and in November 2014 that he is "Out at dinner and just exposed myself as a racist, AGAIN".

Later that month he said "Jingle bells, batman smells, women shouldn’t vote".

On Instagram the self-proclaimed racist offered up an apology, writing that "I’m not here to make excuses - regardless of the intention, my words matter and they carry profound consequences".

"And mine can and have caused pain and embarrassment, along with feelings I can only imagine, to supporters and fans, my castmates, the crew, my colleagues and friends. I owe them all an apology. And I owe each of you an apology. Thank you for holding me accountable."

"I want to be very clear: this is not reflective of what I think or who I am now."

"Years ago, thanks to friends and experiences who helped me to open my eyes, I began my journey into becoming a more responsible adult – in terms of what I say, what I do, and beyond. I’ve largely kept that journey private, and this is another way that I have let so many down. I still have more work to do."

View this post on Instagram

My words, irrelevant of being meant with an intent of humor, were hurtful, and unacceptable. I am ashamed I was capable of these really horrible attempts to get attention at that time. I regret them deeply. This was not acceptable behavior. These were words I threw out at the time with no thought or recognition of the harm my words could do, and now have done today. I am incredibly sorry, ashamed and disappointed in myself for my ignorance back then. I want to be very clear: this is not reflective of what I think or who I am now. Years ago, thanks to friends and experiences who helped me to open my eyes, I began my journey into becoming a more responsible adult - in terms of what I say, what I do, and beyond. I've largely kept that journey private, and this is another way that I have let so many down. I still have more work to do. But how I define myself now does not take away the impact of my words, or my responsibility for them. I am very sorry.

A post shared by Hartley Sawyer (@hartleysawyer) on May 30, 2020 at 11:59am PDT

RENEWED. New seasons for Arrow, Dynasty, Supernatural, Supergirl, Riverdale, Legends of Tomorrow, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, The Flash, Jane the Virgin and Black Lightning.

Several American TV series just got renewed for further seasons, meaning more superhero action and some Cristal for Cristal in Dynasty.

America's CW network has renewed Arrow for a 7th season, The Flash for a 5th season, Legends of Tomorrow for a 4th season, Supergirl for a 4th season, Jane the Virgin for a 5th season and Riverdale for a 3rd season that are all shows seen in South Africa and across Africa on M-Net (DStv 101) on MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV platform.

The new Black Lightning superhero show that just started has also been renewed for a second season, while Crazy Ex-Girlfriend on VUZU (DStv 116) has been renewed for a 4th and likely final season.

The spooky series Supernatural broadcast on SABC3 and that will likely see it's M-Net broadcast moved to 1Magic (DStv 103), has been renewed for a 14th season.

The reboot of Dynasty available on Netflix South Africa as episodes are broadcast on a weekly basis in America, has been renewed for a second season despite low ratings - very likely because of the lucrative international broadcasting rights deal with Netflix.

"We are proud to have such a deep bench of great returning series for 2018-19," says Mark Pedowitz, the CW president in a statement. "By picking these 10 series up for next season, we have a terrific selection of programming to choose from. And I'm especially happy that we'll continue to work with the incredibly talented casts, producers and writers who create the series our fans are so passionate about."

Valor, also from the CW, and also seen on M-Net has had terrible ratings and is very likely cancelled after its first season of 13 episodes.

INTERVIEW. Kim Engelbrecht on her new role in The Flash reveals: 'The Mechanic does have a South African background' - and is a woman.

The South African actress Kim Engelbrecht is making her appearance as The Mechanic in the new upcoming 4th season of The Flash shown on M-Net (DStv 101) and speaking to TVwithThinus she revealed that the male comic book character is definitely turning female and that she likes learning the technobabble.

Kim Engelbrecht reveals that she won't be doing an American accent since The Mechanic (gasp!) has a South African background, and has advice for South Africans who have dreams of making it big in Hollywood, saying "It is possible. It's not an out of reach dream".


How is it to film and be part of this American superhero show? We last spoke on the set when you were filming the American science fiction series Dominion that was also on M-Net and filmed in Cape Town, and now you're in an American show filmed in Canada.
Kim: The Flash is already in its 4th season so it's already got a huge fan base. Not only is it a TV show, it is also a comic book, so I think the pressure is on.
It's a really big deal for me, it's a really big deal for me. It's really exciting, it's a really cool show to be part of.

How did getting the role come about?
Kim: My manager and I went to the United States a year ago to get get an American management team on my career and a lawyer and all of those things so you can get actually work abroad.
So it's been me auditioning for the last few months and doing tapes and sending them to America, and also going to America and seeing directors.
So for me this has been a process of just trying to find the right fit and then landing this job.

And then in terms of an American accent, you've got lots of experience with it, having dome Dominion but I suppose it takes constant practice. Did The Flash want something different?
Kim: I've worked with an American accent before, I can do it, it's something that I work on all the time. This character of The Mechanic does have a South African background. So the accent was not a problem.

