Sony Pictures Television sells action-comedy series Twisted Metal with Anthony Mackie to MultiChoice's Showmax and M-Net.

by Thinus Ferreira

Sony Pictures Television (SPT) has sold its upcoming action-comedy series Twisted Metal with Anthony Mackie to M-Net and MultiChoice's Showmax video streaming service in South Africa and for sub-Saharan Africa.

Sony Pictures Television struck the deal for Twisted Metal as the annual LA Screenings that are underway in Los Angeles this week, with South African TV executives who are attending like Waldimar Pelser, M-Net director for premium channels, and Marlon Davids, managing director of e.tv channels.

The SPT deal means that South Africans will watch Twisted Metal on MultiChoice's Showmax video streamer first, followed by DStv subscribers seeing it on MultiChoice's M-Net (DStv 101) channel for a linear airing. 

Twisted Metal is based on the PlayStation video game series and is making its worldwide premiere on 27 June in the United States on the Peacock video streaming service. 

The action-comedy series stars Anthony Mackie and Stephanie Beatriz, and follows John Doe, a milkman who talks as fast as he drives.

With no memory of his past, John gets a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make his wish of finding community come true, but only if he can survive an onslaught of savage vehicular combat.

"At a time when everyone is looking for content that stands apart, clients acknowledge there is nothing else out there like Twisted Metal," says Mike Wald, executive vice president of distribution & networks at Sony Pictures Television.

Ster-Kinekor relaunches its movie subscription fee club countrywide.

by Thinus Ferreira

Sterk-Kinekor has expanded and relaunched its monthly movies subscription club countrywide which allows subscribers to go to the cinema for a fixed monthly fee.

Sterk-Kinekor's SK Subscription Club that launched in May 2019 just before the Covid-19 pandemic, is different from the cinema chain's existing SK Club which is its loyalty programme, unlocking rewards and discounts.

When Ster-Kinekor's subscription club launched in mid-2019 it was only available at the Eastgate Shopping Centre, Somerset Mall and the Garden Route Mall, but is now available everywhere. Ster-Kinekor has however increased the price for both subscription options from when it launched. 

The SK Subscription Club comes with two options - a limited or unlimited number of movies per month for a fixed fee, with the benefits of the SK Club folded into the subscription fee.

Sker-Kinekor's limited subscription option is called the "Fan Club" and now costs R269 per month. It launched at R249. 

For R269 per month, this includes four movie tickets per month which could be for any standard 2D or 3D film at a Ster-Kinekor cinema. A 20% discount on a regular cooldrink and popcorn combo is included in the deal.

Sker-Kinekor's unlimited subscription option is called the "Morvies Club" and now costs R389 per month. It launched at R349 per month in 2019.

The R389 per month includes an unlimited number of movie tickets per month - but limited to 5 tickets per day - for any standard 2D or 3D film. A 20% discount on a regular cooldrink and popcorn combo is included in the monthly subscription fee.

"The concept behind the SK Subscription Club is to benefit and reward our loyal customers who love the big screen cinema experience, who love watching movies as they were made to be seen, and those who frequent our cinemas on a regular basis," says Lynne Wylie, Ster-Kinekor's chief marketing officer.

"While the Fan Club membership is great for families, couples or friends, the unlimited Morvies Club subscription offers even more savings and benefits to customers who just love going to the cinema," she says.

"In the next few months, movie lovers can expect a slate of fantastic movie titles launching on the big screen. Joining the SK Subscription Club will enable cinemagoers to enjoy all these great cinema moments at their greatest, every month, at a great price."

Film titles over the next few months include Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3; Fast & Furious 10; Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse; Transformers: Rise of the Beasts; The Flash; Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny; Hypnotic; Kandahar; Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One; The Little Mermaid; Love Again; Barbie and Book Club: The Next Chapter.  

South Africa's searing documentary film The Voice Behind the Wall wins 2023 Cannes award for Best African Film.

by Thinus Ferreira

The searing South African film The Voice Behind The Wall by Gideon Breytenbach and Riku Lätti has won the 2023 Cannes Film Award for Best African Film at this international film festival which runs alongside the annual Cannes Film Festival which kicks off today.

