SA TV 2021: A shockwave year in television filled with loss, lockdown and an octopus that won an Oscar.

by Thinus Ferreira

During South African television's tumultuous 2021 - bearing witness to shocking unrest and looting, neverending loadshedding and an unfolding Covid-crisis - the one reassuring constant was TV soaps and telenovelas like Uzalo, with the nation's nightly collection of comforting primetime series stretching from Generations to Isono that continued to provide a sense of uninterrupted assurance and "normalcy" in a world seemingly gone mad.

In probably the worst year on record for South Africa's TV and film industry - rocked by a shockwave of thousands of permanent and temporary job losses as work evaporated, hundreds of deaths due to Covid-19, as well as countless and repeated Covid-19 production shutdowns across multiple series under Lockdown Level 4 - 2021's big unrecognised TV miracle is that the TV soap operas endured.

As the industry was upended behind-the-scenes, TV channels kept broadcasting new episodes nightly during 2021 with its escapist local mix of fantasy, conflict, weddings and scandals, that continued to enthral a combined audience of millions of viewers across Southern Africa.

In 2021, South Africans watched Squid Game on Netflix, Devilsdorp on Showmax and welcomed House of Zwide on e.tv. 

Viewers sat transfixed before eNCA, Newzroom Africa and SABC News to see former president Jacob Zuma being arrested and going to jail, and how South Africans ransacked shopping malls. 

They huddled together in front of the soft glow of their TV screens when president Cyril Ramaphosa beckoned for yet another "family meeting".

Love Island South Africa on M-Net flopped but The Bachelorette SA was more successful. The Real Housewives of Durban and Survivor South Africa: Immunity Island (forced to film in South Africa on the Eastern Cape coast) were hits. 

South Africans got their Friday episode of 7de Laan on SABC2 back (that also reached 5000 episodes). 

While kykNET's new on-air rebranding was more successful, SABC3's rebranding to "S3" saw the channel's already anaemic ratings only fall further this year while its Isidingo replacement, The Estate, failed in luring the viewers it should and likely on borrowed time. 

uBettina Wethu (South Africa's Ugly Betty-version) wasn't the success it could have been. Showmax tried Temptation Island SA as both it and Netflix added further local South African content to their catalogues.

MultiChoice's Showmax launched its first South African telenovela, The Wife, but the most expensive South African drama series yet produced, Blood Psalms, missed its October debut and was pushed to February 2022 because the department of trade, industry and competition failed to pay the millions due to the show in the country's broken film rebate scheme.

MultiChoice introduced DStv subscribers to Korean telenovelas ("K-drama") with tvN, kept losing DStv Premium subscribers, while M-Net brought pay-TV subscribers Harry and Meghan sit-down talk with Oprah.

The SABC that turned 85 completed its retrenchment plan getting rid of hundreds of workers after which the public broadcaster once again became embroiled in serious allegations of SABC News editorial interference. 

In 2021 fewer people than ever (down to 21% bothered to still pay a SABC TV Licence with plans to scrap it altogether and replace it with a new type of tax.

The SABC officially launched SABC Sport as a TV channel, while SuperSport did its best to try and bring live sports back this year and branched out into more school sports coverage.

Britbox SA and eMedia's eVOD both launched as two new video streaming services in South Africa in 2021 while ViacomCBS Networks Africa abruptly cancelled its MTV Africa Music Awards it tried to revive this year. 

The M-Net City channel changed to Me, Glow TV was removed from Openview but had to be returned after a court case, and StarSat shed more TV channels this year. 

The long-delayed completion of the switch from analogue to digital terrestrial television (DTT) broadcasting in South Africa was yet again postponed, with new warnings that suddenly switching off TV signals to millions of viewers who don't have set-top boxes to receive the new signals, will damage South Africa's TV ratings system.

Meanwhile worsening Eskom blackouts continued to have a debilitating impact during 2021 on TV ratings, damaging all broadcasters and advertisers with loadshedding that wiped millions of TV households from the national viewership data.

