Fox Networks Group Africa's new deal with 20th Century Fox Television Distribution brings shows like The Gifted, The Resident and Ghosted to South African viewers - although with a big gap.

FOX Networks Group Africa (FNG Africa) and 20th Century Fox Television Distribution signed a new contract for exclusive TV series as well as regional premieres to broadcast on FOX (DStv 125 / StarSat 131 / Cell C black 201) in South Africa and Africa.

FNG Africa was asked for the period of the deal but Fox Networks Group Africa told TVwithThinus it's confidential - although deal duration is usually announced in these types of agreements and the value is kept under wraps.

"The timing of the conclusion of this deal could not have been more perfect, having just launched the second season of Lee Daniels’ Star on the FOX schedule on Thursday nights," says Tracey Gilchrist, FOX Africa programming director.

"Empire season 4 Part B returns in March, filling the schedule with absolutely the best in class from 20th Century Fox Television content and we are thrilled to be able to bring to our fans this variety of content to ensure there’s something for every taste on the schedule and a thrilling start to 2018."

New shows that will be rolled out on FOX include The Gifted, Ghosted and The Resident, although FNG Africa is quite far behind America with all of these shows.

The Gifted that started in October 2017 already finished its entire 13-episode first season on FOX in America.  A year ago in February 2017, FOX Africa announced that FOX will have The Gifted and that it would be a Express from the US title that never happened.

The Gifted, set in the X-Men universe, will now start on FOX on 23 April at 21:00. A family who has children with supernatural abilities, go on the run.

The new series Ghosted will also be on FOX as part of the new deal but this show too will be old.

Ghosted with Craig Robinson and Adam Scott already started on 1 October 2017 on FOX in America and will start on 14 April 2018 at 20:25 on FOX in South Africa and Africa - half a year later.

Ghosted is a single-camera comedy and revolves around a cynical skeptic and a genius “true believer” in the paranormal who are recruited by a secret government agency, known as The Bureau Underground, to save the human race from aliens.

The 3rd new series won't have such a big lag between episodes shown in America and in South Africa.

The Resident is a new medical drama series that started on 21 January on FOX in America and will start 2 months later in South Africa on 27 March  at 21:00 on FOX. Matt Czuchry (The Good Wife), Emily VanCamp (Revenge), Shaunette Renée Wilson (Billions), Melina Kanakaredes (CSI: NY) and Merrin Dungey (Big Little Lies) are some of the stars in this series following doctors' drama.

The animation shows Family Guy and American Dad are part of the 20th Century Fox Television Distribution deal and FOX will now play these two shows out starting with The Simpsons, stripped daily, from 18:00.

What FNG Africa is doing very well currently is showing episodes of the very good drama series The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story on FOX, within 24-hours after the US premiere on Fridays at 03:00, and available for DStv subscribers an hour after broadcast on DStv Catch-Up.

The latest and final season of The X-Files, is also on FOX.

No conspiracy! Scully is done with The X-Files on FOX as actress Giliian Anderson says she won't be returning to the drama series after the new 11th season.

It's not a dark conspiracy: Scully is done with The X-Files, with actress Gillian Anderson absolutely adamant that she is leaving the revived drama series and her iconic character of Dana Scully.

In an interview with America's TV Guide magazine, Gillian Anderson says she is resolute that she is done with The X-Files: "I’ve said from the beginning this is it for me. I was a bit surprised by people’s reaction to my announcement because my understanding was that this was a single season".

In October 2017 at New York Comic Con to audible gasps, she first revealed that she will not be returning to The X-Files if there were to be a 12th season.

Series creator Chris Carter isn't sure if there will be a 12th season for The X-Files, but told TV Guide "there are a lot more X-Files stories to tell. Whether we get to tell them is a question mark. The truth is out there".

The 11th season started in America on FOX on Wednesday night after the 10th season of the revived series that started in 2016.

The latest season of The X-Files will debut in South Africa and Africa on FOX (DStv 125 / StarSat 131 / Cell C black 201) on Saturday 20 January at 19:40 and will consist out of 10 episodes.

The new season continues on from the story of the previous season finale and dealing with the mystery and the search for FBI agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Scully's son, William.

Also back are the mysterious villain, the Cigarette Smoking Man, Robbie Amell and Lauren Ambrose as the "next generation" FBI agents Kyd Miller and Liz Einstein, and Mitch Pileggi as FBI assistant director Walter Skinner.

The truth is STILL out there: The new 6-episode The X-Files mini-series to start on FOX on DStv and StarSat on 25 January at the same time as in America.

The truth is still out there and on Monday morning 25 January at 08:15 South African viewers and the rest of Africa will be able to watch the first episode of the new The X-Files on FOX (DStv 125 / StarSat 131) at exactly the same time as viewers in the United States.

The new 6-part The X-Files mini-series is back with David Duchovny as Fox Mulder and Gillian Anderson as Dana Scully once again investigating paranormal phenomena, Mitch Pileggi as FBI assistant director Walter Skinner who is their boss - even William B. Davis who reprises his role as the enigmatic and mysterious "Cigarette Smoking Man".

Chris Carter the original creator, is also back as the executive producer with The X-Files that was once again filmed in Vancouver, Canada.

"They police us, they spy on us; tell us that makes us safer. We've never been in more danger," says an older yet still as hotheaded Mulder in the first episode.

The X-Files as an "event series" will be shown on FOX in South Africa and 60 other countries around the world as an express title.

Produced by 20th Century Fox Television and Ten Thirteen Productions and distributed by 20th Century Fox Television Distribution, the new The X-Files will roll out in South Africa as part of the ongoing effort by Fox International Channels - now called Fox Networks Group - to broadcast episodes of buzz worthy new series very close to the American airdate.