The controversial 2022 documentary film, in Afrikaans known as Die Ongetemde Stem, is an unflinching examination of the Afrikaans music industry and the racial imbalances which continue to persist within this industry almost 30 years since the end of Apartheid, with the film that specifically exposes the erasure of the coloured contribution to Afrikaans culture.

The film already screened at kykNET's Silwerskermfees film festival in Camps Bay, the University of Stellenbosch's Woordfees, South Africa's Encounters documentary film festival, as well as Australia's Sydney Film Festival.

Gideon Breytenbach and Riku Lätti directed The Voice Behind The Wall which was written by Gideon Breytenbach and Jackie Lätti, with Churchill Naude, Anton Goosen, Frazer Barry, Deniel Barry, Schalk van der Merwe, David Kramer and Piet Botha who are some of the names appearing in the film.

The Voice Behind The Wall is noteworthy as the latest South African film winning an international accolade since South Africa's National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), responsible for choosing the country's entry to America's annual Academy Awards in the Best International Feature, said that no South African films were good enough to enter for 2023's Oscars since they all failed to depict minority groups adequately.

The decision, from a secretive and anonymous selection group appointed by the NFVF to choose South Africa's Oscar contender, angered and perplexed South African filmmakers who months later still haven't received any feedback or explanations from the NFVF about how their submitted films allegedly failed to "appropriately represent marginalised communities".

ALSO READ: SA's 2022 Oscars snub: NFVF's secret selection group decides no South African film is good enough to enter for 95th Academy Awards, claims films don't depict 'marginalised communities' well enough.

SABC3 abruptly halts further production of low-rated The Estate as part of 'forced review' of channel's content strategy, Clive Morris Productions show very likely cancelled.

by Thinus Ferreira

The SABC has abruptly halted further production of SABC3's early prime-time soap The Estate beyond the third season, with the local show which has struggled in the ratings and which is likely cancelled after the South African public broadcaster has been "forced" to review SABC3's content strategy.

According to the SABC, production of The Estate has been "put on hold" although insiders say it's unlikely that the Clive Morris Productions show will be back. 

Production stopped and started between the first and second, and second and third seasons and now The Estate will take another indeterminate break after its third season.

The SABC in a statement says The Estate's third season "regrettably comes to a wrap" and will "take a hiatus at the end of its third season at the end of July 2023". 

SABC3 channel head Pat van Heerden is gone since the end of April 2023. She shepherded the development of The Estate and was instrumental in finally getting it on the air to plug the hole left by the cancellation of the long-running Isidingo when the SABC had no plan or replacement.

Pat van Heerden struggled in the recommissioning process of The Estate due to internal politics within the SABC, which cause long breaks between the first and second, and second and third seasons of the show for what was supposed to be a seamless series. 

With every break which caused a disruption in viewer behaviour, viewers went away and had to be coaxed back into the pattern of watching the show, causing additional damage to The Estate's ratings.

In late 2021 the cast and crew of The Estate went unpaid for months with the SABC that said in January 2023 that it was concerned about the non-payment of the cast and crew since the broadcaster had made its payment to the production company.

In halting further episode orders of The Estate, the SABC now says that "Key market changes such as the impact of the analogue switch-off and load-shedding has forced a review on the channel's strategy".

The Estate will produce the last of its third season episodes during May and June.

"S3 extends its gratitude to the producer, cast and crew of The Estate for a world-class and award-winning production and thanks the viewers for their support," the SABC says in a statement.

Khayelihle Dom Gumede, Clive Morris Productions chief operating officer (COO) in a statement says "It has been an immense privilege to work with the SABC in producing The Estate over the last three seasons".

"We are extremely grateful to our national broadcaster for the bravery and courage they have demonstrated in affording us the opportunity to tell authentic, hard-hitting, and groundbreaking stories, which reflect the South Africa we live in today."

"Thank you to our incredible crew and cast for their unparalleled talent and commitment and most of all thank you to you the viewers who have walked the journey with us over the last two years. We look forward to sharing the next chapter of The Estate with the nation after our production hiatus."

