MTV's successful new fantasy drama series, The Shannara Chronicles, renewed for a second season; no episode order or starting date given.

The Shannara Chronicles has been renewed for a second season by MTV, although the recently completed first season has not yet been shown on MTV in South Africa and across Africa or on any other of MultiChoice's channels on DStv.

The fantasy drama series based on the fantasy novels of the famed fantasy author Terry Brooks.started at the beginning of the year and just concluded its 10-episode, first season run as MTV's first drama series.

Interestingly, The Shannara Chronicles ranked as the highest grossing digital download for a single season on MTV in the channel's history in America, accomplishing the goal of attracting more, new and new younger viewers to the brand.

In January Viacom International Media Networks Africa (VIMN Africa) told TVwithThinus that "it is very likely that we will be airing The Shannara Chronicles on MTV in Africa" but so far nothing has come of it.

VIMN Africa said "we do endeavour to air American series as close as possible to the United States premieres, so we will be able to update you shortly about the premiere date for the series on DStv".

That didn't happen.

Now the show has been renewed for a second season while South African viewers missed out on following the first season as the rest of the world.

In the drama series Austin Butler as a half-human, half elf, goes on a quest with an elf princess (Poppy Drayton) and the last druid (Manu Bennett) to help save the elf kingdom when their magical tree that keeps the demons at bay, starts dying.

No episode order, nor starting date for the second season of The Shannara Chronicles has been announced - nor what story the second season will tell. 

The other books in the novel series deal with completely other characters in other eras, and the first season ended where the book ended.

"This dream team delivered a beautiful, groundbreaking show with compelling stories and character journeys which brought in new viewers.  I can't wait to see what season 2 brings," says Mina Lefevre, the executive vice president and head of scripted development at MTV in America in a statement.

"We're thrilled to continue the momentum established in season 1," says Jenna Glazier, the executive vice president of television series at Sonar Entertainment.

"Along with the ongoing support of MTV, the entire creative team is poised to raise the bar even higher in season 2".

South African television viewing remains stable in total although less people are watching SABC1, SABC2 and e.tv on a weekly basis.

South African television viewing remains stable in total, although less people are watching SABC1, SABC2 and e.tv on a weekly basis, according to the latest All Media and Products Survey (AMPS) for January to December 2015.

The South African Advertising Research Foundation's (SAARF) latest AMPS figures were just released (which will also be its last of South Africa's largest national survey since it started in 1975).

While the Living Standard Measure (LSM) audience segmentation tool is largely outdated and will be replaced by some new, as yet unannounced currency, LSMs is still what basically everybody is the biz refers to and uses to make and track those elusive audiences and ad buys.

Despite a number of declines for individual TV channels in South Africa like SABC1, SABC2 and e.tv, television in total remained stable at 91.8%.

This is despite the decline in weekly viewership of three terrestrial TV channels, the total community TV sector, and a general loss of weekly TV viewers in the Western Cape.

e.tv's weekly viewing dropped from 67% to 65.1% - plunging due to a decline in viewers tuning out in large urban areas in specifically the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal. e.tv viewership losses were seen across both males and females.

SABC1 likewise saw a drop in its weekly audience figures: down from 76.9% to 75.4%. SABC1 lost viewers in large urban areas and the Western Cape tuning out.

SABC2 also shed viewers with its weekly audience dropping from 72.1% to 70.4% - driven by losses in large urban areas, the Western Cape and Limpopo and female viewers tuning out.

Although at a lower percentage, SABC3's weekly audience remained stable at 55%, despite losing viewers in the Western Cape in the LSM8 to LSM 10 demographic - the wealthier viewers.

The weekly viewing of M-Net's terrestrial channel managed to remain stable at 6%.

Weekly audience levels for total community TV in South Africa dropped from 10.4% to 9.4%, due in part to losses in large urban areas and female viewers.

Viewership of Platco Digital's OpenView HD (OVHD) is growing. The weekly audience rose with audience numbers now at 195 000 per week, or 0.5% - up from 0.2% previously. This viewership increase comes from all community sizes, from the Western Cape and North West and from both more women and men turning in to the free-to-air satellite platform.

The total weekly audience of On Digital Media (ODM) and StarTimes Media South Africa's StarSat remained stable, although extremely small, at 0.6%.

Viewership of MultiChoice's DStv remained stable with an even weekly audience figure of 39.9%.

Interestingly, according to AMPS Dec 2015 only 1.4% of South Africans watch television online or over their cellphones per week.

Sky's Sky1 announces a brand new fantasy drama series series, The Last Dragonslayer, based on Jasper Fforde's novel.