Moja Love (DStv 157) - which had to suspend Jub Jub on Uyajola 9/9 as its most-watched show after rape allegations - and Mzansi Magic (DStv 161) were the two most-watched pay-TV channels in South Africa in 2021. 

SABC1 remained the most-watched free-to-air TV channel. More South African TV news reporters were attacked and robbed this year than ever before.

South African viewers lost FOX after 11 years, The Bold and the Beautiful (again) and weather presenters on eNCA and eNuus. The ratings for the 17th season of Idols on Mzansi Magic plunged as Somizi Mhlongo exited as a judge after serious allegations of physical abuse.

We lost Africa's most influential woman in television, MultiChoice's content boss Aletta Alberts, to Covid, as well as producer-actor Shona Ferguson in July, and an unending TV treasure chest list of names gone too soon who have enriched and who were deeply woven into the tapestry of South Africa's TV industry. 

We lost icons from Franz Marx to Shaleen Surtie-Richards, with calls that more must be done to support and protect South African artists and performers while the South African government for another year refused to make the Performers' Protection Amendment Bill (PPAB) a law that would ensure that actors are paid residuals for TV rebroadcasts.

We said goodbye to LIVE AMP on SABC1 after 25 seasons, as well as the beloved TV news anchor Noxolo Grootboom who read her final TV news bulletin with even Cyril Ramaphosa moving his national address out of the way so that the nation could watch her swansong first. 

Jeremy Maggs, Jane Dutton and Uveka Rangappa left eNCA with no goodbye. 

South Africa's TV and film industry and film lost at least 18 669 jobs (59%) over the past year due to Covid. 

And in-between the tumult, a little film on TV about a friendly South African octopus won an Oscar.

TV CRITIC's NOTEBOOK. The not-so-pretty side of Ugly Betty and how bad and non-existent PR is once again damaging local productions - this time 'uBethina Wethu' on SABC1 and VIU.

by Thinus Ferreira

After all of the effort, casting during Covid, money spent, and making a local adaptation of the Colombian telenovela Betty La Fea, known as Ugly Betty, for South Africa as a co-production between SABC1 and VIU, yet another new local show got damaged and destroyed right at the 99%-mark in the race by badly done and non-existent PR.

I've honestly lost count of how many South African TV shows - that all cost money to make - end up having their feet cut off before they're even out of the racing blocks.

This is often done by production companies and TV channels who either don't know better, don't know how to publicise a show properly, don't have adequate PR and PR plans in place, or just simply don't care.

Why go to all of the effort and expense of spending millions of rand to make a series, and when it's time to show it, you drop the ball in properly getting it under the media's attention?

Why do so many South African TV shows fail so spectacularly when it comes to giving the journalists and TV critics covering a series or a new series, all of the necessary information, publicity photos, press packs and pro-actively offering interviews with the cast and crew?

There is a reason why publications and journalists covering television in South Africa often rather cover overseas TV: Ironically the information, photos and press material are much more readily available on the internet or through international publicists who are responsive, pro-active and who, well, exist.

After Known Associates Entertainment spent a lot of money making a South African version of Ugly Betty in a co-production deal between the SABC and VIU, both SABC1 and VIU apparently can't care less about even trying to make uBettina Wethu a success as far as media coverage is concerned.

SABC1 is so atrociously bad that it still lists uBettina Wethu as "uBethina Wethu" on its schedule.

As of the publication of this opinion article, SABC1 couldn't even bother to get the show's title right days after it had started.

It makes you think that SABC1 channel boss Phumzile Zonke and SABC1 programme manager Sane Zondi must perhaps not be watching their own channel. Neither they not anyone else working at SABC1 or the SABC have picked up on it, or care, or are apparently able to fix it.