The Estate has struggled in the ratings since its debut with 418 028 viewers at most during April 2023.

ALSO READ: SABC3 fills its 2-month prime time The Estate telenovela gap with a repackaged rebroadcast titled The Estate Rewind.

ALSO READ: SABC3's troubled The Estate going off-air for over 2 months.

ALSO READ: SABC1 tries to save S3's The Estate with a bizarre primetime rerun from 6 September at 7pm with the local telenovela that will now be shown back-to-back on two SABC channels nightly.

ALSO READ: SABC removes the SABC1 rebroadcast of SABC3's struggling The Estate telenovela that will vanish a month before the end of its first season. 

ALSO READ: SABC1 returns the remaining first season episodes of SABC3's struggling telenovela The Estate to its schedule in March with a double bill conclusion on 8 April. 

TV RATINGS April 2023: SABC1's Uzalo sheds 1.2 million viewers as e.tv loses 2.1 million viewers with new soaps and DStv's bad Big Brother Titans ends with just 340 000 viewers on Mzansi Magic.

by Thinus Ferreira

As South Africa's ongoing and debilitating electricity blackouts continue to wipe millions of TV households from the country's ratings system, Uzalo as the most-watched show in the country lost over 1.2 million viewers in April, while e.tv's two new prime-time soaps were both rating disappointments - as was M-Net's Big Brother Titans finale on Mzansi Magic.

As South Africa continues to suffer through Eskom's Stage 6 load-shedding, the Durban-produced Uzalo plunged over 1.2 million viewers in April, falling from 6.248 million viewers in March as South Africa's most-watched show in television to 5.098 million in April. 

Meanwhile, e.tv's most-watched show, Scandal! - the fourth most-watched show overall in South Africa - shed 760 036 viewers in April when it fell from 4.947 million in March to 4.187 million viewers in April.

On SABC1, Skeem Saam moved up from its third place as third most-watched show to clinch second place, surpassing Generations - The Legacy. 

Although Skeem Saam lost viewers, falling from 4.603 million to 4.328 million viewers in April, Generations lost a much bigger part of its audience, tumbling from its perennial second-place with 4.924 million to 4.194 million viewers in April.

South African TV viewers absolutely love watching the TV news in their language. The Xhosa TV news bulletin on SABC1 lured 2.39 million viewers as the most-watched TV news in the country during April, followed by the Zulu TV news bulletin on the channel with 2.23 million viewers.

Nyan Nyan was slightly down from 2.087 million to 1.84 million viewers. Primedia and Rose & Oaks' Deal or No Deal SA was also slightly down from 1.6 to 1.45 million viewers.

SABC2's Muvhango sheds 400 000 viewers

On SABC2, the Venda prime-time soap Muvhango as the channel's most-watched show shed in excess of 400 000 viewers, falling from 1.775 million to 1.366 million viewers, followed by Afrikaans soap 7de Laan that sagged from 1.109 million to 922 467 viewers in April.

Giyani eroded from 982 107 to 851 977 viewers, while the Setswana TV news bulletin was down from 776 801 to 628 976 viewers in April. The Afrikaans TV news bulletin was down from 687 421 to 663 442 viewers.

Nong Seakaladi dropped from 593 729 to 541 354 viewers, while the Mandela and De Klerk movie lured 412 173 viewers. 

Natural history docs a lure on SABC3

On SABC3 the most-watched programming in April was the film Rise of the Planet of the Apes that lured 590 918 viewers, followed by the English TV news bulletin at 18:00 with 438 732 viewers, and the local soap The Estate with 418 028 viewers at most during the month.

Viewers like watching natural history programming on S3, with Baboons: Rules of the Troop (402 646), Great Parks of Africa (383 965) and Into the Wild: Colombia (305 136) finding a receptive audience. 

The 14:30 afternoon repeat of SABC1's Deal or No Deal SA lured 272 078 viewers to SABC3.

e.tv loses viewers 

The two new prime time replacement soaps for Imbewu and Durban Gen on e.tv - Nikiwe and Smoke & Mirrors were both ratings disappointments, luring far fewer viewers with their debut on 17 April.

