INTERVIEW. ‘Most African homes have just a mom’ – Producer Howard Fyvie and actor André Lembwa on making CN to the Rescue as TV’s new must-see kids show.

by Thinus Ferreira

Two African teenagers, a mama and their gogo, including a crazy uncle with secrets - all portrayed by comedian André Lembwa - are back for further episodes in the second season of the surreal CN to the Rescue South African series on Cartoon Network (DStv 301) that blends zany live-action humour with "rejected" animation cartoon characters in a story about imagination, adventure and family.

Is the new mysterious family member, Uncle Ezekius from Cape Town, a good guy - or is he plotting evil?

I sat down with Howard James Fyvie who is the CN to the Rescue creator, producer and director, and André Lembwa skillfully portraying all five characters again, including the new long-lost uncle.

With André, doing all of the roles, how many times did you have to film the same scene?

Howard: We'd shoot the same thing 5 times from multiple angles. We didn't actually keep track of the takes - there are just too many. All I'll say it is a headache - but a joy. It was a joy and it was a pain. Like childbirth.

Can you talk about the origin story of CN to the Rescue, how did the show and name come about?

Howard: The original brief was kind of a marketing exercise and the brief to me was "make a show that was going to highlight Cartoon Network". 

So we started with this character called Tapiwa, and I just wrote down an idea that he basically likes Cartoon Network so much, and he gets himself into danger, and then Cartoon Network comes to the rescue - his imagination becomes real. 

So the name - Cartoon Network essentially represents imagination, CN literally comes to the rescue. 

I first met WarnerMedia when I entered a competition in 2016 and me and my co-writer, Andrew Phillips, we won the Kids' Animation Pitching Competition at DISCOP. Our prize was being introduced to Cartoon Network. 

After three years they gave a brief for a new local show and asked if I could develop an idea. They gave us a shot and the first season came out in 2021 and now in 2022 season two. 

How have you've been able to expand the story from the first to the new second season?

Howard: The first season felt like a pilot. The second season feels like a real show. 

What we've been able to do was to work on these four characters - gogo, mama, Tapiwe and Garcia - and we knew by the end of the first season what they would do and wouldn't do.

So what we needed to do was to introduce a new character - a spicy character that would change everything. 

The second breakthrough decision - I never wanted to make standalone episodes. I wanted to make one long continuous story and I asked Cartoon Network not to do an episodic show. Otherwise for every episode you have to reset back to the beginning. You can't grow emotional depth. 

The decision of one long storyline opened up a massive sandbox for us and then we could just dream.

Emotionally, CN to the Rescue's second season is way deeper than the first season. It touches on real issues like fatherlessness, it touches on a woman's anxiety of being a single mother, it touches on children not respecting their parents and real issues but obviously in a comedic way.

Pixar does that so well where they tackle real-life issues and they have brilliant comedy in it at the same time and that's my model of what I'm trying to follow.

Putting on different wigs, playing all the characters - it's performance art. How difficult is it to switch from one character to another when they're all very different?

André: To be honest, it's not really difficult. With me it comes with the outfit. 

When I have a wig on and a dress, I go: "Okay, I'm not a male now, now I'm mama." I'm my mind I select different blocks: Mama, Tapiwa and the rest. I've mastered different accents and how to keep it going. 

Every now and then I'll be busy being Garcia and I would realise I've now heard Tapiwa.

Episodes hilariously end very cliff-hangery, we have dramatic music in-between, did WarnerMedia tell you to end on cliffhangers to make CN to the Rescue "binge-worthy" viewing or was that your idea?

Howard: I had to motivate to them and explained and said "We're going to end it on a cliffhanger, and people are going to want to watch the next episode even more so than if the story wrapped itself up in a single episode". 

We intentionally wrote every episode to end on a new dramatic beat. Ideally, it makes you as a viewer just want to watch the next episode.

While it's made primarily for children and a youth audience, it's not just over-the-top caricature. If you look at Mama or any of the others, there is subtlety in the big actions. 

There are hints of something deeper than just humour and something more than just playing for laughs. Does Howie tell you to do and bring that or is it you?

André: I don't have any professional background or education behind the acting.

 Howard's been a really cool mentor and would sit me down and explain that "After mama says this, it would make more sense for so-and-so to react this way". I would go: "I can see that, I can relate, because I live with my one aunt and my aunt would have do it this way." 

I get to put myself in my aunt's shoes and to wear the story and to make it mine. It's not all my own instincts, I ask Howard what way he wants me to bring something across.

How difficult is it to switch between the accents?

André: I won't lie, originally Uncle Zeek, he was meant to be someone from the UK.

Howard: Yep, British.

André: Which honestly I haven't quite mastered fully. We actually off shooting with that accent.

Howard: Two days.

André: We shot two days and then sat down and said we don't feel that it's quite working. I felt "eish" I'm not feeling this character, it's not coming alive in me. It doesn't feel like acting but being told "do this, do this". 

I was kind of scared with that accent, building up to it. I sat down and we moved to a more comfortable accent which is the Cape coloured side for Uncle Ezekius and it clicked.

Different family members, all with their own motivations, do still help each other. What is the message of the show? 

