Samsung TV Plus Adds a Trevor Noah FAST Channel but South Africans Can't See It

by Thinus Ferreira

Samsung TV Plus is adding a Trevor Noah channel to its FAST platform on Samsung Smart TVs but South Africans won't be able to access it since Samsung has so far failed to launch Samsung TV Plus in the country.

While Samsung Smart TVs come with Samsung TV Plus built-in as a FAST streaming service in comparable countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom, as well as Canada, Australia and New Zealand, consumers who buy a Samsung Smart TV in South Africa can't get Samsung TV Plus as an added service.

Meanwhile, Samsung South Africa is silent on when South Africa will get Samsung TV Plus, while LG Electronics runs its own LG Channels successfully in South Africa, and Hisense South Africa has VIDAA, TCL has TCL Channel, and even Xiaomi runs Ziaomi+ on their TV sets.

The new Trevor Noah channel on Samsung TV Plus carries more than 170 hours of Trevor Noah's comedy and podcast content, drawn from Trevor Noah's YouTube channel.

"Trevor Noah brings world-class comedy to Samsung TV Plus," says Chris Gregory, head of content development at Samsung TV Plus for the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region, noting that the addition "reflects the platform's strategy of bringing established creators to audiences on connected TVs".

Amazon Studios teaming up with Trevor Noah for LOL: Last One Laughing SA produced by Rapid Blue as the first Amazon South African Original series.

by Thinus Ferreira

Amazon Studios has roped in Trevor Noah for Amazon Prime Video's first South African Amazon Original series, with the comedian who will pit 10 comedians and entertainers against one another to see who wins R1 million for charity in LOL: Last One Laughing South Africa.

The first season of LOL: Last One Laughing SA will premiere on Amazon Prime Video in early 2024 with the video streaming service adapting its own LOL franchise for a South African version. 

Different versions already exist in more than 20 countries, including Nigeria which started production on the first season of LOL: Last One Laughing Nigeria last year with comedian Basketmouth as host.

LOL: Last One Laughing South Africa will be Amazon Studios' first South African Amazon Original series, greenlit as the streaming service continues to staff up its TV maker ranks in Cape Town with experienced executives who will eventually be responsible for commissioning an expanding slate of South African series and movies for a global audience.

Trevor Noah will record the six LOL: Last One Laughing episodes of 30 minutes each in South Africa, produced by South Africa's Rapid Blue which is well-versed in South African adaptations of format shows, in conjunction with his own Day Zero Productions.

The former host of The Daily Show on Paramount Global's Comedy Central has previously done stand-up specials for MultiChoice's Showmax streamer, as well as his Trevor Noah presents NationWild in 2018 for M-Net and Showmax in which he served as the host and showcased new upcoming South African comedians.

Trevor Noah has also done three comedy stand-up specials for Netflix so far: Son of Patricia, Afraid of the Dark and last year's I Wish I Would.

In LOL: Last One Laughing, Trevor Noah will pit 10 well-known South African comedians and entertainers against one another to see who can keep a straight face while simultaneously trying to make their opponents laugh. Anyone who laughs, loses. The grand prize is R1 million which will go to the first season winner's South African charity of choice.

"I'm excited to be back home to host Amazon Prime Video's first South African Original, LOL: Last One Laughing, and to have a chance to connect with my home audience," says Trevor Noah in a statement.

"I am equally delighted for the opportunity to be working alongside my fellow home-grown comedy stars on a show that not only entertains but gives back to the South African production and charity communities."

Ned Mitchell, Amazon Prime Video head of Africa and Middle East Originals, says "We are delighted to be announcing Trevor's momentous return home to South Africa as the host of Amazon Prime Video's first South African Original, LOL: Last One Laughing".

"Comedy, in all its forms, shines among South Africa's most valuable treasures. Together with an A-list roster of this country's incredible home-grown comedic talent competing for a great charitable cause, Trevor and Amazon Prime Video are demonstrating the depth of our shared ambition to invest and elevate the very best of South Africa for audiences locally and around the world."

CORONAVIRUS. The 64th Annual Grammy Awards for 2022 indefinitely postponed due to rapid spread of Covid-19 Omicron variant in America.

by Thinus Ferreira

America's Recording Academy has indefinitely postponed 2022's 64th Grammy Awards that was set for 21 January, due to the rapid spread of the Omicron variant of the Covid-19 coronavirus in the United States.

South Africa's Trevor Noah was set to be the host for a second time.

"After careful consideration and analysis with city and state officials, health and safety experts, the artist community and our many partners, the Recording Academy and CBS have postponed the 64th Annual Grammy Awards show," the Recording Academy says in a statement.

"The health and safety of those in our music community, the live audience, and the hundreds of people who work tirelessly to produce our show remains our top priority."

"Given the uncertainty surrounding the Omicron variant, holding the show on 31 January simply contains too many risks. We look forward to celebrating music's biggest night on a future date, which will be announced soon."

The 64th annual Grammy Awards is produced by Fulwell 73 Productions for the Recording Academy with Ben Winston, Jesse Collins and Raj Kapoor as executive producers and Jeannae Rouzan Clay as co-executive producer. 

Hamish Hamilton returns as director with Raj Kapoor serving as showrunner.

ViacomCBS unwraps its Paramount+ video streaming service: Here are the 44 biggest announcements from Frasier and HALO to Rugrats and Trevor Noah.

by Thinus Ferreira

As the last of Hollywood's big studio-distributors to launch a global video streaming service, ViacomCBS has taken the wrapping off its plans for Paramount+ but with no news of a launch date for South Africa.

Paramount+ will include a library catalogue of 30 000 hours of shows and 50 exclusive and original new series that will debut over the next two years - including a Frasier and Rugrats series revivals and HALO - with 36 of these that will launch in 2021.

In a virtual investors' presentation done from inside a studio on Los Angeles' iconic Paramount lot, adopting the same style and format that Disney for Disney+ and Discovery Inc. used for Discovery+ the past few months, ViacomCBS executives unveiled its new Paramount+  - and with it the glut of content it plans to place on it. 

"We know how to make hits. ViacomCBS has been and remains a consistent hitmaker, across genres, across demographics, across formats and across platforms," said Bob Bakish, ViacomCBS president and CEO.

As with HBO Max, Disney+ and Star, Discovery+, as well as peacock, ViacomCBS didn't announce or say anything about a rollout date or timeframe for South Africa - Africa's most developed TV market.

Paramount+ will launch in the United States, Canada and Latin America on 4 March, the Nordics on 25 March and in Australia later in 2021.

ViacomCBS executives did however say that the plan is to aggressively launch Paramount+ globally and wants to have between 65 and 75 million global subscribers by 2024. 

That makes it highly likely that Paramount+ will eventually be made available in South Africa where it could also foreseeably be included as a tile on MultiChoice's latest DStv Explora Ultra decoder that already carries Netflix SA and Amazon Prime Video.

