Insidus: Entertainment Inside Us

New Series Alert: Queen Of The Night And How Do I Say This? Coming Soon To Timeless Dizi Channel And Zee World Respectively

Timeless Dizi Channel, a Turkish entertainment channel owned by Canal+ SPI International and Zee World a Bollywood based entertainment channel owned by ZEE unveil respective new series Queen Of The Night (Gecenin Kraliçesi) and How Do I Say This? (Ki Kore Bolbo Tomay).

Queen Of The Night tells the story of Kartal an orphan who is raised by Aziz the man who killed his father. Kartal married Aziz's daughter Esra but falls to Selin and feels obligated to leaves her.

The series ensembles the cast of Meryem Uzerli, Murat Yildirim, Ugur Polat, Funda Eryigit, Selim Bayraktar, Deniz Celiloglu, Burak Deniz, Seda Akman and several others.

How Do I Say This? follows Radhika, a budding fashion designer abandoned by her lover a night before their wedding. Eventually, she develops a close bond with the owner of an apparel company, Virat.

DStv Flex:
- What to expect this February on TNT?
- Big Cat Sunday this February on National Geographic Wild
- CBS Reality acquired rights to Killer's Caught On Camera
- Trafficked With Mariana Van Zeller returns for a third season on National Geographic

The series ensembles the cast of Krushal Ahuja, Swastika Dutta, Rahul Dev Bose, Manosi Sengupta, Uday Pratap Singh, Sanghasri Sinha Mitra, Tanushree Bhattacharya Bose and several others.

Queen Of The Night currently has a 5.6 rating out of 10 stars amongst 500 consumers on IDMB while as How Do I Say This? has a whopping 7.8 rating of 10 stars.

Both series are expected to rollout in the coming week Queen Of The Night by the 7th internationally on Timeless Dizi Channel while as How Do I Say This? by the 9th of February on Zee World.

Everyday Novelas:
- Nurses returns for a season 3
- The origin story of Forbidden Passion
- New Series Alert: eMedia Investments Acquired Broadcasting Rights To Turkish Romcom, Aşk Mantık İntikam
- Close To My Heart coming soon to Star Life

Virtual Reality Offers A Huge Opportunity For African Filmmakers

Africa has a habit of leapfrogging technological hurdles and coming out ahead of countries considered more developed – look at our adoption of mobile phone payments, mobile payments and internet connectivity solutions. We lead in proptech, we’re drawing massive investment in fintech and medtech solutions developed on the continent are being rolled out across the world.

Virtual Tech, Real Applications

While Virtual Reality (VR) is still a novelty technology in much of the rest of the world, it is flourishing in Africa in the gaming, healthcare, mining, advertising and property industries and is being explored as a tool in education. The expansion of the tech will create its own value chain, which will help filmmakers transition more easily into VR production – giving our own storytellers the opportunity to innovate, dream, think and push boundaries on their own terms.

Africa has the opportunity to combine it with our own compelling stories and storytelling methods to position ourselves as leaders in its use. VR offers filmmakers the opportunity to make films in new ways, since immersion is a given. Harnessing the tech effectively will help develop the African storytelling narrative, giving our filmmakers ownership over both production and consumption and ensuring that our stories are told, our way.

Removing Cost Barriers

The rapid decline in cost of VR technology – both to produce and view films – gives African filmmakers an incredible opportunity too. As it becomes cheaper for consumers to adopt VR tech, it opens up immersive content consumption opportunities for anyone who has a headset and a compatible mobile phone – reducing filmmakers’ reliance on expensive cinema set-ups and the cost of encoding films to operate on the tech. Indeed, with piracy a rampant problem across the continent, delivering films directly to users without an intermediary has huge positive financial implications for filmmakers and producers.

The ability to use the same platforms and distribution methods levels the international filmmaking playing field, going some way toward levelling financial obstacles and giving the heart of filmmaking – the power of the story – a chance to shine. Since storytelling has been at the heart of African culture since the continent birthed the human race, we have a chance to lead by combining the available tech and our skills as storytellers.

VR at this year’s JFF

Four VR films are being showcased at JFF this year – two from South Africa and one each from the US and Taiwan – as part of the Exploring VR Experience.

Azibuye – The Occupation (South Africa) is a VR / 360 degree which premiered at Sundance Film Festival in 2020. Container makes visible the ‘invisiblised’ bodies enabling our consumer society, confronting slavery through an ever-transforming shipping container, the past becomes the present, the invisible become visible. Meta’s The Soloist is a ground-breaking two part series following mountaineer Alex Honnold’s soloing adventures through the US and into the Alps. The Man Who Couldn't Leave integrates the stories of numerous political victims of Taiwan’s ‘White Terror’, told through the form of an undelivered family letter.