André: Family face issues together and realise that they have to unite to make things work and to progress in life. As an African, I grew up with my aunts. There wasn't a mom and a dad. Most African homes have either just a mom and the kids, or it's single dad. 

In CN to the Rescue you can see there's no dad in the house. 

That's why these kids are behaving in certain ways, there's never been a father figure to direct them. Moms do a great job but the mom can't fully fulfil the dad's role. It shows how important family is.

How do you and co-writer Andrew Phillips work?

Howard: It's brilliant. It's amazing. Me and Andrew at his house, sit on the couch - I normally stand and pace - and we just say: "What would be cool?" Then we just throw out crazy ideas. 

Andrew's got a very good sensibility for emotional authenticity. So he'll say: "Ja but the mama shouldn't hide the fact that she's feeling hurt by the kids". 

We've both got good story instincts and we write out a bunch of cards on a wall we put them into order, and I would for instance say "Here by episode 3 something bad must happen between the uncle and mom". 

And Andrew would go: "Yes, maybe Uncle Ezekius betrayed her when they were young". And I would go: "Yes, because he wanted the house!" We literally finish each others' sentences. We've been working together for almost 6 years. Me and him won that original competition.

You went to go and live in a Dunoon township - no shower, no bath, washing in a bucket - why did you go live there and what did you learn from that experience?

Howard: I'm curious by nature and as a filmmaker even more curious. 

Seventy percent of South Africa live in townships and I thought that as a white dude I need to experience that. I moved there for one year and 3 months. I've been visiting the township for five years before that.

I think if every South African can spend just one month living in a township, what would it change in our country? That's the question I had going in. If we all had to do this, what would change?

I returned after a lot of conversations and experiences. People go through a lot of suffering. Just your average challenges: Your house is small. Dust. Wind. Dust everywhere - on your bed, your pillow. You close the door, dust comes in. I had a much bigger understanding of all of South Africa's workforce that comes from townships to get to your house.

Maybe I would have been angry with a domestic worker who comes half an hour late in the past. 

I would say, before you want to shout at someone for being late, ask them how many taxis they've had to take to get to your house. As them what time they woke up to get to your house by 8. 

The answer would be they woke up at 4 and they had to wash in a bucket, walk for 20 minutes, take two trains, one taxi and then walk another 20 minutes. And then you go: "You're late!" 

You've also spoken about the paralysis of perfection. Have you've overcome some of that with this project and what message would you have for young creatives in a country where going into animation is difficult, and the attempt to make everything be perfect?

Howard: If you're into anything creative you want it to be so good. 

My answer is take your ego out of it. When my ego was out of the equation, I could work more freely. When I'm worried about "How does this make me look?" I worry more and until it's perfect, I'm not going to want to release it because my name is attached. 

God took me out of serious live-action, drama content that I've always wanted to do, and put me into kids and youth entertainment. 

No-one cares about you in kids entertainment. Nobody talks to the directors of kids shows - nobody even knows them - except the guys at Pixar but nobody else cares. 

My ego is no longer attached to it and that frees me to make mistakes. And it's been my best work. Some of my friends don't even know that I'm the one making CN to the Rescue. Find stuff that doesn't stroke your ego as much.

For young kids who want to get into this industry, my advice is: Start with whatever is in your hand. Do you have a pencil in your hand? A piece of paper? Start writing a script. Start drawing something.

Practice and get better with that. Don't let what you don't have, stop you from doing what you can do. André is a classic example of that. He started with his phone and recording on his phone.

What message do you have for local content creators in Africa?

André: Honestly there no perfect time to wait until you get a quality camera, or whatever. 

Start with what you have. I started with a low-quality cellphone, shooting my own content and videos and sending it around, just doing everything I can to put myself out there and it landed in the right hands at the right time. Now I'm here. 

Don't limit yourself, don't underestimate yourself. Start with what you have and the rest will follow.

CN to the Rescue season 2 is on Mondays at 18:10 on Cartoon Network (DStv 301), from 21 February

WarnerMedia shows the first teaser footage of its Game of Thrones prequel series House of the the Dragon coming to HBO Max in 2022.

by Thinus Ferreira

HBO has unveiled the first teaser footage of its Game of Thrones prequel spin-off series, House of the Dragon that will be coming to its HBO Max video streaming service in 2022.

"Gods, kings, fire and blood. Dreams didn't make us king. Dragons did," viewers hear in the first teaser for the 10-episode House of the Dragon. 

The prequel series will chronicle the fall of the House of Targaryen when dragons still roamed Westeros in bigger numbers before their virtual extinction during the time of Game of Thrones and the family politics and drama - basically a family civil war - that became known as the legendary "Dance of the Dragons".

Matt Smith appears as dragonrider Prince Daemon Targaryen in the first teaser for the series that takes place 200 years before Game of Thrones. 

HBO Max also announced further cast additions for the series, with Wil Johnson as Ser Vaemond Velaryon, John Macmillan as Ser Laenor Velaryon, Savannah Steyn as Lady Laena Velayron, and Theo Nate as Ser Laenor Velaryon.