Paramount+ will cost $9.99 (R149.28), but a cheaper ad-supported version costing $4.99 (R74.56) will launch later this year. 

ViacomCBS said that Paramount+ will cost considerably less outside of America - very likely in order to aggressively compete with Netflix and Disney+ as the two top global subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) services.

"We're leveraging the massive global reach of ViacomCBS to distribute Paramount+. We have a deep history of relationships with multichannel video programming distributors (MVPDs) and telco partners in every major market around the world," the company said.

Nicole Clemens, the head of Paramount Television Studios, said that ViacomCBS is harnessing "Paramount's incredible library to create shows that come with a built-in fanbase for Paramount+. While we have no shortage of source material, we're being very selective and strategic in choosing what IP is best positioned for modern streaming consumers".

From a Grease prequel to a fatal attraction

Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies will be a TV series with both classic and new songs and a diverse cast as serve as a prequel to Grease. It will tell the story of how Frenchy's older sister Jane founded the Pink Ladies.

The film Flashdance is becoming a new drama series and will pick up from where the story left off but will be set in the present day. 

The film Love Story is also becoming a series from Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage who were responsible for Gossip Girl and The O.C.

Fans of The Italian Job and The Parallax View can also look forward to series based on these iconic films. 

Fatal Attraction is also being turned into a TV series for Paramount+, described as "a deep-dive reimagining of the psychosexual thriller" that starred Glenn Close and Michael Douglas. 

An intriguing series is The Offer as a fictional series, but based on real-life, detailing the mafia-filled drama behind the making of the film The Godfather. 

The Star Trek universe is expanding with Strange New Worlds with Anson Mount as Enterprise Captain Pike, while the kids animation series, Star Trek: Prodigy has abruptly moved from Nickelodeon to Paramount+. There will also be a second season of Star Trek: Picard.

The crime procedural Criminal Minds is also revived as a TV drama series and bringing the gang back together with the same showrunner, same breaking down of the criminal psyche and catching the bad guy. "Instead of a new case each week, it will be a single, fascinating case-story told over 10 episodes each season," said Nicole Clemens.

The Real Criminal Minds will be a "true crime" documentary series where a real FBI profiler analyses real cases and real criminal behaviour, illustrated by clips that viewers will remember from the series.

Paramount+ will also do a follow-up to the miniseries Waco as part of an anthology series entitled American Tragedy. Each season of American Tragedy will tackle difficult and complicated conspiracy-riddled moments in history.

The dramedy Younger is also moving to Paramount+ for its 7th and final season.

Paramount+ will also have 6666 (working title) as a spinoff from the Yellowstone drama series that will basically tell the story of how cattle ranches started and grew in America. 

"Founded when Comanches still ruled West Texas, no ranch in America is more steeped in the history of the West than the 6666."

"The 6666 is where the rule of law and the laws of nature merge in a place where the most dangerous thing one does is the next thing. The 6666 is synonymous with the merciless endeavour to raise the finest horses and livestock in the world, and ultimately where world-class cowboys are born and made".

Yellowstone is also getting a prequel series, Y: 1883. It will follow the Dutton family as they embark on a journey "west through the Great Plains toward the last bastion of untamed America. It is a stark retelling of Western expansion, and an intense study of one family fleeing poverty to seek a better future in America’s promised land — Montana".

Mayor of Kingstown will follow the McLusky family in Kingstown "where the business of incarceration is the only thriving industry. Tackling themes of systemic racism, corruption and inequality, the series provides a stark look at their attempt to bring order and justice to a town that has neither".

Land Man, also set in West Texas is described as "a modern-day tale of fortune-seeking in the world of oil rigs. The series is an upstairs/downstairs story of roughnecks and wildcat billionaires fueling a boom so big, it’s reshaping our climate, our economy and our geopolitics".

"I'm listening"

"One of the most successful comedy series of all time - Frasier - is coming back," Nicole Clemens said, exclusively to Paramount+.

" The new series will have everything you love about the original: Coziness, great writing, and of course a cast led by multi-Emmy winner, Kelsey Grammer. It's nostalgic and contemporary all at once."

In a statement released at the same time, Kelsey Grammer said "having spent over 20 years of my creative life on the Paramount lot both producing shows and performing in several, I'd like to congratulate Paramount+ on its streaming world entry. I gleefully anticipate sharing the next chapter in the continuing journey of Frasier Crane".

Master Chief on the move

In an eye-popping announcement ViacomCBS also announced that its science-fiction drama series HALO based on the hugely-popular video game that would have been on Showtime is abruptly shifting to Paramount+ as an exclusive where it will launch in early-2022.

While HALO if it remained on Showtime would likely have been acquired by M-Net (DStv 101) similar to shows like Billions, it now seems as if HALO is getting locked out from international distribution similar to Disney+ shows.

HALO, filmed in Budapest where Netflix's The Witcher also shot, stars Pablo Schreiber in the role of the iconic Master Chief and Natascha McElhone playing both Dr Catherine Halsey, the creator of the Spartans soldiers, and Cortana, the most advanced AI in human history who could save the human race.

HALO is clearly Paramount+'s answer to Disney+'s The Mandalorian.

"The upcoming HALO series will weave intimate personal stories with incredible action and a lavishly imagined vision of the future," said David Nevins, Showtime Networks CEO. 

"HALO has been in production in Hungary and I can tell you it's visually stunning, totally thrilling; and significantly it offers true 4-quadrant general audience appeal. We all believe that HALO is going to be a defining show for our super-service. We see this as another example of us marshalling the finest resources of the company in service of Paramount+".

From Dexter to Ray Donovan

Paramount+ is also doing a The Man Who Fell to Earth series that will star Chiwetel Ejiofor based on the iconic science-fiction novel and film. "It tells the story of a man who arrives on Earth and reveals more about human nature than humans ever could," said Nicole Clemens.

Guilty Party is a dark comedy with Kate Beckinsale as a journalist who gets in over her head when she tries to salvage her career by investigating the story of a young woman in jail for murdering her husband. 

BET's The Game is revived with a mix of original cast and new players. It will offer an examination of black culture through the prism of American pro-football. 

The famous fixer Ray Donovan is returning, this time in a feature-length movie to wrap up the TV series, and possibly setting up a movie franchise. 

Michael C Hall also made a brief appearance during the investors' presentation with the series Dexter that is being revived as a limited series about the serial killer. The revived Dexter will however stay on Showtime.

Tyler Perry is producing All The Queen's Men for the BET+ streaming service - a new drama series revolving around the female owner of a strip club in Atlanta and her group of male strippers.

Trevor Noah working daily - and now weekly

South Africa's Trevor Noah hosting The Daily Show on Comedy Central (DStv 122) is expanding his workload and appeared at the investors' presentation to announce that he is doing The Weekly Show With Trevor Noah - an initial 6 episodes that will be available on Paramount+ and that he will also be producing.