Britain's pay-TV operator Sky just announced that it's commissioned a brand-new drama series for Christmas time that will start filming this month, The Last Dragonslayer based on Jasper Fforde's novel.

A bit Harry Potter, a bit A Series of Unfortunate Events, the drama will follow the 15-year old Jennifer Strange (Ellise Chappell) in the Ununited Kingdoms who becomes the apprentice to the last Dragonslayer in a modern world but one where magic exists.

The Last Dragonslayer will start in Christmas this year on Sky's Sky1 channel.

Sky1 is Sky's flagship channel, very similar to M-Net (DStv 101) on MultiChoice's DStv. It's therefore almost a sure bet that M-Net will pick up this show and broadcast it sometime in 2017.

"For 2016, an adaptation of Jasper Fforde's The Last Dragonslayer holds all of the ingredients for the perfect seasonal treat for the entire family; wizards, dragons, a kick-ass heroine and the perfect magical cast led by Ricky Tomlinson, Ellise Chappell and John Bradley," says Cameron Roach, Sky commissioning editor in a just-released statement.

"Adapting Jasper Fforde's madcap world and unique characters, screenwriter Tom Edge has forged an exciting, fast-paced family adventure that is both compelling, endearing and emotional," says Pete Czernin of Blueprint Pictures.

The Last Dragonslayer will be directed by Jamie Stone with  Laura Hastings-Smith as series producer.

Netflix grabs new time traveling drama series, Travelers, with Eric McCormack, in which heroes team from the future tries to save mankind's future.

Netflix has grabbed a new time traveling drama series entitled Travelers with Will & Grace's Eric McCormack that will be a co-production with Canada.

Travelers, created by Stargate SG-1's Brad Wright, will be broadcast on Canada's Showcase channel, and on Netflix in the rest of the world, including South Africa.

Travelers will start in mankind's future with a twist on the time travel yarn and be a cross between Quantum Leap, Legends of Tomorrow, Heroes and Alphas.

Hundreds of years into the future, the last surviving humans are able to send individuals' consciousness back through time into people living now.

Like Quantum Leap's Dr. Sam Beckett, these individuals "disguised" inside currently living people, have to work together secretly as a team to perform missions to prevent a terrible tragedy from resulting in mankind's disastrous future.

Eric McCormack will be the FBI special agent Grant MacLaren as the team's leader.

Mackenzie Porter will be Marcy, a clever but disabled woman in the care of her social worker (Patrick Gilmore).

Then there is Trevor (Jared Paul Abrahamson), a high school quarterback; Carly (Nesta Marlee Cooper) who is a single mom in an abusive relationship and the drug addicted student Philip (Reilly Dolman).

Wendy Williams on BET decides to help the konfused Bette Midler with a flow chart and everybody else who can't keep up with the Kardashians.

Wendy Williams decided to help and jumped in with a family tree chart for Bette Midler who's konfused - and for everybody else who can't keep up with the Kardashians.

"Bette Midler can't keep up with the Kardashians," Wendy Williams told viewers in the latest episode of her talk show The Wendy Williams Show on BET (DStv 129) and hauled out a flow chart to explain how Rob and Kylie are both 

"Now that Blac Chyna and Rob are engaged, Bette's confused about their family tree," said Wendy.

Bette Midler tweeted earlier, saying: "Rob Kardashian's engaged to the mother of the child of Kylie Jenner's boyfriend? They'll share a stepchild. Somebody send me a chart!"

Wendy Williams showed how Rob and Kylie will be both uncle and aunt, and stepdad and stepmom to Blac Chyna's son, King Cairo, she had with Tyga.

"It's very, very difficult for me to understand either," Wendy told her studio audience.

"Bette, just so that you can keep up with everything going on, we've got your address and I'm mailing this to you."

South African media conglom Naspers dumps the Rand for the Dollar as its new reporting currency; is restating its financial information back to 2014.

South Africa's Naspers that incorporates Africa's biggest pay-TV operator MultiChoice, announced a change in its reporting currency, dumping the South African Rand for the American Dollar, saying that in future it will report all of its earnings in the greenback instead of the South African currency.

In a statement Naspers says that it will change the presentation currency in its consolidated financial statements from Rand to Dollar with effect from the financial year ended on 31 March 2016.

Naspers says that over the past 100 years, the group has evolved from a single-country newspaper business and early investor in pay-TV to a video entertainment leader and global internet and e-commerce group.

"Coupled with the evolution of the business, the group's shareholder base is now largely comprised of foreign investors to whom financial reporting in Rand is of limited relevance. Internally, the board also bases its performance evaluation and many investment decisions on Dollar financial information".

Naspers is also summarising and restating its financial information in dollar for the financial years ended 31 March 2015 and 2014, as well as for the 6-month interim periods ended 30 September 2015 and 2014.