House of the Dragon will be released at an unspecified date in 2022 and the teaser was released today as part of a promotional effort by WarnerMedia that plans to roll out HBO Max in Europe and that held a virtual Europe launch event in Tuesday.

It's not yet clear whether MultiChoice's M-Net or Showmax in South Africa might be able to acquire House of the Dragon like it did Game of Thrones.

House of the Dragon is specifically made for HBO Max, that WarnerMedia plans to still roll out globally, similar to Disney+ (coming to South Africa around June 2022 to South Africa), ViacomCBS' Paramount+, and Discovery Inc.'s Discovery+.

Neither Christina Sulebakk, general manager for HBO Max for the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region, nor Priya Dogra, president of WarnerMedia International, have so far announced any specific launch date yet for HBO Max in sub-Saharan Africa.

That means that similar to Disney+ series like The Mandalorian, South African viewers won't be able to watch House of the Dragon legally even if they want to pay, unless WarnerMedia or HBO does a licensing agreement with M-Net or Showmax.

Johannes Larcher, WarnerMedia's head of HBO Max International, said that HBO Max plans to be available in 190 countries by 2026.

WarnerMedia and CNN to launch CNN+ as a video streaming news service in first quarter of 2022 with over 8 hours of live programming daily.

by Thinus Ferreira

WarnerMedia and CNN announced on Monday afternoon that it will launch CNN+ (CNN Plus) in the first quarter of 2022 as a new video streaming news service with over 8 hours of live programming daily.

It's not yet clear whether CNN+ -that will complement CNN Domestic in the United States and CNN International (DStv 401) as its global channel version - will be available outside of America, or when and on what platforms it will be accessible.

CNN will very likely have to hire hundreds more staffers to beef up CNN+ with no pricing or any specific anchoring and presenting talent that has been announced.

CNN says that CNN Plus will be an "additive experience that complements the core CNN linear networks and digital platforms to serve CNN superfans, news junkies and fans of quality non-fiction programming".

CNN+ will carry between 8 and 12 hours of live programming per day, and will also have "topical deep dives and lifestyle content from some of CNN’s most prominent talent, as well as several new faces", for instance, non-fiction lifestyle series like Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy that is currently broadcast on CNN International on Sunday evenings.

"CNN invented cable news in 1980, defined online news in 1995 and now is taking an important step in expanding what news can be by launching a direct-to-consumer streaming subscription service in 2022," says Jeff Zucker, WarnerMedia News and Sports chairman and CNN Worldwide president in a press release announcing CNN+.

"As the most trusted and recognized name in news, CNN has unrivaled global reach, world-class talent and a deep existing library of content including award-winning series and films."

"On top of a television offering that has never been stronger, which remains at the core of what we do today, we will offer consumers a streaming product that grows the reach and scope of the CNN brand in a way that no one else is doing. Nothing like this exists."

Besides the issuing of the press release about CNN Plus, Jeff Zucker also had an internal meeting on Monday morning with staffers about CNN+.

Friends: See the official teaser of Friends: The Reunion - or as the call it, 'The One Where They Get Back Together'.

by Thinus Ferreira

HBO has released an instantly-emotional, first official teaser for the TV special event, Friends: The Reunion - or as the show calls it "the one where the one where they get back together".

HBO also announced that Friends: The Reunion will become available on Thursday 27 May on its HBO Max video streaming service. 

Although WarnerMedia has not launched HBO Max in South Africa or anywhere else in the sub-Saharan Africa market, chances are that the TV special will end up on M-Net (DStv 101) that had the pay-TV rights for the comedy series throughout its run and with M-Net and MultiChoice that has an existing output deal for HBO content with Warner.

In the Friends: The Reunion official teaser, the older cast of David Schwimmer, Jennifer Aniston, Lisa Kudrow, Matthew Perry, Courteney Cox and Matt LeBlanc can be seen filmed from the back, walking, at dusk, away from the camera while the Friends theme song plays.

According to the HBO press release, they return to "the iconic comedy's original soundstage, Stage 24, on the Warner Bros. Studio lot in Burbank for a real-life unscripted celebration of the beloved show".

The Friends: The Reunion video trailer is a clever play on one of the iconic Friends publicity images that was released while the show was in production showing the 6 friends, from the front, walking on the studio lot in formal wear.

The TV special will include several guest appearances, including BTS, Cara Delevingne, Cindy Crawford, David Beckham, Elliot Gould, James Corden, Justin Bieber, Kit Harrington, Lady Gaga, Larry Hankin, Mindy Kaling, Thomas Lennon, Christina Pickles, Tom Selleck, James Michael Tyler who played Gunther on the show, Maggie Wheeler, Reese Witherspoon and Malala Yousafzai.

The special is directed by Ben Winston and executive produced by the original Friends creators Kevin Bright, Marta Kauffman and David Crane.

Why South Africa didn't yet get the Disney+ and HBO Max video streaming services - and likely won't soon: The content is tied up in MultiChoice and M-Net's multiyear output deals with Disney and WarnerMedia.

by Thinus Ferreira  

Why can you buy the "Lego Brickheadz Star Wars The Mandalorian & Child" set - a new Amazon best-seller - at ToysRUs in South Africa for R369.90, but you can't actually watch Disney and Lucasfilm's The Mandalorian TV show legitimately anywhere in South Africa that the merc is based on?