Hilariously badly as well, is that this SABC1 schedule is what was sent to other platforms, so naturally, since that is what is being ingested, MultiChoice's DStv in its electronic programme guide (EPG) and StarTimes's StarSat are listing "uBethina" on their DStv and StarSat channel grid as well. 

At least "uBethina Wethu" is better than Telkom's Telkom ONE video streaming service that simply went with a non-descript "N/A" in the timeslot on the grid, meaning that the title at 19:30 on SABC1 is "not available" (because SABC1 failed to supply it in time). 

This is because SABC1 likely couldn't bother to actually send Telkom ONE as its streaming partner any latest updated schedule, causing Telkom ONE to just ran with what it had - a blank.

While uBettina Wethu is scheduled to run from Mondays to Wednesdays, on Wednesday the SABC1 schedule shows Yilungelo Lakho scheduled at 19:30. 

Even viewers who set a PVR schedule record won't get the Wednesday episode because DStv decoders won't "see" it to capture it, and those viewers who scan through schedules and look for the uBettina episodes, won't find or see the Wednesday - unless they specifically know that Yilungelo Lakho on Wednesdays is and will actually be uBettina Wethu.

While VIU at least carries the correct uBettina Wethu name to correspond with what is shown on-screen, VIU is also not without shame and blame.

This is how many episodes SABC1 and VIU sent to TV critics and the media before "uBethina" started its broadcast, in order for the media to preview the series, for possible review purposes: Zero.

Several episodes clearly were available and ready since they are available on-demand on VIU, while SABC1 broadcast one per day.

This is how many media VIU invited beforehand to watch uBettina Wethu on its streaming platform: Zero.

And while Known Associates Entertainment literally paid for a stills photographer according to the end credits of the show - a stills photographer is someone who takes on-set photos per episode specifically for publicity purposes - this is how many of those photos have been used and have actually been sent to the media by publicists: Zero.

And take yet another guess: This is what VIU did in terms of basic PR, like emails, press releases and media outreach to promote uBettina Wethu for its streaming platform and to bring it under the media's attention before the show started: Nothing.

In fact, VIU doesn't even have a publicist or a PR company at the moment. That raises the question: How is the media supposed to know that uBettina Wethu is on VIU? It's anyone's guess.

How ironic that Nubia in-series is a brand management and brand awareness company, and that with the over 10 scriptwriters and 5 storyliners on the production team, at least the real-world people working on accurately scripting the world of the fictional company in uBettina Wethu, know more about how much proper brand promotion matters.

All of this means that all of the money spent on making a show like uBettina Wethu, hiring a stills photographer - and all of the rest - is completely wasted when the return on the possible investment (ROI) is devalued, eroded and squandered by not actually doing anything to get, hold of and to squeeze out the bit of available media attention while it's possible.

While SABC1 held a small physical media launch event in mid-March in Johannesburg, neither SABC1 nor VIU were bothered to make any plan to virtually show it to the national media in South Africa.

Neither SABC nor VIU afterwards bothered to supply any quotes of what was said or happened at the event, or bothered to reach out to ask which media might want to do what interviews or stories.

Yet another so-called "launch event" - with a yellow carpet - happened for uBettina Wethu at some or other place in South Africa. 

Where in Hammanskraal were the media for this spectacle? 

Why couldn't anyone beforehand tell the media covering television or invite them, or bother afterwards with issuing the photos taken there, or with the sending of a press release, or an email to say "dear media, do you want to know about this or do something about this?"

If you're wondering why you don't see episodic photos in the media, struggle to find uBettina Wethu episode synopses, and why you don't see both short and long-form articles about the show and its stars in various publications but continue to read about Kim Kardashian, you have your answer.

South African television keeps making local shows that it often doesn't bother to properly do public relations for, with productions and TV channels that often don't see the need, reason or actual value in having dedicated PR people for it.

Best of luck, SABC1 and VIU, with your "uBethina". And best of luck trying to get it to break through in a very crowded media TV space when nobody even seems to at least be trying.