In The Weekly Show with Trevor Noah he will talk to people "behind the headlines".

Amy Schumer is returning to her original sketch comedy series and will be doing 5 Inside Amy Schumer TV specials for Paramount+. The comedy series Reno: 911! is revived with Reno: 911! The Hunt for QAnon based on the original series.

The MTV animation characters Beavis & Butt-head are coming to Paramount+ in a new and as-yet-untitled feature film, as will a film based on the Comedy Central series Workaholics.

The Nirvana drummer and Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl is making a non-scripted series for Paramount+ based on his mother's book with the 6-episode programme that will tell the stories of the special relationship between successful musicians and their mothers. 

Paramount+ will also roll out several new MTV Unplugged specials and is also reviving its music documentary series, Behind the Music.

Crazy kids

Meanwhile the original voice cast of the kids animation series Rugrats is returning for a revival series on Paramount+.

"Rugrats is one of the most iconic cartoons recognized by fans around the globe, and this original version is one we are taking great care and pride in creating for a brand-new audience," said Ramsey Naito, president of Nickelodeon Animation. 

ViacomCBS is creating Avatar Studios that will be entirely dedicated to creating content based on the animation series Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra. with new series and films that will be created telling these stories further.

Get ready for a Dora the Explorer live-action series based on the iconic character and aimed at an older kids audience aged 6 to 11, as well as an iCarly revival series in which the original cast members Miranda Cosgrove, Nathan Kress and Jerry Trainor join new friends for a look at their characters' present-day lives, adventures and comedic mishaps.

Kamp Koral: SpongeBob’s Under Years is the first-ever SpongeBob SquarePants spinoff series with the new series that will take viewers back to when the iconic characters of Bikini Bottom met for the very first time in a summer camp like no other.

The Fairly OddParents is a live-action revival of the long-running Nickelodeon animation series.

Reality

RuPaul’s Drag Race is getting a singing competition spinoff at Paramount+ entitled Queen of the Universe in which drag queens from all around the world will compete to see who sings the best.

The Real World reality series is also being revived with the original cast and will now be entitled The Real World Homecoming: New York as a "multi-episode docuseries".

The reality series Road Rules is also being revived in which strangers are dropped in a far-flung location, have to live in motorhomes and complete challenges as they drive from location to location.

The Challenge: All Stars will see former contestants of the reality series Real World and Road Rules return to compete again.

The tattoo reality series Ink Master that was cancelled last year is also being revived and will now continue on Paramount+, with the reality dating series Dating Naked that was cancelled in 2017 that is also being brought back for new episodes for the streaming service.

Coronavirus: Trevor Noah personally paying his Daily Show staffer salaries - report.

The South African comedian Trevor Noah is reportedly paying the salaries of 25 staffers of his The Daily Show who have been furloughed because of the Covid-19 shutdown of America's TV industry.

Variety reports that Trevor Noah is paying the monthly salaries of 25 members of The Daily Show on Comedy Central (DStv 122) out of his own money.

He reportedly told staffers that he will continue to personally pay their salaries until The Daily Show returns to normal production from its New York studio.

"These are the people who have been on the show with Trevor from day one and help him put on the show," a source told the trade publication, saying "Trevor is personally covering their salaries until the production business opens again. He respects his crew tremendously and feels it’s only right that they get thru this together."

This week the temporarily renamed The Daily Social Distancing Show was expanded from a half hour to a 45 minute show.

The Daily Show is broadcast in the United States from Mondays to Thursdays and seen a day later in South Africa and across sub-Saharan Africa from Tuesdays to Fridays at 22:30 on the African channel feed of ViacomCBS Networks Africa's Comedy Central (DStv 122).

It will be the first time in the 24-year history of The Daily Show that episodes will be longer says Comedy Central in a statement.

"The news of supersized Daily Show episodes comes at a moment in time when viewers are heading to host Trevor Noah not just for satire and escapism, but also for an honest point of view and as a source of trustworthy information."

This week is the 6th week of "The Daily Social Distancing Show" that Trevor Noah now anchors from his home without the help of a live audience or the New York-based studio. The show has seen linear TV ratings rise as well as digital gains over the last month.

Coronavirus: Trevor Noah upsizes The Daily Show on Comedy Central to 45 minute episodes.

by Thinus Ferreira

The South African comedian Trevor Noah is upsizing his late-night talk show done from his New York highrise with The Daily Show that will expand this week from a half-hour show to 45 minutes on Comedy Central.

With less original and new content on television because of the global Covid-19 pandemic that has had a massive negative impact on the South African and international TV and film industry, and coupled with the success of the renamed "The Daily Social Distancing Show", Comedy Central is expanding the show with an additional 15 minutes per episode.

The Daily Show is broadcast in the United States from Mondays to Thursdays and seen a day later in South Africa and across sub-Saharan Africa from Tuesdays to Fridays at 22:30 on the African channel feed of ViacomCBS Networks Africa's Comedy Central (DStv 122).

It will be the first time in the 24-year history of The Daily Show that episodes will be longer says Comedy Central in a statement.

"The news of supersized Daily Show episodes comes at a moment in time when viewers are heading to host Trevor Noah not just for satire and escapism, but also for an honest point of view and as a source of trustworthy information."

This week is the 6th week of "The Daily Social Distancing Show" that Trevor Noah now anchors from his home without the help of a live audience or the New York-based studio. The show has seen linear TV ratings rise as well as digital gains over the last month.

Coronavirus: Trevor Noah now doing The Daily Show with Social Distancing on Comedy Central from his New York highrise.

by Thinus Ferreira

Comedy Central and Trevor Noah have announced that he will now be doing The Daily Show with Social Distancing on the channel from today.

Episodes in South Africa run on Comedy Central (DStv 122) a day later, with the change in the show's title coming as the late-night show shuttered its New York studio and in-studio audience because of the growing Covid-19 novel coronavirus pandemic in the United States and globally and with Trevor Noah doing the show from home.

"Following the recent production shutdown of all late-night shows amid an escalating Covid-19 pandemic, Trevor and his team are successfully producing and distributing a version of Comedy Central’s late-night franchise remotely," says the channel.

"During this time, Trevor and all of his producers, writers, editors and directors are doing their part to flatten the curve by working from home."

"Over the course of the past week, fans have been treated to three different nightly instalments of The Daily Social Distancing Show through the show’s digital and social channels."

"Moving forward, the daily episodes will air on Comedy Central’s linear channel as well as on the series' social channels," says Comedy Central.

This past week Trevor Noah covered an Italian success story, the closing of the border between America and Canada, America’s governors taking matters into their own hands amid president Donald Trump’s misinformation and American spring breakers in Florida insisting on partying.