Naspers dividends will continue to be declared in rand.

SABC3's Mela presenter, Zahira Variawa, marries her dashing dog doc in Dubai; wedding will be shown on 8 May in 4-part travelogue series.

The SABC3 Mela presenter, Zahirah Variawa, has married her dashing dog doctor, Andrew Marty in Dubai where her Australian husband is a veterinarian for the United Arab Emirates president.

The luxurama wedding of the lovebirds who met at an Andrea Bocelli concert in Abu Dhabi, took place at Fairmont The Palm in Dubai and will be broadcast on Mela on Sunday 8 May.

With comedian Siv Ngesi as host, the two got married at the end of March among the exotic Dubai dunes surrounded by 160 of their close friends and family, including South African cricketer Graeme Smith.

Zahirah Variawa will be in Durban from 27 April after she moved to Dubai, with Mela that will be doing weekly Dubai travelogue inserts from 1 May - including her wedding on 8 May.

Zahirah Variawa now runs her own brand management service in Dubai and says moving to Dubai involved major mind-shifts and was a steep learning curve, but that she has learnt to love her new home and its cosmopolitan residents.

With her husband, their Dubai destination wedding will form the centrepiece of the four travel inserts that Mela will broadcast.

Prince William reveals when he was scolded by Queen Elizabeth II who came running across the lawn in special Sky News programme, The Queen at 90.

On the 90th birthday of Queen Elizabeth II, her grandson Prince William in a new documentary reveals how his furious grandmother ran across the lawn at Balmoral and gave him "the most almighty b*****king" after a quadbike and go-cart accident with his cousin Zara.

Prince William is one of the British royals who opens up tonight in the special programme on Sky News (DStv 402) at 22:00 (South African time), The Queen at 90, to celebrate the British monarch's birthday on Thursday.

(Her official birthday will only be celebrated in June).

In the programme, Prince William tells of how his grandmother was there for him after the death of his mother, Princess Diana and how a particular scolding she gave him as a teenager had stuck with him over the years.

"(We) were on a quad bike in Balmoral and we were chasing Zara around who was on a go-cart. Peter and I managed to herd Zara into a lamppost and the lamppost came down and nearly squashed her."

"I remember my grandmother being the first person out and running across the lawn in her kilt. She came charging over and gave us the most almighty b*****king."

"That sort of stuck in my mind from that moment on that I really should be a little bit more careful about what I'm doing and try not to kill my cousins."

In the programme Prince Williams says "having lost my mother at a very young age, it has been particularly important for me that I had somebody like the Queen to look up to and who has been there and has understood some of the more complex issues when you lose a loved one."

While The Queen at 90 doesn't appear on MultiChoice's electronic programme guide (EPG) for DStv, South African and African subscribers can tune in tonight at 22:00 or set a manual recording for that time.

New local MTV documentary, The People vs the Rainbow Nation, looks at whether South Africa's 'Rainbow Nation' has become a myth for disenfranchised youth.

MTV in South Africa commissioned a youth race documentary entitled The People vs the Rainbow Nation that will be broadcast on Thursday night looking at whether the Rainbow Nation that Archbishop Desmond Tutu described in 1994 has become a myth.

The 50-minute documentary from Lebogang Rasethaba and produced by Allison Swank of Arcade Content will be broadcast on Thursday 21 April on MTV (DStv 130) at 21:15 and on MTV Base (DStv 322) on 27 April at 12:00.

Viacom International Media Networks Africa (VIMN Africa) commissioned The People vs the Rainbow Nation in response to the American documentary White People that the youth channel felt would be more relevant and timeous for its local audience.

While race discussions dominates, the documentary also includes views on education, economic Apartheid, white privilege, colonialism, sexism, governance, patriarchy and classism in South African society.

The People vs the Rainbow Nation interviews youth activists and students at various campuses including Tuks, Wits, Stellenbosch and the University of Cape Town to get their opinions about the new youth struggle in South Africa which recently gave rise to upheaval and violence on tertiary campuses along with social media "hashtags" ranging from #RhodesMustFall to #FeesMustFall.

"The People vs the Rainbow Nation follows the contrasting lives of students of different ethnicities from four different South African universities in Cape Town, Johannesburg, Stellenbosch and Pretoria, asking if equal rights have meant equality, and whether the promise of the Rainbow Nation is still alive and kicking, or if the dream is tarnished beyond repair," says Dillon Khan, the head of MTV Africa.

"We wanted to make a film that we wished someone had made when we were young to help us make sense of the construct of society, how to engage the systems of power at play and where we as individuals fit in in all of this," says Lebogang Rasethaba.