ALSO READ: Farieda Metsileng cast as South Africa's Bettina in SABC1's local adaptation of Ugly Betty, Coconut Kelz to play the sassy friend.

Tonight's TV has a trove of new start-ups from uBettina Wethu on SABC1 and The Estate and Prime News on 3 on SABC3, while The Station and DiepCity start on Mzansi Magic.

by Thinus Ferreira

Television brims with brand-new local TV shows starting tonight, Monday 5 April, that will make it even harder for viewers to decide where to watch what, next.

uBettina Wethu, South Africa's local adaptation of Ugly Betty makes its debut on SABC1, while SABC3 opens the gates to its new local soap The Estate. 

There is a new timeslot for the public broadcaster's English TV news bulletin on SABC3 that will now compete with e.tv, while DiepCity starts as Isibaya's replacement on Mzansi Magic.

Then there is also the start of  The Station as a new drama series starring and produced by Sello Maake Ka-Ncube.

The Estate, SABC3, 19:00

This new locally-produced soap is the newly-cemented cornerstone from which the public broadcaster's struggling TV channel is starting to rebuild its primetime line-up with The Estate, produced by Clive Morris Productions that is replacing Isidingo.

The Estate revolves around a gated South African community named Echelon Estate with the rich "haves" - with the nearby township of Thembalethu "have nots" that suddenly makes a land claim.

The Estate will address issues such as land and identity, corruption, patronage, money (old and new), power, class and equality, all told through a colourful mix of South African families.

Monday's first episode is an hour-long premiere episode, followed by half-hour weekday episodes.

eBettina Wethu, SABC, 19:30

Farieda Metsileng along with a majority-black cast stars in the lead role as Bettina Sikhakane in the South African adaptation of Colombia's Yo Soy Bety La Fea.

The telenovela produced by Known Associates Entertainment will be shown on SABC1 and the VIU streaming service, and will have three episodes per week from Mondays to Wednesdays.

Bettina is appointed as the managing director's personal assistant at Nubia, a brand management company. 

Zweli Dube is Dingaan Jiyane, while Tsholofelo Mashishi plays Dingaan's mother and the matriarch of the family. Linda Jiyane and Lesego Tlhabi known as Coconut Kelz will play the bubbly Zaza Moloi.

The uBettina Wethu supporting cast are Michael Potter as Brandon Thomas, Elliot Makhubo as Israel Sikhakhane, Mbasa Msongeli as Mpilo Hadebe, Brighton Ngoma as T-Bang Moeketsi, Ayanda Bandla as Lakhe Amon, Mhairi Fergusson as Amanda, Motshabi Tyelele as Ethel, Jason Willemse as Wendell and Alex Sono as Reggie.

News @ 8, SABC3, 20:00

A new TV news battle is brewing from tonight with SABC3 that is taking e.tv's news offering head-on, and is moving its main TV news bulletins from 21:00 on weekdays to 20:00, directly opposite e.tv's e.tv News.  

On weekends SABC3 will now broadcast the public broadcaster's main English TV news bulletin at 18:00.

The Station, Mzansi Magic (DStv 161), 20:00

This new drama series is produced by Taproots Media from Sello Maake Ka-Ncube who also stars as the character of Fix in this new series.

The Station revolves around the backstabbing and scheming between four employees who suddenly become shareholders of a petrol station. Don (Owen Sejake) leaves his petrol station to his four employees, who all start playing hunger games to gain control as personalities clash.

Sphamandla Dhludhlu is Caesar, a young man determined to see the business succeed to improve his life and to support his wheelchair-bound father Themba (Ernest Ndlovu).

Meanwhile, Diliza (Aubrey Mmakola) threatens to take control of the station and run it to the ground. Will the husband and wife team of Cynthia (Lerato Mvelase) and Fix, along with Caesar and Sli (Sibulele Gcilitshana) - be able to stop Diliza?