Meanwhile The Daily Show correspondents Roy Wood Jr. and Jaboukie Young-White have all checked in from their own living rooms while Trevor gave viewers an inside look as he prepped for self-quarantine, singing from his balcony and cleaning his home.

eNCA spreads completely 'fake news' as it wrongly reports that 'Trevor Noah might be out of his job'; TV news channel erroneously claims that The Daily Show on Comedy Central could be cancelled.

The South African TV news channel eNCA (DStv 403) on Saturday spread "fake news", erroneously and wrongly reporting as a breaking news "top story" that "Trevor Noah might be out of a job" and wrongly claiming that The Daily Show on Comedy Central (DStv 122) could be cancelled with its "future hanging in the balance".

None of it is true.

Sadly and shockingly, neither the clueless and incompetent weekend worker at eNCA who cobbled together the report from false facts without attribution to any actual original news sources, nor any information checkers, online editors or other gatekeepers at eNCA saw or bothered to check and first verify any of the false information before publishing it.

eNCA with a fake headline "Trevor Noah might be out of a job" that is devoid from all truth, reported wrongly to news consumers that "the future of Comedy Central's Daily Show hangs in the balance".

That is not true and neither is or will Trevor Noah be out of a job, nor does the future of The Daily Show "hang in the balance".

eNCA wrongly reported fake news, saying "This could mean the end of one of the most watched and beloved parody news shows" - again a completely false assumption since The Daily Show isn't and won't be ending.

eNCA wrongly reported that "authorities, AT&T-DIRECTTV plans to drop 22 channels".

Nothing like AT&T-DIRECTV exists.

DirecTV is an American satellite pay-TV service, "DirecTV" is its brand name, and is a subsidiary of AT&T (U-verse is another such similar service from AT&T).

DirecTV is also not an "authority" or "authorities" - it is a commercial pay-TV service, one of about 26 in America.

What is happening but that eNCA doesn't understand nor bothered to, is that DirecTV is in negotiations with Viacom at the moment, with Viacom that provides TV channels to all pay-TV providers in America and worldwide, like South Africa, for the continuation of its channels on DirecTV.

The suppliers of channels - like Viacom - sign what is called channel carriage agreements. This is a contract lasting for a specific period, for instance 5 years, with a pay-TV service that then pays the supplier an amount (usually a few cents per subscriber per month).

This contract for Comedy Central and a dozen other channels from Viacom delivered to DirecTV is now expiring. The two sides are busy negotiating a new possible contract.

If there isn't a new contract between Viacom and DirecTV, Viacom's Comedy Central will continue to exist,it just won't be available on DirecTV anymore.

Comedy Central will continue to be available to subscribers and viewers of more than 20 pay-TV services in America, as well as globally, as well as Comedy Central Africa carried and available in South Africa and Africa on MultiChoice's DStv and provided by Viacom International Media Networks Africa (VIMN Africa).

The same with The Daily Show and the same with Trevor Noah.

Just because it might no longer be on "the authorities" DirecTV, doesn't mean Comedy Central as a TV channel, The Daily Show or Trevor Noah is in any danger, has a "future in the balance" or "might be out of a job".

It is the same as if MultiChoice decided to drop e.tv as a channel from its line-up on DStv.

e.tv would still be available on the satellite TV services of StarSat and on Openview. The future of shows like Scandal! and Rhythm City wouldn't "hang in the balance", they would just not be on DStv anymore, they wouldn't be cancelled, and the soap stars in these shows won't be at risk of a "might be out of a job".

It's absolutely shocking that eNCA would produce and run fake trash like this.

eNCA ended up deleting its Tweet linking to its fake news reporting on Saturday afternoon after TVwithThinus noted the horrific fake news from eNCA.

Later eNCA did another Tweet after altering its fake news story and making the headline "Trevor Noah's Daily Show up in the air at AT&T" - still a clickbait headline and false news.

eNCA also altered and edited its original fake news report, without adding any editorial note that the article has been changed since it was first published and explaining why - something legitimate news sources do when changing and updating stories and correcting mistakes.

eNCA kept the mistake "AT&T-DIRECTV" but took out that it is "authorities", added that it could mean the end of the show for "AT&T-DIRECTV customers" at the end of a sentence and wholly deleted wrong sentences.

On Twitter readers criticised eNCA, saying it's "still a very misleading headline". "Noah's show is perfectly safe. One US TV provider out of many that is making (idle) threats because of a contract dispute. #clickbait".

Another said "This is not accurate. There are middle school papers with better editors".

Trevor Noah will be on the Oscars stage for the 91st Academy Awards, joining the already announced Charlize Theron as a presenter.

The South African comedian Trevor Noah will be on the Oscars stage very early Monday morning South African time for the 91st Academy Awards in Los Angeles, when he, together with a diverse group of other stars, will introduce the 8 Best Picture nominees.

Besides Trevor Noah, Charlize Theron has also already been announced earlier this month as one of the presenters for this year's Oscars ceremony that will be held at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.

Trevor Noah is the presenter of The Daily Show on Comedy Central (DStv 122).

The producers of the 91st Academy Awards on Wednesday night in a statement said that Trevor Noah, Barbara Streisand, Serena Williams, Dana Carvey, Queen Latifah, Diego Luna, Mike Myers and some others will introduce the 8 Best Picture nominees during the ceremony.

"Movies connect us all," said producer Donna Gigliotti and producer-director Glenn Weiss in a statement from the Academy.

"They move us, and they create moments and memories that unite us. We are thrilled to assemble this well-known array of film lovers to introduce and share their reflections on the Best Picture-nominated movies."

The Oscars will be televised live in more than 225 countries and territories worldwide.

The 91st Academy Awards will be broadcast on M-Net Movies Premiere (DStv 104) from 03:00 on Monday morning, 25 February, with a delayed broadcast later on the same day on M-Net (DStv 101) at 21:00.

Trevor Noah lost his voice after hosting the Mandela 100: Global Citizen Festival - and this is how he now does The Daily Show on Comedy Central from tonight.

Someone should check on Bonang Matheba because her co-host Trevor Noah has now lost his voice after Sunday’s Mandela 100 Global Citizen Festival 2018 and this is how he had to do his latest edition of The Daily Show on Comedy Central (DStv 122) that South African and African viewers will see tonight – using the show's correspondents and a type of sign language.

After pre-recording this week's first episode of The Daily Show in South Africa broadcast last night and interviewing his grandmother during his visit to co-host the Global Citizen Festival where Beyonce and Jay Z performed, Trevor Noah flew back to Comedy Central's New York studio but lost his voice.

Instead of broadcasting a rerun, Trevor Noah – without voice due to vocal cord damage from all of Sunday’s talking and flying for 36 hours – decided to call up the army in the form of the show’s various correspondents to do the talking. 