The Joburg Film Festival (JFF) kicks off across Jo’burg on 31 January, showcasing some of the finest films from over 35 countries across the globe, including 20 African premieres and 27 South African premieres, until 5 February.

Everyday Novelas Updates: Trinayani To Make It's Long Awaited African Debut On Zee One, Crown Of Tears (Corona De Lágrimas) Season 2 Serving To Be The Most Hated Telenovela To Date On Las Estrellas And Die Put To Return With A Third Season Later In The Year On eExtra

Zee One to rollout first ever telegu series

Zee One, a freemium entertainment channel owned by Zee Entertainment Enterprises and a spinoff to the current pay-tv exclusive channel, Zee World will be rolling out the much anticipated series, Trinayani from February 9th.

Trinayani follows the titular character's ability to foresee the future and the past often lands her in trouble. Despite the setbacks, she strives to use her gift to protect the people around her from harm.

It stars Sri Satya Sumana, Aashika Gopal Padukone, Chandu Gowda, Priyanka Chowdary, Pavitra Jayaram, Anil Chowdary, Bhavana Reddy and several others.

In other developments, Close To My Heart will be rolling out on Star Life later this month with Zee One's pay-tv counterpart Zee World rolling out a romcom with a very weird title, How Do I Say This?.

Crown Of Tears S2 battered with negative comments

Forming one of the initial programs on TLNovelas Africa, Crown Of Tears serves 2012 remake to the 60s classic starring Victoria Ruffo, Maribel Guardia, Ernesto Laguardia, Africa Zavala, Adriana Louvier, José María Torre, Mané de la Parra and Alejandro Nones.

Since the announcement and arrival of season 2, it was ridiculed with a lot of hate comments for the fact it existed and how the plot came to be, a look at some comments:

A terrible direction of scenes, along with the mixture of a nonsensical story, results in these products that, honestly, the public does not deserve.

Goodbye "Corona De Lagrimas 2" your mistake was being born at the whim of Victoria Ruffo (I'm glad she failed because she didn't want to accept that at 60 she can no longer be the protagonist)

....It is time Victoria Ruffo accepts that her time as the center of attention is long gone, she should put aside her pride and start playing the mother to the protaganists. She has now starred in two failures in a row just because she doesn't want to take supporting or co protaganist roles

Openview Plus:
- Ratings for SABC 1-3 and e.tv for December 2022
- e.tv to rollout a rebroadcast of Die Put
- eExtra scrapped the launch of 4 telenovelas
- Verdeelde Liefde to return with a second season on eExtra

Die Put to continue swinging on eExtra in 2023

Last month, the second season of Die Put starring Aras Bulut İynemli, Perihan Savaş and Öner Erkan came to a close on eExtra with e.tv expected to air a rebroadcast to the first season of the action series immediately after Voëlvry later this month.

Through several social accounts, it was confirmed by sources that eMedia Investments plans to rollout the third season in the second quarter of the year (May 8th) with a fifth season of Doodsondes scheduled for the third quarter (August).

Here's a synopsis to Die Put S3:

Koçovalı Family are faced with the biggest pain of their lives. Because of Yücel's trap, one of Yamaç or İdris Koçovalı had to kill the other. While Akın Koçovalı takes control of Çukur, where nothing will be the same as before, the step of Baykal's daughter Efsun to Çukur will cause the cards to be redistributed. While Efsun's plan, who collaborated with Yücel, Azer, and Timsah, is eagerly awaited, it will be a question mark how Akın will led the neighborhood.

MultiChoice Shares Cryptic Status Update Regarding eMedia's 4 Channels On The DStv Platform

During 2022, eMedia Investments and MultiChoice got into a legal brawl regarding the fate of eMedia's 4 channels in the pay-tv market on DStv after the closed on the platform with the only other means of viewing their content happens to come from Openview which will soon come with its own pay-tv component, Openview Ultra.

As mentioned, a while back eMedia Investments' 4 channels being eToonz, eExtra, eMovies, and eMovies Extra were reinstated for about 6 months meaning the future of these channels will likely be revealed by the end of January or later in February depending on court outcomes.

For all we know 6 months may not include December as that was a festive holiday and maybe it did and they're just monitoring by days considering they were reinstated in the first week of August it could mean that an outcome should have been reached by this week.