DiepCity, Mzansi Magic (DStv 161), 20:30

DiepCity is the new local telenovela replacing Isibaya, exploring the struggles of four young women forced into lives of crime in order to survive.

The small-time house burglar Nox (Nozuko Ncayiyane) sees her world shatter after her younger brother Sibusiso (Tshiamo Molobi) is fatally shot during a house robbery that he was never supposed to be part of and that was set up by the security guard Elliot (Mduduzi Mabaso).

After a stint in jail, Nox returns home where her alcoholic father Bonga (Hamilton Dlamini) lost his job and where her mother Thandiwe (Dawn Thandeka King) who works as a domestic worker refuses to forgive her for her brother's death.

ALSO READ: SABC3’s new locally-produced weekday telenovela The Estate from Clive Morris Productions to launch in April as a cornerstone of the TV channel's latest repositioning effort.

ALSO READ: Farieda Metsileng cast as South Africa's Bettina in SABC1's local adaptation of Ugly Betty, Coconut Kelz to play the sassy friend.

Farieda Metsileng cast as South Africa's Bettina in SABC1's local adaptation of Ugly Betty, Coconut Kelz to play the sassy friend.

by Thinus Ferreira

SABC1 has announced that the former MTV VJ Farieda Metsileng will portray the title role of Bettina Sikhakane in the local adaptation of Ugly Betty that will be broadcast from April in South Africa as uBettina Wethu while Coconut Kelz will portray the role of Zaza Moloi.

The co-production between the SABC that will broadcast it on SABC1 and the video streaming VIU is produced by the South African production company Known Associates Entertainment, with Tshepiso Sello as producer, with the company that has been responsible for series like Keeping Score, Hustle and Emoyeni as Fireworx Media.

uBettina Wethu that will debut on Monday 5 April at 19:30 on SABC1 with three weekly episodes from Mondays to Wednesdays, will be the first in the world to feature a black Betty along with a majority-black cast with the South African version, an adaptation of Colombia's Yo Soy Bety La Fea.

The series will follow the journey of Bettina Sikhakane as "a wholesome, intelligent, but gawky, people-pleaser with a dated, unsophisticated sense of style, who finds her self-worth and image challenged when she is employed at Nubia - a brand management company, a place where at times people value image over substance".

Farieda Metsileng is best-known for her role as Kandy in the Mzansi Magic telenovela Isithembiso that she got in 2017, and she has also been working as a voice artist, MTV VJ and a production manager at Red Pepper Pictures.

Other TV roles so far have included appearances as Hlubi in SABC1's Ses' Top La and My Perfect Family, 4Play Sex Tips for Girls, and as Polite in the 5th season of Uzalo on SABC1.

"We are very proud to call uBettina Wethu our own as SABC1; the production value is astounding and is a great fit for our growing brand and spot-on in terms of our market domination strategy," says Phumzile Zonke, SABC1 channel head.

"This first-ever simulcast with VIU is breaking new ground and we are glad to be part of broadcast history in the making."

Besides Farieda Metsileng, Zweli Dube has been cast as Dingaan Jiyane who will be Bettina's love interest; while Tsholofelo Mashishi plays Dingaan's mother and the matriarch of the family. Linda Jiyane and Lesego Tlhabi known as Coconut Kelz will play the bubbly Zaza Moloi.

The uBettina Wethu supporting cast are Michael Potter as Brandon Thomas, Elliot Makhubo as Israel Sikhakhane, Mbasa Msongeli as Mpilo Hadebe, Brighton Ngoma as T-Bang Moeketsi, Ayanda Bandla as Lakhe Amon, Mhairi Fergusson as Amanda, Motshabi Tyelele as Ethel, Jason Willemse as Wendell and Alex Sono as Reggie.

Ayanda Sithebe, the show's casting director says "We are currently experiencing an outcry of young aspiring actors-through social media discussion vehicles as #OpenTheIndustry. Young talent often does not have accessibility to the industry and an opportunity to audition."

