HBO Max Will No Longer Produce Live-Action Kids And Family Programming

HBO Max has canceled its comedy Gordita Chronicles, a move the streamer says is motivated by a change in strategy at its parent company.

The show, which centers on a 12-year-old Dominican girl (Oliva Goncalves) in 1980s Miami, debuted its full first — and now only — season on June 23. An HBO Max spokesperson said in a statement that the show fell victim to a change in priorities for the streamer.

“Live-action kids and family programming will not be part of our programming focus in the immediate future, and as a result, we’ve had to make the very difficult decision to end Gordita Chronicles at HBO Max,” the statement reads. “The series earned critical acclaim and a loyal following, and we are proud to have worked with creator Claudia Forestieri and our two powerhouse executive producers, Eva Longoria (who also masterfully directed the pilot) and Zoe Saldaña, to bring Cucu’s journey to the screen. We thank them and the talented cast and crew for creating such a heartfelt, groundbreaking show that connected deeply with a very important demographic.”

Sony Pictures Television produced the series, which creator Forestieri based on her own life. The cast also includes Diana Maria Riva, Juan Javier Cardenas, Savannah Nicole Ruiz, Noah Rico, Cosette Hauer and Dascha Polanco. Brigitte Muñoz-Liebowitz served as showrunner.

“We are heartbroken by the larger programming changes at HBO Max that will not allow our special show that is Gordita Chronicles, showrun by Latinx comedy powerhouse Brigitte Muñoz-Liebowitz, to have a second season at its original home,” executive producers Longoria and Saldaña said in a statement. “As producers and storytellers who are continually seeking out the authentic and original stories that highlight our community’s joy and talent, we are so proud to have worked on this piece of magic. We continue to be blown away by the overwhelmingly positive critical response coupled with our growing audience numbers, which prove that viewers recognize the importance of this show’s existence and the crucial space it is filling for Latinx content in the media landscape.”

Since HBO Max’s parent, WarnerMedia, and Discovery completed their merger in the spring, Warner Bros. Discovery has made a number of changes in strategy, most notably at its cable channels TBS, TNT and TruTV — where an ongoing move away from original scripted programming has accelerated. The company is all-in on a streaming first strategy, but family programming hasn’t had a huge presence in the two-plus years of HBO Max’s existence. WBD will continue with development of animated projects aimed at younger viewers via its Cartoon Network and Warner Bros. Animation arms.

HBO Max has also gone one and done with a Head of the Class reboot, and a decision on The Garcias, a follow-up to the 2000-04 Nickelodeon series The Brothers Garcia, has yet to be made. HBO Max has renewed its Gossip Girl redo and just debuted Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin, both of which are aimed at young adults.

Forestieri, Muñoz-Liebowitz (via her Bons Mots Emporium), Longoria (via her UnbeliEVAble shingle) and Saldaña (via Cinestar Pictures) executive produce Gordita Chronicles along with Josh Berman, Jennifer Robinson and Chris King of Osprey Productions and Cinestar’s Mariel Saldaña and Cisely Saldaña.

Credits: Deadline

eToonz, eMovies, eMovies Extra And eExtra To Relaunch On DStv Following Pending Investigation

In a judgment handed down on Monday, the court – which is a special division of the high court – overturned an earlier decision by the Competition Tribunal that the channels could be removed from MultiChoice’s DStv bouquets.

This is pending the final determination of the complaint, which has been referred by the appeal court to the Competition Commission for further investigation.

“The unannounced switch-off left eMedia without sufficient time to communicate to viewers

The appeal court ordered MultiChoice to reinstate the channels that were removed from DStv at the end of May. MultiChoice terminated the channels immediately upon receiving the decision of the tribunal.

The channels that were cut and that now must be reinstated pending the commission’s investigation are eToonz, eMovies, eMovies Extra and e.tv Extra.
It’s understood that MultiChoice has also been ordered to pay eMedia’s legal costs for the appeal, including the cost of two counsel.

eMedia dragged MultiChoice to the tribunal in April to seek relief after a renewed channel supply agreement between the parties saw DStv opting not to carry the four channels.

“No reasons were provided for the ruling by the Competition Tribunal. The unannounced switch-off also left eMedia without sufficient time to communicate to viewers. Viewers are angry and disappointed that they are no longer able to see their programmes via the DStv platform,” eMedia claimed in a brief statement at the time.