The first episode of The X-Files will be simulcast on 25 January at 08:15 and then shown later Monday evening at 20:30 on FOX.

The second episode of The X-Files will be simulcast on the next day, Tuesday 26 January at 06:15, and then broadcast at 20:30 on FOX.

After that, the rest of the remaining 4 episodes of the 6-episode The X-Files series will all be simulcast every Tuesday, one per week, at 06:15, and then on Tuesday nights at 20:30.

The new The X-Files will kick off, continuing the ongoing mythology and conspiracy theories the drama series was known for, that the American government is covering up the existence of aliens.

 Mulder and Scully once again team up to try and unravel the new yet old mystery.

Today's interesting TV stories to read from TV with Thinus - 28 March 2015.

The new The Walking Dead spin-off will be called Fear The Walking Dead.
Fear The Walking Dead will be seen in South Africa and Africa on MultiChoice's DStv and on On Digital  Media's (ODM) StarSat on the AMC channel who will have the spin-off zombie drama.

Top Gear producer will not press charges against Jeremy Clarkson.
Oisin Tymon will not make a case against the fired presenter of Top Gear on BBC Entertainment (DStv 120) after the violent attack which saw the BBC sack Jeremy Clarkson.

Does the SABC fall under the Companies Act?
The SABC as a public broadcaster falls under the Broadcasting Act. Yet the minister of communications Faith Muthambi says the SABC falls under the Companies Act which is used as the excuse for her and the SABC board to purge and get rid of SABC board members at will.

The Nigeria Broadcasting Commission (NBC) to intervene over DStv price hikes.
As anger continues over MultiChoice's increase from April for DStv subscriptions, the NBC says it had received several complaints DStv subscribers in Nigeria.

David Duchovny is nervous about the return of The X-Files.
Says "I'm amazed that there's still an appetite for it and I'm touched".


Fired SABC board member Rachel Kalidass says its unlawful.
After Rachel Kalidass and Ronnie Lubisi were both dumped from the SABC board on Thursday, Rachel Kalidass says "the removals are motivated by malice and it is a purge" and that the Companies Act is wrongly used to get rid of SABC board members.
The unstable SABC board has now lost 6 members since the middle of 2014.


Disney Junior (DStv 30X) is making Fancy Nancy a TV show.
The children's book seeries about a girl who always dresses up is becoming a TV series.

Masi Oka will be back for Heroes: Reborn.
The Hawaii Five-0 star will be back in the miniseries reboot of Heroes.

Downton Abbey's Julian Fellowes talks The Gilded Age.
After the announcement that Downton Abbey is done after 6 seasons, the creator and writer says the new period drama for American television is "looming large in my future".

New season of Sherlock "frightening".
The 4th season of the British Sherlock on BBC Entertainment (DStv 120) is "frightening, tough" and filled "with emotional upheaval".

The upcoming Killing Jesus on National Geographic Channel is shallow.
The Boston Globe says Killing Jesus which will be shown in South Africa on National Geographic Channel (DStv 181) on Sunday 5 April at 19:10 is "lackluster" and is "terribly overbaked".

Empire is the first black TV drama that isn't being "ghettoized".
The hit drama on FOX's (DStv 125 / StarSat 131) idea's about race "operate at a higher idea of difficulty".

BREAKING. The X-Files back on TV after 13 years with David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson as Mulder and Scully for limited 6 episode series.

Thirteen years (that's the first conspiracy right there) after The X-Files ended on television, the truth is still out there: The X-Files will return to TV this year as a limited series of 6 episodes with stars David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson, as well as series creator and executive producer Chris Carter, who also is returning.

FOX Television Group announced that The X-Files will return to television, 13 years after the drama series about FBI agents involved in paranormal investigations and conspiracy theories which lasted 9 years, ended its run.

Besides 20th Century Fox TV and Ten Thirteen Productions returning to the show, its also a reunion for FOX Television Group chairmen and CEO's Dana Walden and Gary Newman who were both with 20th Century Fox Television when The X-Files originally started.

"I think of it as a 13-year commercial break," says The X-Files series creator and executive producer Chris Carter, in a statement.

"The good news is the world has only gotten that much stranger, a perfect time to tell these six stories."

"We had the privilege of working with Chris on all nine seasons of The X-Files - one of the most rewarding, creative experiences of our careers - and we couldn't be more excited to explore that incredible world with him again," says Dana Walden and Gary Newman in the statement.

"The X-Files was not only a seminal show for both the studio and the network, it was a worldwide phenomenon that shaped pop culture - yet remained a true gem for the legions of fans who embraced it from the beginning."

"Few shows on television have drawn such dedicated fans as The X-Files, and we're ecstatic to give them the next thrilling chapter of Mulder and Scully they've been waiting for."

During its original broadcast run in South Africa The X-Files which started in 1993, was one of the few American TV shows the SABC had exclusively on the public broadcaster and which wasn't on pay-TV.

All nine seasons were shown first on TV1 which later changed to SABC2, with The X-Files which became the number one most watched show on TV1 in 1995, and the second most popular TV show on SABC2 in 1997.

It will be interesting to see whether the revived The X-Files - still popular in reruns - is shown on M-Net (DStv 101) on MultiChoice's DStv in South Africa, or whether it will also be going to FOX (DStv 125 / StarSat 131).

FOX recently scooped the year's biggest new TV show and high-buzz Empire, as well as Wayward Pines, Backstrom, Legends and others in a new 20th Century FOX TV studio output deal.