Existing, multiyear content contracts between MultiChoice and M-Net, with respectively The Walt Disney Company and WarnerMedia, are likely the main reason why Disney+ and HBO Max have not been launched or earmarked with rollout dates in Africa and why South African consumers can't access these video streaming services.

Africa is the only continent conspicuously left out in the rollout plans, pronounced dates and access to Disney+ and HBO Max. 

It's likely ironically due to the issue that the access that Disney and WarnerMedia's have to their own content is currently tied up and curtailed in long-term distribution deals with traditional direct-to-home (DTH) pay-TV operators like MultiChoice and M-Net.

Known as so-called "output deals", both Disney and WarnerMedia are likely waiting for these multiyear international content distribution contracts for its shows, ranging from ABC to HBO seen across the M-Net (DStv 101) channel and others, to first lapse before launching Disney+ and HBO Max in South Africa.

Launching Disney+ and HBO Max as truncated streaming apps without a lot of the content on it that viewers might expect them to have but that might then not be available, could damage the initial brand perception under consumers of these video streamers if there were to be complaints about a lack of content.

Netflix - that previously sold some of its shows like House of Cards and Orange is the New Black to M-Net before it had its own service locally - as well as Amazon Prime Video, have both since launched in South Africa and across sub-Saharan Africa.

Neither of them has any big output deals with other platforms like MultiChoice that would make a dent in their own catalogue offerings in the way that Disney+ and HBO Max would struggle.

WarnerMedia has the same problem in the United Kingdom, where Disney+ has launched, with HBO Max that won't be rolled out in Britain until at least 2025 after its existing output deal with the pay-TV service Sky has lapsed.

While WarnerMedia has announced a detailed timeline for the ongoing rollout of HBO Max, South Africa has been snubbed with no indication of when the streamer might launch.

In response to a media enquiry asking whether its reluctance is due to its exclusive, long-term output deal with MultiChoice, similar to Sky, and if there's any indication as to when HBO Max might become available, WarnerMedia tells TVwithThinus that "Regarding HBO Max, we are focusing on our mid-year launch in Latin America, followed by launches in Europe where we already operate HBO services".

"We have not communicated plans beyond that and as you know, in many places, including in Africa, we have important content partners who distribute our programming."

About Disney+'s delayed launch in Africa, and if the company is worried about consumers pirate viewing its streamer's content, Walt Disney Africa says that "at this stage we have no news to share regarding Disney+, including its release in South Africa and the continent".

TVwithThinus asked MultiChoice in a media enquiry why Disney+ has not yet been added as an app to the DStv Explora Ultra, whether it has to do with MultiChoice's long-term output deal for content and if MultiChoice is specifically in any talks with Disney about adding Disney+.

MultiChoice was also asked why HBO Max isn't being added to the DStv Explora Ultra as a SVOD service and whether this absence is also related to another multiyear output deal with HBO for content that must first lapse in the way that is the case with Sky in the UK.

MultiChoice said that it has no comment at the moment.

ALSO READ: Disney remains silent over why Africa remains ostracised from its Disney+ streaming service, touts its 'regional commitment' to the UK and Europe whilst ignoring the A in its EMEA region.

WarnerMedia's kids TV channel Boing gets a refreshed on-air look from 10 April including a flexible new 'chameleon-like logo'.

by Thinus Ferreira 

WarnerMedia's kids entertainment channel Boing that is available in 19 African countries is getting a refreshed on-air look from 10 April.

WarnerMedia says that Boing has "redesigned its playfulness" after working closely with children from the channel's core target market and that Boing will introduce a new "chameleon-like logo".

The well-known red Boing logo isn't changing in itself but is going to be used in a different and inventive way going forward, giving the Boing brand's new visual identity an added level of playfullness.

The Boing logo on-screen will change into an array of different Boing logos with different backgrounds going forward.

Boing is aimed at girls and boys aged 4 to 14 years old and has a range of shows and franchises, including popular comedy and action shows, such as international animated hits like Sonic Boom, Dragons and The Jungle Bunch; 90’s classics including Codename KND, Dexter’s Laboratory and Johnny Bravo; and others, for example, Angelo Rules, Uncle Grampa and Oswaldo.

A massive icon library that can be changed and adapted according to the brand's modernised visual language has been developed and features over 320 graphical elements, including 150 Boing brand stickers aligning the shows that kids love with the channel.

"With just the right amount of childhood chaos, the new, flexible logo can be updated into many different variants working across all the different platforms on which the channel is featured, giving Boing viewers in Africa something to look forward to every single day," says WarnerMedia Africa.

"The new-look Boing is a fun-filled playground where kids can take ownership of the brand, finding themselves surrounded by a palette of stickers, icons, and other doodles allowing fans to add their own element of chaos to create unique looks that reach a new level of excitement and fun," says Ariane Suveg, kids content director for France and Africa.

"With this new fun-filled identity, Boing is now even more connected and in step with the world of our young viewers: Dynamic, inclusive, and constantly evolving."