Asked for comment on Monday, a spokesman for MultiChoice said: “We are aware of the decision made by the competition appeal court in favour of eMedia. We are considering the court’s decision to grant the order requiring us to carry the four eMedia channels for a limited period of six months while the Competition Commission conducts its investigation.”

New 24/7 Movie Channel On DStv Offers A Ticket To Couch Potato Paradise

Cinema buffs, action afficionados and casual viewers alike will be spoilt with choice when a new, creatively curated movie channel goes live on August 27. Launching to all DStv Premium, Compact+, Compact, Family and Access customers on channel 113, Movie Room is the brainchild of Ngwato Nkosi Group, known as the founders of the disruptive, audience-centric and highly successful Newzroom Afrika news and information service.

The company, which is a partnership between entrepreneurs Thabile Ngwato and Thokozani Nkosi, is building on the strong platform created by Newzroom Afrika to expand its entertainment business with the launch of Movie Room.

"This channel will offer entertaining local and international movies 24/7 from big blockbuster hits to unforgettable cinema classics." said Nkosi.

“We’ll be carefully curating the line-up to cater for every mood – whether it’s edge-of-your-seat action you’re after, or the comfort of an old favourite. Of course, we’ll also apply the unique perspective that we’ve become known for,” Nkosi says.

Ngwato says the company had a bold ambition to build an African news and entertainment platform for the future.

“This is an exciting next step in our journey. Newzroom Afrika has been successful beyond all expectations, and we will use the experience of setting up the channel from scratch to make smart decisions in our approach with Movie Room.

“Our team is entrepreneurial by nature and we have a core group of seasoned and creative talent that sets us apart,” Ngwato said.

Georginah Machiridza, executive head content strategy & 3rd party channels at MultiChoice says, Movie Room would give viewers even more options in their selection of entertainment for every viewing occasion.

“We’re excited to bring subscribers the widest possible choice of fine movies to satisfy all tastes and seasons,” says Machiridza.

New Channel Alert (Rumour): Could Movie Room Be The Exciting New Movie Channel Set To Replace eMovies And eMovies Extra On DStv?

Update: Movie Room will launch on the 27th of August on channel 113 which comes from the makers of Newsroom Afrika. The channel will feature a mix of local (80%) and international movies (20%).

MultiChoice scrapped e.tv's 4 channels several months back and promised consumers an exciting movie channel in the near future and after two months we finally get a look into the possible channel set to launch on DStv later in the month.

Movie Room from the looks of the offering is another Mzansi Bioskop as the lineup consists of a ton of local productions outside of the Bioskop banner most of which have been seen on the DStv platform like Beyond The River, Herb & Moon, Popbus, Season's Feelings and Pop, Lock & Roll.

This is only a portion of the lineup as they're still working on the rest of the schedule but from what's already seen on Movie Room. The channel serves as a competitor to Mzansi Wethu with a set of existing local content from M-Net Movies.

Again, this is just speculation as it could be another pop-up but from what's seen from most M-Net channels. They're usually labelled under M-Net Movies which just leads me to believe that this channel might have alterior motives.

In the court case with eMedia Investments, they boasted about how eMovies alongside eMedia's other 3 channels rebroadcast a lot of DStv content only for Movie Room to make the same mistake I mean if that wanted less repeats why not opt for ShortsTV or Christian channel, Positiv.

Movie Room just looks like another cheap addition that few customers primarily Access and possible Easyview will take a looking into should it be a permanent addition and not a pop-up like most M-Net Movie channels reserved on Premium and AddMovies.

Upcoming DStv Channel's Website Has Surfaced The Net

As reported later last month, INX Prime is an upcoming Islamic entertainment channel offering daily preaching and live sessions as seen with Hilaal TV alongside various content produced by their studios and sourced internationally.

As seen by readers, the only reliable source for INX Prime at the moment happens to be the promo uploaded onto their YouTube channel with MultiChoice being a potential distributor as the channel was first spotted on their platform.

Something we didn't mention when at the time which is best to bring up now is their media house aka production studio located in Houghton Estate, Johannesburg where most if not all the content will be produced.

Not long ago, a website under the banner INX Prime had surfaced the web which from the looks of it appears to be the official website for the channel which is still under construction and I mean major construction.