DStv:
- MultiChoice and eMedia Investments gets roasted over load shedding plans
- BBC to close linear channels and move to an internet only digital future
- kykNET Lekker Opened To More DStv Customers For A Limited Time
- What Consumers Should Be Concerned About Regarding SABC's Yet To Be Launched Channels On DStv?

In a conversation with the pay-tv holder on whether these channels will remain onboard, they had this to say:

Not yet, we will advise if they will be closed.

We finally got confirmation these channels are neither permanent or temporary just #DisComplicated. I mean could we even see a happy ending to all this even.

Firstly, they don't fit into their 5 year content strategy as all eToonz does is repeat from DreamWorks and eMovies borrow their movie selection from M-Net Movies with Movie Room, TNT and Studio Universal getting a pass due to their global reach I suppose.

eExtra kind of makes that ideal channel to have onboard compared to the other 3 channels. As seen with e.tv last year it does kind of make up as another local component to eMedia's portfolio in this case a rival for kykNET and another having to do with the audience.

My hunch on why MultiChoice is opting not to keep it has to do with the existing Zee TV lineup as that also doesn't fall under their 5 year content strategy and the other dealing with the fact Kuiertyd despite being a premiere on eExtra has a daytime block on e.tv.

There's always Kind Van Die Noodlot and In Die Ysterhand Se Greep on kykNET & Kie.

The fact MultiChoice doesn't see value in these channels doesn't mean they don't hold value elsewhere. In court arguments, they kind of implied that when referencing Openview as there's not much alternatives as seen with DStv at the moment.

For consumers wishing to view these channels would need to get an Openview or stream selected content on eVOD while others choosing to remain with DStv would need monitor e.tv's schedule to see what shows they'll missed out through these channels.

MultiChoice Updates: Dr Phil To End After 21 Years On CBS And Mzansi Magic, Showmax Greenlights Two New Series From Tshedza Pictures And Mzansi Wethu To Launch Nguni News Bulletin, Lindaba Zethu

Another syndicate is out for the count

America's Dr. Phil talk show is ending after 21 seasons with Dr. Phil McGraw who decided that he wanted to stop doing his daytime show at the end of the current season.

The Oprah spin-off talk show was seen on South African television - first SABC2 where it ran from its beginning for several seasons, after switching to pay-TV with M-Net picking it up for the Mzansi Magic (DStv 161) channel for a few further seasons.

Dr. Phil McGraw started out with appearances on The Oprah Winfrey Show, also seen in South Africa, in the late 1990s, before he transitioned to his own tough-talking talk show in 2002.

"I have been blessed with over 25 wonderful years in daytime television. With this show, we have helped thousands of guests and millions of viewers through everything from addiction and marriage to mental wellness and raising children," Phil McGraw (72) says in a statement announcing the end of the show.

African VOD Showmax Inks Slate Deal With South Africa’s Emmy-Nominated Tshedza Pictures

African streaming service Showmax has inked a two-series slate deal with Tshedza Pictures, the South African production company behind the International Emmy-nominated telenovela “The River,” the company announced Tuesday at the start of the Joburg Film Festival.

“Adulting,” Tshedza’s first Showmax Original, is an eight-part drama series set in the parallel universes of four varsity friends. Their strong bond has held them together even as their journeys in life have taken them in very different directions — a bond the show’s creators describe as “the bromance of the decade.”

Tshedza’s second Showmax Original, “Outlaws,” (40 episodes) is a cross-cultural love story that plays out in the dangerous world of cattle-theft syndicates in the lawless land on the border between Lesotho and South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal region.

Both slated for a 2023 debut.

Newzroom Afrika rolls out a news bulletin on Mzansi Wethu

Since induction, Newzroom Afrika has proven to be the BET in news following its launch in 2019 to replace the controversial Afro Worldview. The brand has been excelling so much so they've made several content deals with Mpuma Kapa TV and 1KZN.

Now they'll be expanding their expertise to more outlets as Mzansi Wethu plans to roll out an Nguni based news bulletin from 27 February at 19:00 which will serve as the very first competitor to the news block seen on SABC 1 with eNuus on kykNET competing with Afrikaans news on SABC 2.

The former SABC News TV anchor Thabile Mbhele will be the isiZulu news anchor on Mzansi Wethu, while Dicksy Mdlalose who is also known to SABC viewers, is the weather presenter. Khethukuthula Makoatsane is the sign language interpreter.

For the isiXhosa bulletin Lisakhanya Pepe who was on the SABC will be the anchor, with the SABC weather presenter Thabile Makapela who will appear on Mzansi Wethu. Pumza Sikumba is the sign language interpreter.