Boing has acquired new exclusive programming and from April viewers can look forward to Boing Sunday Marathons at 13:30 every week, including the escapades of a group of 10-year olds in Codename KND on 11 April, Uncle Grampa on 18 April, the tale of Maurice the penguin in The Jungle Bunch on 25 April, and the 11-year old in Angelo Rules on 2 May.

TV NEWS ROUND-UP. Today's interesting TV reports and articles to read - 10 March 2021.

Here's the latest news about TV that I read and that you should read too:    

■ Oprah's explosive sit-down interview with Harry and Meghan also seen on M-Net (DStv 101) reverberates across the world.

- Over 17 million viewers in America.

- Over 11.3 million viewers in Britain.

- 1.78 million viewers in Australia.

- South Africa: Still waiting.

- Not available on MultiChoice's DStv Catch Up: Why Oprah's Harry and Meghan TV special doesn't have a video streaming home.

- In Oprah's interview with Harry and Megan, 2 TV worlds collided.

- All journalists can learn from Oprah: Follow-up questions make all the difference.

- Masterclass: Once again Oprah proves she's America's Queen.

- "Still stunning how Oprah uses her position of being the only person in the world who can ask anyone anything".

- Oprah is still the queen of the TV interview.

- Oprah with Meghan and Harry: The art of the TV interview.

- Interview will get a rebroadcast on M-Net (DStv 101) on Saturday 13 March at 4pm.

■ Why a commercialised SABC might marginalise parts of South Africa's population (subscription required).

■ Disney's Disney+ video streaming service crosses 100 million subscribers.

■ Teen Wolf's Tyler Posey about his sexual fluidity, being with men and his struggle with sobriety.

■ A year after Covid-19 lockdowns halted productions, TV channels and distributors are getting more creative in crafting content as they enter a new year of living less dangerously.

■ Netflix's relationship with black viewers and creatives is one of the secrets to its success.

■ New Dutch kids TV show features naked adults answering questions.

■  The new era for long-form journalism.

■ Journalists around the world are targeted at record levels.

- Why working as a journalist in Uganda is especially tough.

■ Teen Vogue in trouble.

■ Sky, WarnerMedia and ViacomCBS switch on the subtitles for more than 500 episodes of most popular kids' content to help with reading.

■ StarTimes subscribers in Kenya faces possible switch-off because of StarTimes' liquidation proceedings in Hong Kong court over billions in unpaid sports licensing rights.

■ SHOCKER: New study - Digital devices are rewiring young kids brains dramatically. And it's bad.

The Alpha Generation growing up now will have less artists and musicians - and digital devices will be to blame making kids lose sight of the bigger picture, literally.

■ Our love for streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video are suffocating the Earth.

Data centres consume massive amounts of electricity.

■ The problem with the lack of diversity of M-Net's (DStv 101) Love Island South Africa.

- Everything about M-Net's Love Island SA on DStv has been a total trainwreck.

- M-Net and eNCA can say sorry but systemic racism must never be tolerated (subscription required).

- Zero love for M-Net's Love Island SA.

- A realistic picture of the real South Africa is hard to find in M-Net's Love island SA (Dutch - translate).

■ How to clean your TV screen and keep the picture crystal clear.

■ SuperSport explains the CAF TV rights issue ... again.

■ Girls kept in a dungeon as sex slaves are put on TV and then confronted by their captor.

■ MultiChoice Uganda once again slashes decoder prices - for GOtv decoders the second time in 3 months.

Boomerang Africa adds new The Tom and Jerry Show 5th season episodes on weekdays plus two of its cat-and-mouse movies in March, says animated show 'one of most significant contributors' to Boomerang's ratings.

by Thinus Ferreira

New episodes of the 5th season of The Tom and Jerry Show started rolling out on Boomerang (DStv 302) at 08:05 on weekdays from Monday 8 March, with two Tom and Jerry films that will be shown on Boomerang on Monday 22 March from 08:05 as well.

The 2014-series, directed by Darrell van Citters, is based on the 1940 Tom and Jerry animated cartoon series created by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, with the iconic frenemies cat and mouse who are joined by Spike, Tyke, Tuffy, Butch and other friends in new adventures around the house and even as far away as outer space.

WarnerMedia says that Tom and Jerry remains one of the best performing shows on the Boomerang Africa channel and that it is "one of the most significant contributors to the channel's ratings in the past year".

To celebrate the release of The Tom & Jerry Movie, a hybrid live-action and animated film now in South African cinemas since 5 March in which Jerry moves into a New York hotel during a wedding and Tom is brought in to get rid of him, Boomerang Africa has launched new episodes of the series on weekdays at 08:05.

In addition viewers will be able to enjoy the public holiday on Monday 22 March with two Tom and Jerry movies starting at 08:05, starting with Tom and Jerry: The Fast and the Furry as the duo agree for once to enter a race around the world where the winner gets a new house after wrecking their own home during a chase.

The two then accidentally blast off to outer space in Tom and Jerry: Blast Off to Mars.