This episode with Trevor Noah doing literally pointed commentary through his version of sign language, will be broadcast on Comedy Central tonight.

On Twitter Trevor Noah explained what happened: "As you'll know, when you watch The Daily Show tonight, I don't have a voice right now. I thought that my vocal cords were healed but according to the doctor, flying 36 hours and hosting a giant concert in South Africa didn't help me."

"So now if I want to get better I have to take it seriously so that I can perform at 100% on my new tour next year."

"I hate cancelling shows but I also hate the idea of losing my voice forever so I'm postponing all this year's stand-up shows. I'm gonna be like The Rock but in a voice gym."

pic.twitter.com/U75lArqw8w

— Trevor Noah (@Trevornoah) December 5, 2018

Trevor Noah doing The Daily Show from South Africa for a special Tuesday night episode on Comedy Central, entitled Trevor Noah: Self-Deportation Edition.

The comedian Trevor Noah is doing a special episode of The Daily Show from South Africa that will be broadcast on Comedy Central (DStv 122) worldwide on Tuesday night at 22:00, entitled The Daily Show with Trevor Noah: Self-Deportation Edition.

Trevor Noah that visited Johannesburg over the weekend to host Sunday's Mandela 100: Global Citizen Festival 2018 at the FNB Stadium in Soweto decided to do an episode from South Africa instead of taking leave.

Last month before America's so-called "midterm" elections he took the show, usually recorded in its studio in New York, on the road to record four "undesked" shows in front on a studio audience in Miami where he also got the keys to the city from Miami's mayor.

In Tuesday's "self-deportation edition", the first new episode of the week with The Daily Show going out on Comedy Central Tuesdays to Fridays, Trevor Noah will show the world a bit about his life before The Daily Show and give viewers a look at his hometown of Johannesburg.

In the episode he will also visit some of his old haunts, and will explore Nelson Mandela's legacy on South Africa, after which he will head back to New York to resume doing The Daily Show from there.

Trevor Noah back to South Africa to start recording the first episodes of his M-Net stand-up series now retitled as Trevor Noah's Nation Wild.

The South African stand-up comedian and host of The Daily Show on Comedy Central (DStv 122), Trevor Noah, is heading back to South Africa to record the first episodes of his new stand-up comedy series for M-Net (DStv 101) that has now been retitled from Trevor Noah Presents to Trevor Noah's Nation Wild.

Trevor Noah's Nation Wild is kicking off with its first recordings on 4 and 5 April at the Lyric Theatre at Gold Reef City in Johannesburg.

"I am surprising my hometown Joburg with a special TV taping with some of the funniest young comedians in all of SA," said Trevor Noah on his Facebook page.

"Nation Wild will bring all these young comedians to M-Net later this year. Get to see these all these talented comedians; So proud to announce this lineup!"

Trevor Noah said that up-and-coming comedians who will appear include Bongani Dube, Eric Jansen, Gavin Kelly, Gilli Apter, Keenan Cerff, Lindy Johnson, Mbu Msongelwa, Mo Mothebe, Noko Moswete, Phil De Lange, Tsitsi Chiumya and Prins.

CNN wins the most awards in American president Donald Trump's Fakies.

The American president Donald Trump finally announced his inaugural “The Most Dishonest & Corrupt Media Awards of the Year” with TV news channel CNN (DStv 401) winning the most "categories" and with mentions also going to The New York Times, ABC News and The Washington Post.

The Fox News channel, Breitbart and Drudge got shut out and won no mentions at the "awards" that was quickly nicknamed the "Fakies".

The American GOP political party's website crashed on Thursday where the list was published while Donald Trump failed to have a ceremony or hand out actual awards.

Donald Trump originally announced that his 2017 Fake News Awards would be taking place after the Golden Globe Awards.

The American late night host Stephen Colbert immediately started a "For Your Consideration" campaign like what producers and studios do for the Emmys, Globes and Oscars, and created and rented a massive Times Square billboard in New York for his The Late Show, promoting the show to win in categories like “Fakest Dishonesty,” “Smallest Button” and “Least Breitbarty”.

He had competition.

The South African comedian Trevor Noah of The Daily Show on Comedy Central (DStv 122) responded by taking out a full-page ad in The New York Times and canvassing for The Daily Show as "most deserving" of a Fakie.

Then Donald Trump inexplicably postponed his Fakies to Wednesday, January 17. He explained that his fake news awards were moved since “interest in, and importance of, these awards is far greater than anyone could have anticipated!”

Wednesday also came and went and finally on Thursday a list was published. It had no categories and was just a badly done 11-point list:


1. The New York Times' Paul Krugman for claiming on the day of Donald Trump's election victory that the economy would never recover.

2. Brian Ross who was suspended and demoted by ABC News after inaccurately reporting that the ousted National Security Adviser Michael Flynn was going to testify that Donald Trump, while still a candidate, ordered Flynn to make contact with Russians.

3. CNN wrongly reporting that candidate Donald Trump and his son Donald Trump Jr. had access to hacked documents from WikiLeaks.

4. TIME magazine reporting that Donald Trump had removed the bust of Martin Luther King Jr. from the Oval office in the White House.

5.The Washington Post reporter Dave Weigel's photo of a Donald Trump rally suggesting low turnout.

6. CNN video showing Donald Trump overfeeding fish while visiting the Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe.

7. CNN wrongly reporting that Donald Trump's aide Anthony Scaramucci met with the chief executive at a Russian investment fund.

8. Newsweek reporting that the Polish first lady Agata Kornhauser-Duda declined to shake Donald Trump’s hand.

9. CNN reporting that the former FBI director James Comey would dispute Donald Trump’s claim of being told he’s not under investigation.

10. The New York Times article on Donald Trump's administration's climate report.

11. "And last, but not least: "RUSSIA COLLUSION!" Russian collusion is perhaps the greatest hoax perpetrated on the American people. THERE IS NO COLLUSION," says Donald Trump.


No laughing matter
In reality "awards" trashing the press are no laughing matter - a record number of journalists were jailed or killed worldwide in 2017, while journalists continue to be censored, abused, arrested, jailed and killed for their reporting around the globe.

The number of journalists globally in prison is at a record high.

In response to Donald Trump's "Fakies", The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) announced their own CPJ Global Press Oppressors Awards.

The Global Press Oppressors Awards recognise world leaders who have gone out of their way to attack the press and undermine the norms that support freedom of the media.

They are:

1. Most think-skinned: Turkey's president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Runner-up: American president Donald Trump.

2.Most outrageous use of terror laws against the press: Turkey's president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Runner-up: Egypt president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.

3. Tighest grip on media: China's president Xi Jinping.
Runner-up: Russia's president Vladimir Putin.

4. Biggest backslider in press freedom: Myanmar de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
Runner-up: Polish president Andrzej Duda.