"Considering the above, the mandate from the producers was very clear to me to find balance in casting experienced actors and also young new/fresh talent."

ALSO READ: 'Are you the "before"?' Anyone can become the world's first black Betty in the open casting call for South Africa's uBettina Wethu series adaptation of Ugly Betty.

'Are you the "before"?' Anyone can become the world's first black Betty in the open casting call for South Africa's uBettina Wethu series adaptation of Ugly Betty.

by Thinus Ferreira

uBettina Wethu, South Africa's localised Ugly Betty adaptation, is looking for a black Betty and it could literally be any young black woman with the show that is doing an open casting call. 

A funny scene in the first episode of Ugly Betty is when Betty arrives on her first day at work at a magazine and the receptionist mistakenly assumes that she's the "before" - meaning the person who was specifically cast to look as bad as possible when makeover photoshoots are done to show the "before" and "after" transformation.

Now that "before" could be any young black woman in South Africa between the age of 22 and 26 who will get the role as Bettina Sikhakane.

uBettina Wethu, a co-production between the SABC that will broadcast it on SABC1 and the video streaming VIU.

The series is produced by the South African production company Known Associates Entertainment, with Tshepiso Sello as producer with the company that has been responsible for series like Keeping Score, Hustle and Emoyeni as Fireworx Media.

The uBettina Wethu project is also supported by South Africa's department of trade and industry and is a South African adaptation of Colombia's Yo Soy Bety La Fea, known as Ugly Betty.

The popular series holds the Guinness World Record for the most successful telenovela after it has been adapted in 19 territories, broadcast in 180 countries and dubbed into 15 languages with uBettina Wethu as the South African adaptation that will be the first in the world to feature a black Betty along with a majority-black cast.

In South Africa's version of uBettina Wethu the main premise follows the journey of a wholesome, intelligent, but gawky, people-pleaser with a dated, unsophisticated sense of style, who finds her self-worth and image challenged when she is employed at Nubia, a brand management company, a place where at times people value image over substance. 

Bettina Sikhakane is a kind-hearted, smart, career-focused woman, with a dream of running her own company but when she lands a job as the personal assistant to Nubia’s new boss, she has to contend with her colleagues' assumption that because of her quirky style and kindness, she must be stupid.

As part of an open casting call, people who want to enter can access the script at www.ubettinawethu.co.za, take a video of themselves doing an audition performing parts of the script and send it to the Whatsapp number of 087 240 5150. Entry is free and the closing date to submit an "audition tape" is 15 January 2021.

Besides auditioning for Bettina, the producers are also looking for Dingaan, a main character and a love interest of Bettina who must be a black actor between the age of 27 and 30 and who is the Nubia boss, as well Dingaan's black mother with the show looking for an actress between the ages of 52 and 56. 

After the initial selection process during which people will be able to get to vote as well to narrow down the search to the top 3 choices for each role, a closed audition process will take place to choose Bettina as well as Dingaan and his mother.

"These public auditions are an exciting and appropriate way for us to welcome uBettina Wethu into our lives and on our screens," says Ryan Solovei, VIU Africa country manager.

"This production is already capped with many firsts and for VIU, it echoes our commitment to developing local productions and unearthing local talent in South Africa."

"We’re excited to see the entries and the final outcome for the three main characters of the story, and we look forward to the public’s participation as they have their say into who gets to be the next big stars of Mzansi."

Producer Tshepiso Sello says "the social climate in which we find ourselves necessitates a coming-of-age story with a twist. It is meant to allow the audience the chance to see themselves in the characters of the story - to not only root for their success or downfall but see the characters as an extension of themselves."

"The road to achieving this starts with finding the right talent, by engaging the public we want our audiences to feel part and parcel of the show from the onset of our production process before it even hits their screens, after all its uBettina Wethu."