WarnerMedia gives its TNT Africa a channel refresh and adds American wrestling content from All Elite Wrestling to its new weekly schedule.

by Thinus Ferreira

WarnerMedia's TNT channel has refreshed the on-air look of its TNT Africa (DStv 137 / StarSat 186) TV channel on 1 February and is also adding American wrestling content from All Elite Wrestling that will compete with WWE on SuperSport.

TNT's channel refresh to bring the African version of the channel more in line with the brand's international look, with TNT Original Movies that will premiere on the channel on the first Thursday of every month.

WarnerMedia says that the TNT channel refresh and wrestling programming is geared towards delivering relevant and exciting programming to African viewers.

As part of the refresh, TNT Africa will debut AEW DYNAMITE, the weekly flagship show from All Elite Wrestling that is a new professional wrestling league.

This launch will kick off on Friday, 5 February, at 13:20 (CAT) with the first 5 episodes of the new season.

Then, every Friday night, during prime time at 20:00 (CAT), TNT will premiere the recent high-octane matches, 2 days after the premiere in the United States, and after that repeated twice throughout the week.

AEW offers an alternative to mainstream wrestling like the WWE, with a roster of talent that will provide TNT Africa viewers with a different, yet spectacularly action-packed weekly wrestling programme.

WarnerMedia says that "TNT Africa's exciting content line up and brand-new, refreshed look are a perfect fit for the channel’s move towards being more powerful and modern. This is aligned with the global look of the channel - that people from all over the globe can recognise".

TNT Africa will continue to launch its exclusive and brand-new, TNT Original Movies on the channel on the first Thursday of every month. 

These films include a wide range of mainstream entertainment genres, featuring renowned, and rising international stars. In February 2021 TNT will broadcast Straight Up, a romantic movie from writer, director and star James Sweeney.

TNT's line-up includes action films, romance movies and comedies including titles like Splash and the Best Man Holiday, Crank High Voltage and Point Break in February’s Adrenaline Rush stunt.

Malcolm X and Just Cause is scheduled for Human Rights Day in 2021; and in April TNT viewers will be able to watch Academy Award-winning titles such as E.T and Gladiator.

"TNT is excited to usher in a new era in entertainment that is attuned to our audience needs and appetite," says Guillermo Farré, head of WarnerMedia general entertainment channels across France, Iberia and Africa

"Despite how far we’ve come, we remain steadfastly dedicated to giving our African audience premium content, and the launch of AEW DYNAMITE and the channel refresh bear testament of this."

WarnerMedia sent over a press drop to the media to announce the channel refresh and the addition of the All Elite Wrestling content to the channel's schedule.

All the elven fantasy TV news fit to whisper: From Netflix's The Witcher spin-off and possible Harry Potter series to Game of Thrones and Amazon Studios' Númenor-set Lord of the Rings prequel series.

by Thinus Ferreira

The Witcher prequel series on Netflix is casting, Game of Thrones will chronicle a new Westeros war, there will be familiar and new characters like Sauron in Amazon Prime Video's The Lord of the Rings series, and the sorting hat might be dusted off to sort a new class in a Harry Potter TV series on HBO Max. 

In an announcement, Netflix said that Jodie Turner-Smith has been cast in the role of Éile in the upcoming series The Witcher: Blood Origin spin-off.

This limited, 6-episode, live-action series is set "in an elven world" 1 200 years before the events depicted in The Witcher, which is busy filming its second season in the United Kingdom with Henry Cavill in the lead role as Geralt of Rivia.

According to Netflix, The Witcher: Blood Origin will "tell a story lost to time – the creation of the first prototype Witcher, and the events that lead to the pivotal 'conjunction of the spheres', when the worlds of monsters, men, and elves merged to become one".

Netflix's character description states that Jodie Turner-Smith will "play Éile, an elite warrior blessed with the voice of a goddess, who has left her clan and position as Queen’s guardian to follow her heart as a nomadic musician. A grand reckoning on the continent forces her to return to the way of the blade in her quest for vengeance and redemption".

Declan de Barra serves as executive producer and showrunner of The Witcher: Blood Origin with Lauren Schmidt Hissrich, creator of The Witcher series, as executive producer, together with Tomek Baginski and Jarek Sawko from Platige Films.

Besides this limited spin-off, Netflix is also working on an animated film titled The Witcher: Nightmare Of The Wolf, that will tell the origin story of Geralt’s Witcher mentor Vesemir.

More Hogwarts and Westeros

As the video streaming wars continue to ramp up and studios are scouring their intellectual property catalogues that they could potentially build out into new content to set them apart and lure viewers, the Hollywood trades are reporting that WarnerMedia executives, in early discussions, are thinking about developing a live-action Harry Potter TV series for its HBO Max video streaming service.

In an official statement, Warner Bros. and HBO Max say that "there is no Harry Potter series in development at the studio or on the streaming platform".

Obviously, this statement is technically true - a series isn't in actual "development" - but it is only true insofar as everything that Professor Albus Dumbledore ever said to Harry Potter was technically true, although it wasn't at times all of the truth that was available.