Then speaking of the character, The Mechanic I think is actually a man. But I'm not sure. And there's very little backstory and history available.
Kim: I tried to do as much research on the character as possible. There's not a lot that I could find. I was not familiar with the character. I do however know The Thinker, and I'm familiar with villain villain Clifford Devoe. And only very recently, me doing an interview with another American company did they let me know that The Mechanic was a man.
So to me its surreal, it's actually kudos to the writing team that sees this as a female role. I'm up for the challenge and I really excited for The Mechanic to be a female.

Is your character good or bad, or is she - I get the sense that it's going to be a case of she follows and helps a bad guy but from a point of believing what she is doing is right. What motivates The Mechanic?
Kim: That is actually exactly what it is. I think there's a theme that carries through all of the seasons of The Flash where it's always good versus evil. This is very much not different. So The Thinker is this 4th season's "big bad", he is the villain of the show.
And she's his first lieutenant, she's his loyal ally; whatever he thinks up, she builds. And she will do anything to keep him happy. She tries everything to make what he thinks up a reality.
I think there's a constant line where people do bad things, and bad people think that what they're doing is good.

Is there a lot of technobabble for you in The Flash as a creator of things?
Kim: There is. She's a highly intelligent engineer. But not only does she plan and design things as engineers do, she's also a technician,so she maintains and fixes and also builds.
I'm slowly getting the hang of it, or finally it's really interesting, actually. It's a whole different realm that I've never explored before and I'm now learning about. Physics terms I've never heard before and I find it interesting.

And in terms of getting the script, how is that different from other shows you've been in? Do you get more time, or is it less time, or is it more difficult to learn and memorise?
Kim: It's like I've said it's not a field that I'm very familiar with engineery speak but I think what helps me is I'm very interested in the character, I'm very interested in that "world", I'm very interested in the relationship stuff.
I do a lot for research. Whatever terms I don't understand I google and I try and familiarise myself with it. It's a bit of a challenge and a bit of an engineering lesson for me. In terms of the lines ... it's my job to learn lines, so I enjoy that.

And my last question is what advice do you have for South African actors who also maybe have dreams of making it big in Hollywood. It's obviously takes a lot of hard work and perseverance and a lot of hurdles and strategic career planning.
Kim: It's very simple. It is possible. It is possible. It's not an out of reach dream. It's not.
More and more the world is not only casting South Africans but making shows and movies in South Africa, which gave me an opportunity to try my hand at this. Also get a good support structure.
Get an agent on board; a manager that has the same vision as you. It's possible is what I can say. You can do it.

■ The 4th season of The Flash starts in America on the CW network on 10 October.
M-Net (DStv 101) says it will start showing the 4th season of The Flash from January 2018 in South Africa and Africa because it's moving away from showing a lot of titles "Express from the US".
"To give our viewers the best, uninterrupted viewing experience, M-Net has decided not to broadcast some of the series Express from the US so as to avoid the series' numerous production breaks."

American science fiction series The Flash casts former South African soap stars Neil Sandilands and Kim Engelbrecht in roles for upcoming 4th season.

The American science fiction series, The Flash, seen in South Africa and across Africa on M-Net's VUZU AMP (DStv 103), has cast the former South African soap stars, Neil Sandilands and Kim Engelbrecht in key roles in its upcoming 4th season.

Neil Sandilands who appeared in SABC2's 7de Laan before moving to America will portray The Thinker, and Kim Engelbrecht who appeared in SABC3's Isidingo and appeared in the South African filmed American science fiction series, Dominion recently, will appear in The Flash as The Mechanic.

The casting was announced on Saturday at The Flash' Comic-Con panel of the series that is shown on America's CW channel.

Neil Sandilands will portray the DC Comics villain Clifford Devoe, known as The Thinker, a metahuman with a mega mind who starts a battle over the course of the 4th season with The Flash.

The premise pits the "fastest mind alive" against "the fastest man alive" as The Thinker tries to "fix" what he feels is wrong with humanity.

Kim Engelbrecht will portray The Thinker's helper, the DC Comics character, The Mechanic, who helps him as an intelligent engineer designing devices for The Thinker.

RENEWED: Arrow, The Flash, Supernatural, The 100, The Vampire Diaries, The Originals, Reign, Jane all renewed for further seasons.

Eight American TV shows have all been renewed for further seasons, including Arrow, The 100, Supernatural, The Vampire Diaries, The Originals, Reign and Jane the Virgin.

America's CW network announced the series' renewal at the annual Television Critics' Association gathering in Pasadena, Los Angeles.

Arrow has been renewed for a 4th season, The 100 for a 3rd season, The Flash for a 2nd season, Jane the Virgin for a 2nd season, Supernatural for an 11th season, Reign for a 3rd season, The Vampire Diaries for a 7th season and The Originals for a 3rd season.

The bulk of the shows are seen in South Africa on M-Net (DStv 101) and VUZU AMP, with earlier seasons The Vampire Diaries also shown on SABC2.

In a press statement released before the CW's TCA presentation, the CW says the shows are "smart, provocative, quality programming, targeting a savvy adult audience".

"By picking up these shows now, our executive producers can start planning next season's story lines".