Most of the links to the options available on the website link you to either another construction page or refreshes the website. Even the YouTube and Facebook are of no use although the accounts are very much active to some extent.

For those trying to find the YouTube channel will be directed to the INX Prime Show Reel promo within the link comes the YouTube channel and for the Facebook page it is very much a complicated process for users without Facebook luckily the link has been inserted: click here.

I'm no illusionist but from what these developments suggest it may be a while till we get the greenlight on INX Prime but with the website onboard and all the necessary functions put in place it may not be too long till we get an official update.

Conspiracy Theory: The Real Reason CBS Reality Remains In The UK

In the summer of 2019, AMC International and Paramount made a loss of £8,024,000 before tax £4,000 and a year later amidst the pandemic witnessed a small increase in an impairment charge of £8,643,000 with net assets worth £4,069,000.

Earlier in the month, CBS Reality remained onboard their stable while other CBS brands like CBS Justice, CBS Drama and Horror Channel were axed for Legend, Reality Xtra and Horror Xtra as rumours swirl about the dismemberment of their partnership.

As seen in their financial records in the summer of 2020, AMC International is in a loss making position with a net current liabilities of £7,178,641 (2019: £7,162,843) and negative equity of £7,178641 (2019: £905,317) with Paramount offering funding until for the rest of 2021 and discussing future prospects by the end of 2022.

Taking that to account, the name change could have something to do with the reported losses and the changes could spell the dismemberment of Paramount and AMC International after 10 years.

CBS Reality as mentioned is the only channel to not have been affected by the change but what if the reason behind that wasn't Warner Bros. Discovery's Really channel which has a similar coat of paint to the Reality portion of the name but something bigger.

Reality Xtra which is seen as a spin-off to CBS Reality even though that's not the case with the programming was once the name used on the main channel. Is it possible that CBS Reality will close and merge onto Reality Xtra? If so why not do it sooner?

CBS Reality has a lot of decent and mature content compared to MTV and E! on top of various cable providers so maybe they're fulfilling agreements with some suppliers before axing the channel with content moving over to Reality Xtra.

Why Openview Has Been Excluded From Delayed SABC Channel Expansion?

eMedia Investments and the SABC finalised their deal for 3 additional channels one of which were SABC Sport alongside 19 radio stations in 2021. As consumers wait over a year for the two channels which are set to carry a lot of existing content there's been some speculation one of which was cleared up is SABC Education.

SABC Education is a DTT channel currently seen on TelkomOne and soon on the likes of DStv and StarSat is based on the educational division formed by the SABC which is home to shows like Takalani Sesame, Matric Reloaded, Ispani, Uzalo, Geleza Nathi and 90 Plain Street.

The channel has remained active as of May 2020 and used as a catch-up channel to programs currently viewed on SABC 1-3 with plans to roll out the brand onto more platforms still underway.

As seen through several consumers on the Openview platform is SABC 1-3, SABC Sport alongside the 19 radio stations but SABC Education doesn't form part of the bouquet with SABC News being exclusive to DStv and DTT consumers.

So the question would have to be is eMedia Investments waiting on SABC Education like DStv?

Probably not as MultiChoice is waiting on two other channels to roll out on the DStv platform and SABC Education alongside SABC Sport and the 19 radio stations did form part of TelkomOne's initial offering when it launched in October 2020.

There could be a number of reasons SABC Education won't form part of the offering. The first has to do with costs, second would have to do with their rivalry perhaps they don't want to invest too much and last may have to do with the existing educational offering on Openview being DBE TV and Mindset.

The Controversial History Of WWE's Most Prestigious Wrestlers, The Fabulous Moolah

The Fabulous Moolah was born Mary Ellison in 1923. Born and raised in the American south, by the 1930s Ellison was attending local wrestling shows with her fatherb seeing the polarizing women of the time; Mar Young, Mildred Burke, and Cecilia Blevins. From this point on Ellison was hooked on the sport and wanted to be a star. The story that follows is one of success and triumph, but also a tale of dark secrets, drugs, and deceit. Fabulous Moolah ran the women’s wrestling world for 30 plus years, and it wasn’t always a world of glitz and glam. The wrestler Moolah and the promoter, booker, and trainer Moolah have two very different, but equally dark histories.