According to the Hollywood reports, HBO Max and WarnerMedia execs have been and are talking about the possibility of developing a Harry Potter TV series and they see "expanding the world of Harry Potter as a top priority", similar to the way in which HBO's Game of Thrones fantasy series is being expanded with several prequel spin-off series.

Besides the already-announced House of the Dragon series that will debut in 2022 and that will chronicle the start of Westeros' Targaryen civil war, HBO is now also developing a George R.R. Martin Game of Thrones spinoff book series as a new Tales of Dunk and Egg TV series.

This spinoff drama series, with hour-long episodes and set 90 years before the existing TV series, will revolve around the adventures of Ser Duncan the Tall (known as Dunk) and a very young Aegon V Targaryen (known as Egg).

HBO Max is not available in South Africa or sub-Saharan Africa and WarnerMedia doesn't want to talk about a possible launch date for the country or the continent.

However, last week Christina Sulebakk, the boss of WarnerMedia's HBO Max for the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region, announced her senior executive team specifically for this region - a strong indication that HBO Max will eventually make its way to South Africa similar to Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV+.

A Sauron origin story

Amazon Prime Video has released an official description for the New Zealand-filmed Lord of the Rings prequel TV series, confirming that it will be set during the Second Age of Middle-earth, will include the island of Númenor and the elf-capital Lindon as locations, and that viewers will see "characters, both familiar and new" which means a young Sauron.

The as-yet-untitled Lord of the Rings series, the world's new most expensive TV series ever, is only expected to be released on Amazon Prime Video in late-2021, or during 2022 with Amazon that hasn't given a definite release date yet. 

While the prequel series takes place thousands of years before the events depicted in The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit films and books, several of the inhabitants of this world have long lifespans like the dwarfs who live for several centuries and elves who are immortal. 

According to Amazon Prime Video's new official synopsis for the series, "Amazon Studios' forthcoming series brings to screens for the very first time the heroic legends of the fabled Second Age of Middle-earth's history".

"This epic drama is set thousands of years before the events of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, and will take viewers back to an era in which great powers were forged, kingdoms rose to glory and fell to ruin, unlikely heroes were tested, hope hung by the finest of threads, and the greatest villain that ever flowed from Tolkien’s pen threatened to cover all the world in darkness."

"Beginning in a time of relative peace, the series follows an ensemble cast of characters, both familiar and new, as they confront the long-feared re-emergence of evil to Middle-earth."

"From the darkest depths of the Misty Mountains, to the majestic forests of the elf-capital of Lindon, to the breathtaking island kingdom of Númenor, to the furthest reaches of the map, these kingdoms and characters will carve out legacies that live on long after they are gone."

The Second Age is of course when Sauron rose to power and corrupted the human leaders living on Númenor, leading to the fall of the Nine Kings. 

The series cast includes Robert Aramayo, Owain Arthur, Nazanin Boniadi, Tom Budge and Morfydd Clark as a young Galadriel.

ALSO READ: Amazon Studios' Lord of the Rings fantasy drama series will be set during the Second Age and include the island of Númenor.

ALSO READ: Netflix commissions The Witcher fantasy spin-off with a 6-episode prequel series The Witcher: Blood Origin set 1 200 years earlier during the Elven civilisation.

WarnerMedia's HBO Max boss for Africa and Europe announces senior executive team for the region, says it will launch HBO Max into 'many territories across EMEA in the years to come'.

 

by Thinus Ferreira

Christina Sulebakk, the boss of WarnerMedia's HBO Max video streaming service for the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region has announced her senior executive team for the region.

Christine Sulebakk who took over as HBO Max EMEA boss in late-2020 and who is reporting to Johannes Larcher as HBO Max International boss, will be responsible for the rollout and expansion of HBO Max across Europe, the Middle East and Africa as HBO Max general manager.

WarnerMedia and WarnerMedia Africa has not made any announcements or given any indication of when HBO Max would be made available in sub-Saharan Africa as a video streaming service. 

MultiChoice recently added both Netflix SA and Amazon Prime Video as two of the available global streaming services to its DStv Explora Ultra decoder, although Disney+, Discovery+, Peacock and the to-launch Paramount+ still remains unavailable.

Christine Sulebakk says her HBO Max EMEA team will launch HBO Max into "many new territories across Europe, the Middle East and Africa in the years to come.”

The HBO Max EMEA senior executive team now includes Line Mykland leading the HBO Max content experience division that will develop and implement the editorial strategy with a focus on local audiences. 

Lance Mykland previously worked on the rollout of HBO Nordic and then the launch of HBO Europe.

Roberto Soto is leading the growth marketing division and is in charge of commercial strategy and business development, including HBO Max subscriber acquisition and publicity.

Brett Horowitz is leading data, insights and planning while Tobias Andersson is shifting to become EMEA legal lead. Andreas Ferdinand is now in charge of overseeing the HBO Max product experience in EMEA.

The HBO Max EMEA team will be working with the rejigged WarnerMedia International team including Priya Dogra, WarnerMedia EMEA & Asia president, including Hannes Heyelmann (programming), Antony Root (original production), Pierre Branco (affiliate sales) and Vanessa Brookman for kids.