While Durban Gen still had 1 967 574 viewers in April in its 18:30 timeslot, Nikiwe only got 1 455 901 in the same timeslot last month. While Imbewu at its end grabbed 2 275 169 viewers in April, Smoke & Mirrors only got 1 712 591 viewers at most last month. 

Neither Nikiwe or Smoke & Mirrors are top 5 e.tv shows like Imbewu and Durban Gen were.

House of Zwide as e.tv's second most-watched show lost 400 000 viewers and fell from 4.085 million to 3.599 million viewers.

Besides the 760 000 viewers that Scandal! lost, the 400 000 lost viewers from House of Zwide and the combined hit of 1 074 251 fewer viewers with Nikiwe and Smoke & Mirrors - it means that e.tv lost over 2.1 million viewers in just a month on the red letter channel.

The Black Door was lower from 2.237 million to 1.994 million viewers, while the Gavin Hood film Tsotsi was a bright spark pulling 2.12 million viewers for e.tv on 23 April as the channel's 4th most-watched piece of programming during the month. Mama Jack lured 2.076 million viewers.

Big Brother Titans ends with little fanfare

MultiChoice saw an overall improvement during April for DStv subscriber ratings although Gomora on Mzansi Magic (DStv 161) as the most-watched show was slightly down from 885 304 to 863 074 viewers.

Sizok'thola on Moja Love (DStv 157) was second-most watched on pay-TV during April and up from 589 801 to 693 271 viewers, followed by Isifiso on Mzansi Magic in third place with 662 945 viewers.

Moja Love's X-Repo increased its audience from 588 547 to 628 788 viewers, while Gqeberha: The Empire improved from 589 267 to 608 811 viewers in April. The River declined from 586 939 to 540 788 viewers. Umndeni on Moja Love lost viewers, going from 458 356 to 371 607 viewers in April. 

M-Net's Big Brother Titans reality show finale was a ratings disappointment, luring only 346 252 viewers to Mzansi Magic on Sunday 2 April in the Sunday evening 19:00 timeslot.    

ALSO READ: Little publicised Nikiwe and Smoke & Mirrors cost and lost e.tv over 1 million viewers in April in disappointing TV ratings debut.

First teaser trailer: Season 2 will be Foundation's 'Second Crisis' on Apple TV+ from 14 July.

by Thinus Ferreira

The psychohistorian character of Hari Sheldon might be dead but actor Jared Harris is still very much alive in the upcoming second season of Foundation which will debut on Apple TV+ on 14 July and which just released its first teaser trailer.

The science fiction drama series based on the book series of Isaac Asimov will tackle the Foundation's "Second Crisis" during the second season, in the scientific outpost's growing battle with the waning Empire and its ruling emperor Cleon clones, portrayed by Lee Pace.

The second season, produced for Apple by Skydance Television and led by showrunner and executive producer David S. Goyer, will have 10 episodes with the season that will start on 14 July globally, with a new episode released weekly on every Friday.

Although Hari Sheldon died during the first season, Jarred Harris will again appear as the creator of psychohistory through backflashes, as well as the version of him as an articial intelligence (AI) after hehad  uploaded his consciousness into the Foundation computer.

"More than a century after the season one finale, tension mounts throughout the galaxy in Foundation season two," says Apple TV+.

"As the Cleons unravel, a vengeful queen plots to destroy Empire from within. Hari, Gaal and Salvor discover a colony of Mentalics with psionic abilities that threaten to alter psychohistory itself," reads the season's official logline.

"The Foundation has entered its religious phase, promulgating the Church of Seldon throughout the Outer Reach and inciting the Second Crisis: War with Empire. The monumental adaptation of Foundation chronicles the stories of four crucial individuals transcending space and time as they overcome deadly crises, shifting loyalties and complicated relationships that will ultimately determine the fate of humanity."