Mary Ellison Becomes The Fabulous Moolah

During the early part of Moolah’s career, she was under the tutelage of Mildred Burke and her husband Billy Wolfe. Burke and Wolfe were, at the time, the premier bookers and promoters for almost all of women’s wrestling. The Burke/Wolfe playbook also asked for their contracted talent to engage in sexual favors with other promoters for preferential bookings, on top of an already huge booking percentage of all payouts. Ellison refused to participate in these practices, causing tension between her and Wolfe.

By the mid-50s Moolah and her husband Buddy Lee were using their own versions of Burke’s practices and had started booking and promoting their own women wrestlers, and booking them against their rivals. After Burke and Wolfe’s retirement, Moolah would have a stranglehold on the world of women’s professional wrestling. The same woman who broke barriers, like being the first woman to wrestle at the historic Madison Square Garden Arena, was now building walls to prevent the growth of the sport.

The Fabulous Moolah Becomes A Promoter And Booker

During this part of Moolah’s career, she would feed and house her trainees and wrestlers. Some women Moolah booked and trained told stories of the property being locked down by a certain point, and if you weren’t home in time, you would be left out until morning. These were not provided accommodations either. Moolah was collecting rent from the women who stayed there, living two and three people in a single room efficiency style cabin, charging upwards of $1,200 a month for their rooms in the 1970s. With inflation that equates to about $9,100 if charged today.

The financial strain didn’t end there. With Moolah and Lee handling all the women’s promoting and booking, women’s wrestling went through the Fabulous Moolah, so if a woman was booked to wrestle, she was also collecting a 25% booking fee of their payout whether they were “one of her girls” or not.

That means, “Moolah’s Girls” were also paying the 25% on top of their already outlandish rent. This, mixed with the allegations of forced sex, drug use, prostitution and theft, left the wrestling world buzzing when women started coming forward. The training schedules, the booking schedule, and the expectations Moolah had for the women wrestlers was also extreme. Princess Victoria was a superstar trained and booked by Moolah, who experienced a tragic career ending injury. Victoria aas quoted as saying that she was thrown out with almost nothing to her name, but would refute the allegations of Moolah being a pimp.

“Moolah was not a pimp and she hated drugs. She did steal from all of her girls including me, but she was the only way to keep wrestling back then, so it was Moolah or almost nothing. […] I think [The WrestleMania Battle Royal] should have stayed named after Moolah, no matter how crooked she was, she is and was a very important part of women’s wrestling and if they are going to do her like this, then Snickers better reevaluate their sponsorship on all sports after the many arrests made for multiple different things in sports.”

“My neck was broken in the ring and I was basically thrown out with no medical attention and very little to my name. I am now fully disabled sometimes having to use a wheelchair due to the lack of medical attention. I have had multiple concussions and have donated my brain for a future lawsuit to prove that we wrestlers have been misused by the WWE for many many years. […] I want nothing to do with the WWE and will not, even if invited to allow my name to be in their so-called Hall of Fame.”

The Fabulous Moolah Was Part Of The Original "Screwjob"

Moolah’s wrestling career inside the ring was just as cloudy as her booking and training reputation. During the early parts of her career, Moolah had a reign with the Women’s Wrestling World Championship that would rival Sammartino. Her initial reign lasting 10 years was ended, but she quickly and suspiciously picked the title back up almost a month later.

Then in the 1980s came the Rock and Wrestling connection. Along with that came a new and electric following for professional wrestling. With this following came a new star named Wendi Richter. Richter would go on to dethrone the reigning queen of wrestling. After 28 years of dominating the sport, with two generations coming and going, Richter was now the world champion.

After the match, during house shows, there were more rumors surfacing of Moolah intentionally trying to hurt Wendi in matches. Then, one night on the card, there was no Moolah, but instead Wendi was wrestling the “Spider Lady.” Through politics and the inner workings of WWE, Moolah would participate in the match under a masked disguise. This was the original WWE screwjob. After a small package rollup, the referee counted three despite a clear kick out by Richter. Richter left wrestling that night, and ultimately never returned, after giving her everything.

Whether or not fans believe the accusations, one thing is for sure. If it were not for the Fabulous Moolah, women’s wrestling would not be where it is. Changing the names of battle royals or memorials won’t answer the bigger question, however. What cost did it take to get us here?