5. Overall Achievement in Undermining Global Press Freedom: American president Donald Trump.

South African comedian Loyiso Madinga joins The Daily Show with Trevor Noah to do replacement segments for the Africa broadcast of episodes of The Daily Show.

The South African comedian Loyiso Madinga is joining The Daily Show with Trevor Noah to do replacement segments for the Africa broadcast of episodes on Comedy Central (DStv 122).

Viacom International Media Networks Africa (VIMN Africa) says the replacement inserts instead of the full American episode of The Daily Show will be broadcast intermittently on Comedy Central.

The first replacement piece, a field report from the African National Congress's (ANC) recent elective conference will be broadcast in The Daily Show episode of Thursday night on Comedy Central at 21:30.

The locally produced Africa segment done by Diprente was directed by Kagiso Lediga with Tamsin Andersson as producer.

The writers are Kagiso Lediga, Karabo Lediga, Christopher Steenkamp, Muzi Dlamini, Mpheng Morobe, Camilo Saloojee, Lazola Gola and Simi Mngomeni.

The relatively unknown stand-up comedian Loyiso Madinga has shared the comedy stage with Tom Segura and David Kau and has appeared in satirical TV shows like eNCA's cancelled Late Night News with Loyiso Gola and The Bantu Hour on SABC2.

Trevor Noah says "as wild as Donald Trump is for America, many countries around the world have Trumps of their own and since The Daily Show is in many countries, we thought 'why not give each country a chance to show off their stable geniuses?"

Loyiso Madinga says he's "excited to create a voice for local satire. What is really great is this places an authentic spotlight on local comedy and presents a reality that combats the stereotypical perception of Africa".

Dillon Khan, vice president for Comedy Central and creative services for VIMN Africa says "Loyiso's comic timing and fast-thinking humour make him the ideal choice as a Daily Show correspondent. He is indicative of the diverse and deep pool of talent that shines on our continent and beyond its shores."

Alex Okosi, executive vice president and managing director for VIMN Africa says "one of our key objectives as VIMN Africa is to provide a platform through our brands for great African talent and content".

"We are excited that through this localised segment on Comedy Central's The Daily Show, Loyiso has an opportunity to continue showcasing his great comedic talent to audiences across Africa and around the world."

Trevor Noah and M-Net (DStv 101) will soon start production on his new Trevor Noah Presents... show for M-Net, a local stand-up comedy talent series in 13 episodes that will give rising South African comedians a platform to showcase their skills.

Netflix on why it isn't paying the South African Film and Publication Board licensing fee: 'We don't have to pay those fees'.

Netflix, on why it isn't paying the licensing fees for its content made available in South Africa to consumers as required by the South African Film and Publication Board (FPB), has a quite blunt response: "We don't have to".

Netflix says the global video streaming giant doesn't believe that it has to pay South Africa's FPB anything.

Netflix that has so far refused to register with the FPB since it launched in South Africa and across Africa in January 2016, "owes" the FPB more than R1.59 million in unpaid licensing fees.

The FPB screens and provides an age restriction and parental guidance system to content as part of its content classification system.

MultiChoice for its DStv satellite pay-TV service including DStv BoxOffice, and Apple iTunes are paying their FPB licensing fees.

So are the subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) services like Naspers' Showmax and PCCW Global's ONTAPtv.com.

The South African Film and Publication Board recently released a draft review of its licensing fee tariff scale for online distributors in South Africa, suggesting adjustments that will end up costing Netflix even more to have its content be available in South Africa.

The South African government is furthermore hell-bent on "regulating" global online video services like Netflix and YouTube.

The department of communications will shortly release a draft Audio-Visual and Digital Content Policy for SA in parliament for public comment.

Other African nations likewise want Netflix as a global video golden goose to pay up in terms of license fees or be gone.

The Kenya Film Classification Board (KFCB) for instance has threatened to ban Netflix over its refusal to be "properly licensed" in Kenya and called Netflix "a threat to moral values and national security" in the East African nation.

On Wednesday Netflix spoke to South Africa media and answered questions from the press at its first Netflix House SA media event in Cape Town and TVwithThinus asked Netflix why it isn't paying the FPB licensing fee as required.

"We're an over-the-top (OTT) service, we're not a broadcaster; we're not licensed spectrum, or granted specific wavelengths to broadcast on," said Yann Lafargue, manager for technology and corporate communications at Netflix for the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region.

"We're also not linear television where we have obligations to have certain content, with regulations and content quotas. We're omnipresent, so basically it's a different ball-game - and we don't have to pay those fees."

Yann Lafargue said "some of them argue that we should, and we are in contact with them. We do believe that we do not have to do that. And that's the same case in many countries in the world where they have content regulation and there's questions about ratings, or censorship."

"There's always a wish from a regulator to try to get power from things like video streaming services, and we're trying to move away from that because we do think that the content matters and we try not to censor content in general."

"If we have to pay a fee and its legally binding, we always respect the laws of a country where we operate. Right now, we don't have to."

"To be fair, the amount we should pay isn't necessarily big, but it's the question of why pay something if you don't have to?"

"We will rather invest the money in a local Netflix original show or content, like a Trevor Noah stand-up show rather than just put money where we don't have to."

'We don't want a cumbersome system'
When TVwithThinus asked if Netflix doesn't believe that something like the South African Film and Publications Board should set local parental and age restrictions for films and content that's suitable for South Africa's unique socio-demographic and cultural circumstances, Yann Lafargue said Netflix self-regulates.

"In some cases where there's something different we will have a discussion with the ratings board, and in some countries they are stricter than others. Like in Singapore for instance, or South Korea, they are very stringent."

"You can have a 12 [parental guidance] for something and then it's going to be 18 for that somewhere else. We're trying to make sure that we're empowering customers based on the country."

"There's no point in us forcing something down your throat if we think we're not ready. So we're open to discussion," said Yann Lafargue.

"What we don't want is to have - imagine, we have thousands of titles on Netflix - is to have a cumbersome system where you have to give them the content, and they need to watch it and decide whatever, and to then be consistent. It's complicated."

"It's a bit messy so we're trying to do things by ourselves. But what we're doing in some markets is we're trying to show them, and ask 'For those shows, what would be the ratings?' And we try to self-right ourselves to close the discrepancy."

"So we're trying to understand, and to be a good company and good corporate citizen in general."

"If someone thinks that if there's violence or nudity, automatically it needs to be [age restricted] above 16 we'll do it, we have no issue with that," said Yann Lafargue.

"We want the freedom to regulate ourselves. When there's layers of complexities it's never good; it's just slowing the technology; everything."

"Imagine if you have that [process of screening] and then you need to wait 6 months because they don't have the capacity or the bandwidth to watch all the content of 650 shows - not even talking about the licensed shows we have there, then you become again a second-ranked citizen because of your own regulator. And then there's again the issue of piracy."   