"With this strong group of executives, their great experience from decades of working within the direct-to-consumer business and their highly skilled teams, we are more than ready to upgrade our HBO-branded services across Europe to HBO Max, while also planning, preparing and launching in many new territories across Europe, the Middle East and Africa in the years to come," says Christine Sulebakk in a prepared statement.

"Supported by all our WarnerMedia colleagues and as part of a best-in-class global HBO Max team, I couldn’t be more excited about the ambitious plans for HBO Max and the journey ahead of us."

WarnerMedia starts 'painful' new round of retrenchments in North America to create a smaller WarnerMedia team, says it continues to review company structure changes in countries outside the United States.

by Thinus Ferreira

WarnerMedia has started a new round of retrenchments in North America, and says it will also eliminate further jobs internationally.

WarnerMedia is elevating its HBO Max video streaming service with ongoing, major restructuring of the company.

WarnerMedia plans to launch HBO Max internationally but has been silent on any possible date for South Africa or sub-Saharan Africa for this video streaming service.

WarnerMedia runs Turner, HBO and Warner Bros. and through those units international TV channels like CNN International, Cartoon Network, Boomerang, TNT and others around the world on pay-TV services like MultiChoice's DStv and China's StarTimes across Africa, in addition to the HBO channel with its premium content sold to broadcasters worldwide like M-Net.

"This is a very painful email to write. And for a number of you reading this, I realize it will be even more painful to receive," Jason Kilar who took over in May 2020, wrote to WarnerMedia staffers on Tuesday.

"This is a very painful email to write. And for a number of you reading this, I realise it will be even more painful to receive."

"In August, I first shared news about how we were going to meaningfully change the organizational structure of WarnerMedia which entailed, among other items, simplifying how we organize our entertainment studios, elevating HBO Max, and consolidating our commercial activities into one organization."

"Many of you have patiently waited to hear how the reorganization would affect you personally, which is both uncomfortable and stressful," he writes.

"As I mentioned a few months ago, this entails simplifying how we are organized, partnering with the very best storytellers, and leaning into world-class product and technology as we share our stories directly with audiences across the globe."

"Our journey entails continuing to excel in our large, core businesses while at the same time investing in emerging businesses where we have the opportunity to meaningfully delight customers."

"Today, we have arrived at a number of difficult decisions that are resulting in a smaller WarnerMedia team. This is a function of removing layers and the impact of consolidating previously separate organisations."

"Starting today in North America, we will be sharing which jobs are being eliminated and which roles have changed. We are continuing to review proposed changes in other countries across our non-United States businesses, the timing of which will vary according to local regulatory requirements."

"Nothing about this is easy. But please know, these reductions are not in any way a reflection of the quality of the team members impacted, nor their work. It is simply a function of the changes I believe we must make in order to best serve customers."

Jason Kilar says that "To our colleagues who are leaving, I wish there were words to lessen today’s pain".

"Your contributions are a permanent part of this great company and today’s news does not change that. I am extremely thankful for all that you have done for this team and this mission."

ALSO READ: Warner Bros. Television Group restructuring its studios with Warner Bros. Television and Warner Horizon Scripted TV to merge.

TV NEWS ROUND-UP. Today's interesting TV stories to read - 16 October 2020.

Here's the latest news about TV that I read and that you should read too:  

■ MultiChoice makes top-exec appointments: Nyiko Shiburi is new MultiChoice SA CEO, Marc Jury is SuperSport CEO; Clement O'Reilly to oversee HR, Fhulu Badugela new Southern Africa director.

■ Cricket South Africa and the SABC still in the dark about England tour TV coverage with no contract in place.

- Race to get cricket tour broadcast deal signed.

■ Sport and Entertainment International (SPI) tries to break through in South Africa as a new sports streaming service, will start with boxing on Saturday night as it tries to disrupt the traditional sports television market .

■ WarnerMedia dumps its HBO and WB TV channels in India, Pakistan, Maldives, Bangladesh and other South Asia markets.

■ Has Peak TV already peaked?

American television has had to compete with the deranged reality show that is the Donald Trump era, and now viewers have a million viewing options - and a lot less worth watching.

■ The changing face of TV in the time of Covid (subscription required).

■ Netflix's original shows are rarely popular.

Netflix still struggling to wean itself off other companies' hit TV shows.

■ Disney's new corporate structure makes it a lot more like Netflix.

■ MultiChoice Kenya signs an agreement with Kenya's draconian censorship board.

■ Women are rewriting some of the rules of Bollywood thanks to Amazon Prime Video and Netflix.

■ Why Africa's TV animation scene is booming.

■ In the United Kingdom where Sky offers Netflix as part of its pay-TV service, it is now offering Netflix for free in an early Black Friday deal.

■ 5 reasons why Nigerian television doesn't show public protests: Lack of imagination, fear of government.

■ The streaming TV news war is heating up.

Organisations are mounting a fierce and increasingly well-funded battle for streaming-news supremacy.

■ Citizen TV still the most-watched TV channel in Kenya.

■ "Give us the horny Lord of the Rings show we deserve."

Amazon Prime Video put out an open casting call for its New Zealand-filmed fantasy drama series looking for actors "who must be comfortable with nudity".