Also starring the returning cast of Laura Birn, Cassian Bilton and Terrence Mann, the second season will introduce new characters including Isabella Laughland (Brother Constant), Kulvinder Ghir (Poly Verisof), Ella-Rae Smith (Queen Sareth of Cloud Dominion), Holt McCallany (Warden Jaegger Fount), Rachel House (Tellem Bond), Nimrat Kaur (Yanna Seldon), Ben Daniels (Bel Riose) and Dimitri Leonidas (Hober Mallow).

Former Eskom CEO André de Ruyter set for 2nd explosive TV tell-all Sunday night on Carte Blanche.

by Thinus Ferreira

Former Eskom CEO André de Ruyter is set for another explosive TV interview, this time on Sunday night with M-Net's Carte Blanche at 19:00 where he will answer questions about using an Apartheid-era spy to investigate corruption at the imploding state-owned power utility.

André de Ruyter made waves and then exited Eskom after a shocking sit-down interview with e.tv's Annika Larsen on 21 February during an edition of My Guest Tonight shown on e.tv, eNCA (DStv 403) and YouTube, with the much-watched interview that had massive ramifications for the South African government and the beleaguered power utility.

André  De Ruyter made multiple, jaw-dropping revelations, including that top-level politicians whom he refused to name, are directly involved in the looting and corruption at Eskom that had plunged South African into ever-worsening stages of electricity blackouts, something that Eskom calls "load-shedding".  

During the same week, e.tv's did a double-whammy, with an episode of the investigative programme CheckPoint exposing the shocking ongoing workings of the coal mafia destroying and milking Eskom of millions of rands per month from the inside.

It has since come to light that André De Ruyter commissioned his own sensational intelligence report to gather evidence and information about the rife and widespread corruption inside Eskom, orchestrated by a politically connected coal mafia operating inside Eskom.

Less than two months later, André de Ruyter has now done a follow-up sit-down TV interview which will be airing this Sunday night on the weekly investigative and current affairs show Carte Blanche on M-Net (DStv 101).

With producer Joy Summers, André de Ruyter, from a secret location - which is likely somewhere in Germany as the ANC political party is trying to serve legal papers on him for alleged defamation - talks to Carte Blanche presenter Bongani Bingwa about what has become known as "The Eskom Files".

From his international hideout André  De Ruyter will talk to Carte Blanche about his three years of trying to root out corruption at Eskom and to try and restore the power grid and alleviate South Africa's crippling blackouts.

Does he regret his tell-all interview with Annika Larsen? What was he thinking using an Apartheid-era spy for an internal investigation? Where exactly is he and why? These are some of the questions Bongani Bingwa puts to André  De Ruyter.

"I did not solve load-shedding. I did not address all of the corruption. But I did make a good start in solving energy security," André  De Ruyter says in a snippet of the upcoming interview released in a new Carte Blanche promo.

Little publicised Nikiwe and Smoke & Mirrors cost and lost e.tv over 1 million viewers in April in disappointing TV ratings debut.

by Thinus Ferreira

e.tv's two new local soaps Nikiwe and Smoke & Mirrors that replaced the cancelled Imbewu and Durban Gen appear to both be prime-time rating disappointments, making their debuts on Monday 17 April with weaker viewership than the shows they replaced and costing e.tv over a million in lost viewers. 

While Durban Gen still raked in as much as 1 967 574 viewers in April in its 18:30 timeslot before it went off the air, the little publicised Nikiwe - produced by Parental Advisory Productions - managed to pull 1 455 901 viewers at most in April after it replaced Durban Gen in the same timeslot.

It means that Nikiwe lost e.tv in excess of over half a million viewers with 511 673 viewers who have tuned out of e.tv after the end of Durban Gen. e.tv's audience share decreased from 21% to 18% - a loss of 3 percentage points - during this time period.

At 21:00 Imbewu still lured 2 275 169 viewers at most in April to e.tv in the timeslot. On 17 April the little publicised Smoke & Mirrors - produced by The Final Chapter Production - in the same timeslot, made a very disappointing debut with just 1 712 591 viewers.

That's another loss of over another half a million viewers with 562 578 people who decided to no longer watch e.tv during the time period and decreased the timeslot's audience share of the channel from 30.1% to 23.4% - a decrease of 6.7 percentage points.