After his creative Emmy win, Trevor Noah slammed, asked to 'please make jokes about white people not blacks' as fans quickly rally to his defense.

A Twitter storm has started after the EFF political party congratulated the South African comedian Trevor Noah with his creative Emmy win, after some furious fans urged him to stop making fun of black people and to focus his jokes on white people only.

A lot of Trevor Noah fans however quickly rallied to his defense.

Trevor Noah, host of The Daily Show on Comedy Central (DStv 122) won his first Emmy at the Emmy awards' Creative Arts ceremony in Los Angeles for his YouTube comedy special, The Daily Show: Between the Scenes in the category for Best Short Form Variety Series.

Trevor Noah is in Washington where he was performing and couldn't accept the Emmy, and is back in America after his recent visit to South Africa where he did a special stand-up performance in Johannesburg and Durban entitled, There's a Gupta on My Stoep.

In There's a Gupta on My Stoep as well as in a special M-Net VIP-invite only once-off show, Getting to Noah You at the Johannesburg Theatre for M-Net's important stakeholders, Trevor Noah went out of his way to incorporate characters, colours, accents and languages from every single background - black, coloured, white English and white Afrikaans, male, female, Indian, Australian - and even Atul Gupta calling Jacob Zuma.

After his Emmy win, one of the congratulatory messages to Trevor Noah was from the EFF political party who said the "EFF congratulates Trevor Noah for winning his first Emmy for The Daily Show. Continue to make us proud.".

EFF congratulates @Trevornoah for winning his first Emmy for The Daily Show: continue to make us proud 👏🏿 pic.twitter.com/IkkIEzsbTB

— EFF (@EFFSouthAfrica) September 11, 2017

Then @ralekolwana tweeted: "Trevor and Schuster u disrespecting us please make jokes about white people not blacks".

Several supporters rallied to Trevor Noah's defense like @Wolvenheart saying "Trevor has made jokes about every race but there has always been an underlying truth. He uses comedy to punctuate it."

"I see you don't watch The Daily Show," said Mtshobisi Mtshali. "Plus black people aren't immune from ridicule by virtue of the comedian being black".

Trevor Noah will be back to headline a new TV comedy stand-up series, Trevor Noah Presents... that will be broadcast in 2018 on M-Net (DStv 101) in which he shines the spotlight on new upcoming comedic talent from across a broad spectrum across the whole of South Africa.

There's a Gupta On My Stoep: Comedian Trevor Noah reveals the inspiration behind his stand-up show's title - 'Leon Schuster changed my life with his comedy'.

With his brand-new stand-up show, There's a Gupta On My Stoep, comedian Trevor Noah says he is trying to capture the mood of anxiety in South Africa right now and says the title was inspired by comedian Leon Schuster "who changed my life with his comedy".

The host of The Daily Show on Comedy Central (DStv 122) is back in South Africa during his weekday TV show's end-of-season break, but while actually back on home soil for a holiday he also decided to do a new stand-up show in Johannesburg and Durban. Cape Town was left out because he simply didn't have the days.

Next year Trevor Noah will also reteam with M-Net (@DStv 101) where he had his first TV show, Tonight with Trevor Noah in 2010 for three seasons, and in 13-episodes of Trevor Noah Presents... as host he will showcase upcoming new South African comedians in 2018.

"There's a Gupta On My Stoep is an idea of what I'm feeling and what South Africa feels right now, is it not? That there's a Gupta on our stoep," said Trevor Noah who spoke about his new stand-up show at M-Net's press conference on Thursday.

"There's people who are old enough to remember the reference - the title of one of my favourite movies - There's a Zulu On My Stoep. Leon Schuster changed my life with his comedy when I was a young child."

"Essentially I felt that's what we're experiencing right now: We're a country where we are confused and trying to put together the pieces of how intense, and how much effect these people had on the running of our nation."

"People are still trying to piece together the Gupta emails, people are still trying to piece together the extent of their influence on our government, but it definitely feels like there's an encroachment on what we thought was 'us' defining ourselves."

"And the best way I could think of that was really There's a Gupta On My Stoep. It's South African," said Trevor Noah.

"It's a hint and a nod to the past. And it's not There's a Gupta In My House, it's just on my stoep. There's also some other things that are happening that I talk about and so that's why I went with that title."

"It also reminded me of home. It reminded me of a piece of my childhood. And it's a nod to the time that we are living in now."

Trevor Noah's big warning to all of South Africa and the country's entertainment industry: 'In South Africa we underpay and we over-enjoy'.

The successful comedian Trevor Noah has come out guns blazing with a big warning for not just South Africa's entertainment industry but for everyone, saying South Africans "underpay and over-enjoy" and that it needs to stop.

Trevor Noah said South Africans - from businesses in the entertainment industry to elsewhere, as well as ordinary citizens and consumers - need to start paying each other what they deserve "from a domestic worker to a petrol attendant to all the people where we take for granted how cheap we're paying for these people."

The South African comedian is back in South Africa during his holiday from The Daily Show on Comedy Central (DStv 122), to do a new stand-up show in South Africa, There's a Gupta On My Stoep, in Johannesburg and Durban.

Trevor Noah is also back in business with M-Net and will be hosting a new 13-part comedy TV series for M-Net (DStv 101), Trevor Noah Presents... that will be broadcast in 2018.

He was responding to criticism from a journalist at M-Net's press conference on Thursday about how seemingly expensive some of his concert tickets are.

"One thing I've never taken for granted is the cost of doing business and one thing that was tough is that I wanted to do a show, and I wanted to come back to South Africa and perform for as many of my fans as possible."

"In the time that I have allocated, with the venues that I could find, The Dome was probably the only place that I could do that. In South Africa we have a shortage of large venues and it's something that anyone in entertainment knows."

"So if you want to get more than a certain number of people into a room, you only have these few places."

"I don't want you to come to a venue and not see me, I don't want you to come to a venue and not hear me. And I don't want you to come to a venue and not have an extravaganza because that's what I believe it should be."

"I put together the show and I remember, funny enough, when Cassper Nyovest did #FillUpTheDome, I remember Cassper said 'You can sell out The Dome and lose money,' and I didn't understand what he fully meant at the time. It's an extremely expensive thing, and that's the cost of doing business."

"What I've done in the pricing of my tickets I've always made sure that according to what you can afford, you can come to a show. So I have tickets that range from a very affordable ticket to some people who want to pay a premium price and they want to sit right up front at that show."

"And that's the best way I can amortise the cost and make sure that I can put on the show that people want me to put on. Is it expensive? Definitely."

"The cost unfortunately is going to be borne by some who are willing to pay it. Some people have the money. For those who don't, they can still make it to the show."

"I have surprise acts. I have more than just comedy at a show. I will say as a South African and a performer we have to value our own. When I was touring with Julio Iglesias seven years ago in my career - and the price of tickets then - and people went: But it's Julio Iglesias."