Credits: The Sportster

New Series Alert: As Expected, Night Of Doom To Launch On Star Life Alongside Rerun Of Made For Each Other

Star Life, a general entertainment home to various Bollywood entertainment from StarPlus like Anupama and Not Without My Family and second English dubbed channel in Africa has picked up rights to supernatural horror, Night Of Doom (Qayamat Ki Raat) as teased last year.

The series was produced by Twist Of Fate's very own Ekta Kapoor and features Karishma Tanna, Vivek Dahiya, Nirbhay Wadhwa, Saurish Singh Athwal and Madhurima Tuli. It will be the first supernatural series in a long while as the last one A Magical Love Story was launched in mid 2021.

Set in the year of 1993, the story begins with a newly wedded couple, Suhasini and Mahendar going to a Ram temple at Ramnamgarh to hand over Suhasini's wedding chain to the idol of Lord Rama and receive the deity's blessings. The train stops at the station and Mahendar's loyal driver Birju comes to fetch them and to drive them till the temple. Not realising that Birju is possessed, they follow him. Suhasini and Mahendar enter the temple when suddenly, Mahendar recalls that they have forgotten the wedding chain in the car so Mahendar goes to fetch it, asking Suhasini to stay here. Meanwhile, Suhasini witnesses strange eerie occurrences in the temple premises while exploring the region which includes absence of a bell as well as any idol of Lord Rama inside the temple and passing of a cat out of nowhere. She trips off a door and falls down the stairs that lead into the temple's basement that happens to be a Tantrik named Kalasur's lair. As soon as Kalasur sees her, he gladly welcomes her inside and offers to spend the night with her and make love. This frightens Suhasini and she yells for help. This is followed by a struggle by Suhasini to escape the Tantrik's clutches and a duel between him and her husband Mahendar. Suhasini runs away screaming for help. While fighting with the Tantrik, Mahendar loses consciousness and Kalasur shape-shifts into Mahendar's form.

Meanwhile, Suhasini reaches the palace of Thakur Prithvi Singh Suryavanshi and asks them to save her husband from Kalasur. Just then, Kalasur arrives there in Mahendar's disguise and Suhasini, scared out of her wits, pleads everybody to get the Tantrik at the temple arrested. As everyone goes in search of the Tantrik, Kalasur takes Suhasini in a bedroom inside the palace and tries making love to her. But luckily Suhasini sees the reflection of the Tantrik in the glass ceiling and pushes him away. As she reaches for the door to exit the house, the Thakur's family returns with the real Mahendar, a priest and few village men because they had found an unconscious Mahendar at the temple instead of the Tantrik. The priest traps Kalasur inside a circular ring of holy ash on the floor. The Tantrik still doesn't accept defeat. He keeps insisting on making love to Suhasini which irks Mahendar to no extent. He threatens to burn Kalasur into ashes, but the latter remarks that his ashes would rise in air and coalesce to resurrect him. Next, Mahendar threatens to bury the Tantrik alive, but he says that his skeleton would rise from underneath the ground to revive him. Mahendar then strangles Kalasur and chokes him, but Kalasur manages to get an upper hand and lifts Mahendar up in the air grabbing his throat. Suhasini requests Kalasur to leave Mahendar unharmed but he pays no heed and insists on having a one-night stand with her. This invokes the ferocity and strength inside Suhasini who lifts up a villager's axe and chops off Kalasur's right arm that had grabbed Mahendar's throat. Next, she cuts the Tantrik's head off. As a result, the beheaded Tantrik curses Suhasini's family that since he couldn't make love to Suhasini, no woman from her family must consummate her marriage hereafter or else death would befall on her. He also remarks that Suhasini would never know the reason why he had chosen her and wanted to make love to her. The priest then orders Lakha, a villager to lock the Tantrik's arm, head and body separately and hide them in different places so that the Tantrik can never assimilate his body parts together and resurrect himself.

Night Of Doom premiered on StarPlus in 2018 and was met with positive reception for its gripping storyline, use of the cast members and ability to balance between good and evil. It managed to pull 5.8 million viewers in its opening week in India.

Night Of Doom airs 23 August at 22:00 replacing Never Say Goodbye with a rerun of Made For Each Other expected to replace Geet. Pandya Store was originally scheduled to replace the Never Say Goodbye but was pulled out.