Together Nikiwe and Smoke & Mirrors lost and cost eMedia's e.tv channel a whopping 1 074 251 viewers in the same month - a combined audience share loss of 9.7%. 

Neither Nikiwe nor Smoke & Mirrors are top 5 shows on e.tv's list of most-watched shows for April like Imbewu and Durban Gen were.

The lack of buzz and ratings for Nikiwe and Smoke & Mirrors are not surprising, given the lack of any real publicity efforts e.tv made to bring the new content under the media's attention and cutting out national press covering television from a bizarre Johannesburg event for the shows held just a day before their broadcast debut.

ALSO READ: TV CRITIC's NOTEBOOK. e.tv's latest publicity failure for new local shows underscores South African television's growing PR disaster as global players (rightly) do the proper work and get the attention.

History channel hauls Greatest Heists with Pierce Brosnan and goes deep sea treasure hunting with Ross Kemp during May.

by Thinus Ferreira

The History (DStv 186) channel is taking a dive with Ross Kemp and going for a steal with Pierce Brosnan, with new series Greatest Heists with Pierce Brosnan starting on 20 May and Ross Kemp: Deep Sea Treasure Hunter on Tuesdays at 19:25 from 16 May.

Greatest Heists with Pierce Brosnan brings to life some of the most devious and high-stakes heist attempts of all time on Saturday nights at 20:15 from 20 May.

Throughout history, people have done anything and everything in their power to get their hands on lots of money, including formulating some of the most scheming heist attempts. 

Greatest Heists with Pierce Brosnan delves into these intricate schemes and the audacity of the criminal masterminds who risked their freedom for a shot at a lifetime of wealth and riches.

Pierce Brosnan is embedded into each heist through state-of-the-art technology and breaks down every aspect of the plan, including the conniving team, the mark, the execution and finally the aftermath. 

The series also features leading criminologists, journalists, criminals, police, and historians to create an in-depth investigation into each real-life heist. 

The 8-episode Greatest Geists with Pierce Brosnan investigates amongst others the Baker Street Bank burglary which saw enterprising thieves tunnel underneath and up into the vault of a London bank and the notorious airline heist known as the Lufthansa Heist of New York.

There is also the Antwerp Belgium Diamond Heist, which saw thieves make off with more than $100 million in diamonds, gems, and cash after more than two years of planning.

Also on History in May underwater treasures are revealed in Ross Kemp: Deep Sea Treasure Hunter on Tuesdays at 19:25 from 16 May. 

In his second instalment of the History channel original, Ross and his expert team - including legendary dive master Neil Brock, marine archaeologist Mallory Haas and dive buddy Mark Culwick – travel further around the world to dive even deeper on shipwrecks of major historical importance.

This new season follows Ross as he explores the remnants of some of the most significant moments in history. 

In a TV first, Ross and Mallory dive the wreckage of one of the world's most famed shipwrecks, the Mary Rose – a warship of the English Tudor navy of King Henry VIII. 

Assisted by historians and maritime experts, the team unearth new treasures and discover more about how and why the sinking impacted on the war and the King himself. 

"It's been exhilarating to dive with Neil, Mark and Mallory, into some of the most remote and dangerous wreck sites across the world," says Ross Kemp. "We have not only unearthed secret treasures but also discovered more about the history around them with some incredible finds and revelations along the way." 

Other wrecks explored in the series include the SS Mohegan, a luxury liner that hit the rocks off the coast of Cornwall on its way to New York; the SS Carnatic off the coast of Egypt in the Red Sea, a new breed of fast cargo ship delivering supplies to the colonies that hit a reef near Suez on its way to Bombay and two further merchant cargo ships, the Rosalie Moller and the Thistlegorm, along the Red Sea, tasked with resupplying troops to North Africa.

In the final episode, Ross travels to Normandy to dive some of the wrecks of D-Day; exploring the SS Empire Broadsword, a British troop carrier, and USS LST-523, a tank landing craft, as well as discovering some heroic acts as the wrecks reveal their secrets.