"And I thought: When do we pay for our own?"

"If we pay for our own, our own are more likely to stay here because they feel appreciated."

'I was exploited when I was new in the industry'
Trevor Noah said working with M-Net has been a "wonderful experience for me" when it comes to the payment of artists.

"I think a lot of the time in South Africa we take for granted how easy it's been to underpay people."

He said people read all the time how artists die poor - people who were legends.

"You read stories about the Brenda Fassies and you wonder how did these people die without a penny in their pockets when we saw them selling out stadiums? And then we've come to realise over time that in South Africa we've become used to paying people way below what they should be getting paid".

"One thing I'm proud of, any comedian who works for me - I don't care whether you're unknown, or a new comic or a new face - I will make sure that you are earning an income that will help sustain you as a person."

"I don't want to exploit you. I remember that I was exploited when I was very new in the industry. I made almost no money for doing what I love."

"But I'm proud that today I'm in a place where I can say that if you work for me, you're going to feel a difference in your life as a South African comedian. I'm not going to, because you're unknown, not pay you what you deserve," said Trevor Noah.

"In South Africa we must get better at paying each other what we deserve and I'm talking all levels - not just entertainment. Everyone from a domestic worker to a petrol attendant to all the people where we take for granted how cheap we're paying for these people."

"I realised it when I went overseas. I was 'Wow, in South Africa we underpay and we over-enjoy."


M-Net CEO: 'Focus on making African entertainment a big thing'
"We have to value who we are, we have to value what we do," said M-Net CEO Yolisa Phahle.

"We can't be prepared to spend money and run after things which are outside of our country but when it comes to our own investment in our own country, in our own languages, in our own communities, in our own musicians, have double standards," said Yolisa Phahle.

"It doesn't cost a different amount of money to hire The Dome if your name is Kendrick Lamar, than what it cost if your name is a local artist. The costs are the same."

"I think sometimes we are very hard on ourselves. What we actually need to do is to support ourselves and focus on making African entertainment the big thing it should be."

"Hollywood was built on its own hype. People in Hollywood said: 'We're coming here, we're building an industry, we're supporting this industry, we're reporting on this industry, we're funding this industry - and those are the lessons that we can learn," said Yolisa Phahle.

"There's no shortage of talent, there are no limits for our industry. It's down to us to do every single thing we can to make sure it happens."

'Not just local, but quality local'
Speaking about Trevor Noah's upcoming Trevor Noah Presents... that will be broadcast in 2018, Yolisa Phahle said South Africa needs to make television that is not just local, but television that is of the quality that will be appreciated all over the world.

"We want to make television that will showcase South African talent, television that will bring to the fore the incredible diversity of comedy in the country."

"At M-Net historically, we've been very good at dramas - if you think about kykNET (DStv 144), if you think about Mzansi Magic (DStv 161). We've made a lot of drama, we've made a lot of telenovela."

"The one genre where we have under-invested is comedy. And maybe it's because comedy is very difficult. It is actually, possibly, one of the most difficult genres to write and one of the most difficult genres to deliver."

"But we do have that comedy, we do have the amazing dynamics in our country which ultimately you can cry over but also you can laugh a lot because we're together and we've come a long way."

"Trevor Noah Presents... is a 13-part series. It is something which we are taking extremely seriously," said Yolisa Phahle.

"We really want to make sure that we do bring through new comedians and that Trevor Noah is able to give them the profile that they deserve so that they too can go out, and they too can earn a good living that they deserve, and to put the spotlight on South Africa globally."

M-Net CEO Yolisa Phahle reveals one of her TV career's 'Devil Wears Prada' moments - It's hilarious, it's magical, and involves David Copperfield, Dynamo, Koos Bekker and Trevor Noah.

The highly-respected M-Net boss Yolisa Phahle on Thursday surprised the media gaggle known as the Press Covering Television when she humorously revealed one of her personal TV career's The Devil Wears Prada moments - a moment that's connected to comedian Trevor Noah.

The Devil Wears Prada is a 2006-film, based on the novel of the same name, in which the patient assistant of a fashion magazine editor takes a lot of deep breaths as she valiantly performs miracle after miracle for her extremely demanding boss.

In the the film Meryl Streep's character demands impossible things - like copies of an unpublished Harry Potter manuscript for her twins, and suddenly wants a flight out of Miami although there are no planes due to a hurricane: 'Call Donatella, get her jet".

"Basically the M-Net 30th anniversary was a big thing because Koos Bekker who founded M-Net is very hands-off these days, but he becomes incredibly hands-on when it comes to M-Net's 10th, 20th and 30th anniversaries," Yolisa Phahle said.

She spoke during M-Net's press conference with Trevor Noah who is doing a new stand-up show in South Africa, There's a Gupta On My Stoep, in Johannesburg and Durban, as well as a new 13-part comedy TV series for M-Net (DStv 101) that will be broadcast in 2018.

"So the 30th anniversary was my first time as the manager of M-Net having to deal with this big event and I had to go to Cape Town to meet with Koos to present a concept for the show."

"So M-Net is all about magic. And I said to Koos Bekker 'Should we get David Copperfield? Maybe we must get Dynamo? And lets get Trevor Noah," said Yolisa Phahle.

"And he just said 'Forget David Copperfield, forget Dynamo - just get me Trevor Noah!"

"And he said I don't want anyone else."

"Meanwhile Trevor is in New York. He does his show which is live every single night. How on earth am I going to get Trevor Noah? It was like my Devil Wears Prada moment where in the media world someone is basically asking you to do something that is impossible."

But of course Yolisa Phahle did get Trevor Noah for M-Net's 30th anniversary, and with his help she did pull it off in a revolutionary and a very surprising way.

Since Trevor Noah simply couldn't physically be in South Africa during the specific week in November 2016 due to his Daily Show commitments, M-Net flew a film crew to New York to record him doing his special M-Net performance, and turned him into a larger-than-life hologram.

"So firstly it worked incredibly well, people were laughing in the audience as if Trevor Noah was really, really standing there," said Yolisa Phahle.

"Some people were even saying 'Can I go and meet Trevor' afterwards - very high-profile, intelligent people wanted to go and shake your hand."

"So the reason I still have my job today is because we actually managed to get Trevor Noah because I wouldn't be standing here today if you haven't done that," she said to applause and laughter.

"The hologram was an interesting idea," added Trevor Noah who is currently on holiday in South Africa during the end-of-season break as host of The Daily Show on Comedy Central (DStv 122).

"M-Net said 'hey we're celebrating our 30th anniversary, can we do something special? Let's try something crazy. Lets do a hologram."

"Let's see if you can do comedy and host your show from ... nowhere."

"Let's see if it works, and if it works, it works, and if it doesn't then we know we tried something new. It was a scary but exciting experience," said Trevor Noah.