News Shorts: Harold And The Purple Crayon Returns With New Live-Action Film, Prime Video Greenlights New Competition Series From MrBeast And DC Studios Announces A New Live-Action Film Based On Teen Titans

Harold is a middle aged man

Starring Zachary Levi (Shazam!), Harold and the Purple Crayon is set to be released in theaters by Sony Pictures on Aug. 2. Months ahead of the release, Sony has shared two posters for the movie, with one of them highlighting the magical purple crayon that brings to life everything Harold draws. Another poster reveals Levi in character as Harold along with some of his co-stars and the various creations he will be making with the titular crayon. 

Along with Zachary Levi, Harold and the Purple Crayon stars Lil Rel Howery (Get Out), Zooey Deschanel (The Happening), Jemaine Clement (What We Do in the Shadows), Ravi Patel (Wonder Woman 1984), Camille Guaty (The Rookie), Tanya Reynolds (Sex Education), and Pete Gardner (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend). Carlos Saldanha (Ferdinand) directed the movie with a screenplay penned by David Guion and Michael Handelman.

MrBeast is heading to Prime Video 

Beast Games, which is based on Jimmy Donaldson aka MrBeast’s already successful YouTube show, is set to become the biggest reality competition series with 1000 contestants competing for a $5 million cash prize—the biggest single prize in the history of television and streaming.

Beast Games will premiere exclusively on Prime Video in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide.

Teen Titans live-action film in the works

DC Studios is adding to its newly rebooted cinematic universe with a live-action film adaptation of “Teen Titans,” tapping screenwriter Ana Nogueira to pen the feature.

The news comes only four months after Nogueria was reported to be writing “Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow” for Warner Bros. Discovery’s comic book adaptation division. An actor and playwright, Nogueira has been involved with DC for several years now, having been originally tapped by the previous regime to write a “Supergirl” movie that would’ve seen Sasha Calle reprise the character after debuting in last summer’s “The Flash.” That project was scrapped after James Gunn and Peter Safran took on leadership roles, setting plans for a rebooted continuity of on-screen DC Comics adaptations. But the pair have maintained a relationship with Nogueira, which is further growing with “Titans.”

April 2024 On HGTV Across Africa | New Series Alert Including Battle On The Mountain | Returning Shows Including Celebrity IOU | More

Battle on the Mountain S1

BRAND NEW

The battle moves to the mountains! Rico Leon, Kim Myles and Kim Wolfe mentor three teams of talented up-and-coming renovators, and each team will have six weeks and $100,000 to remodel a rundown mountain home and compete for a $50,000 cash prize!

First TX: 12 April

TX Day: Tuesday

TX Time: 22:00

Last TX: TBC

Small Town Potential S1

BRAND NEW

New York's Hudson Valley has something to satisfy any passion, and local real estate agent Davina Thomasula works with builder Kristin Leitheuser to transform the area's affordable houses into beautiful homes that fulfill their clients' lifestyle dreams.

First TX: 4 April

TX Day: Thursday

TX Time: 22:00

Last TX: TBC

Celebrity IOU S4

NEW SEASON

Hollywood A-listers express their deep gratitude to people who have impacted their lives by surprising them with home renovations. The celebrities get hands-on with Drew and Jonathan Scott to imagine a design plan and create beautifully customized spaces.

First TX: 29 April

TX Day: Monday

TX Time: 21:00

Last TX: TBC

Buying Back the Block S1

BRAND NEW

Comedian Mike Epps and his wife Kyra have bought several homes on his childhood block in Indianapolis, and their goal is to revitalize the struggling neighbourhood and bring back the charm, community and character that Mike valued growing up.

First TX: 20 April

TX Day: Saturday

TX Time: 22:00

Last TX: TBC

Lil Jon Wants To Do What? S2

BRAND NEW

Forget everything you think you know about Lil Jon as a musician and producer. He's teaming up with interior designer Anitra Mecadon to push

homeowners outside of their comfort zones with

amazing room transformations that are beyond their wildest dreams.

First TX: 30 April

TX Day: Tuesday

TX Time: 21:00

Last TX: TBC

April 2024 On Food Network Across Africa | New Series Alert: Save The Leftovers And Wildcard Kitchen | Returning Shows Including BBQ: Brawls | More

Dinner: Impossible 

S9 & S10

NEW SEASONS

For each seemingly impossible mission, host Robert Irvine must cook an extraordinary meal using limited resources. From the jungles of Hawaii to the streets of Sin City, Robert battles the elements -- and the clock -- to deliver a world-class meal.

Beat Bobby Flay S33

NEW SEASON

Talented chefs battle for the chance to take down

Chef Bobby Flay. One is picked to compete against Bobby in his own arena and challenge him with a surprise signature dish.

First TX: 15 April

TX Day: Monday

TX Time: 17:00

Last TX: 27 May

Save the Leftovers S1

BRAND NEW

With $10,000 on the line, two professional chefs go head-to-head to rescue real families' leftovers and transform them into restaurant-quality dishes. Chef Antonia Lofaso hosts, and celebrity guest judges help choose the winner.

First TX: 22 April

TX Day: Monday

TX Time: 17:55

Last TX: 22 April

Wildcard Kitchen S1

BRAND NEW

Food Network stars are out at night and ready for a food fight, in an after-dark, invite only, high stakes cooking competition and they're raising the stakes by putting their own money on the line. In each close ended episode, three all-star chefs play against each other to prove their cooking prowess and take home some cold hard cash.

First TX: 24 April

TX Day: Wednesday

TX Time: 17:00

Last TX: 12 June

BBQ Brawl S4

NEW SEASON

Bobby Flay is ready for revenge against defending champion Anne Burrell, while Sunny Anderson joins as the new captain in town. In California, the competition is more cutthroat, and the judges will decide which pitmaster earns the Master of 'Cue title.

First TX: 29 April

TX Day: Monday

TX Time: 18:00

Last TX: 24 June

News Shorts: A Rebroadcast Of Game Of Love Launches On Star Life, WWE Channel Extends Its Reach To DStv Ahead Of WrestleMania And Vodacom Will No Longer Offer Facebook Free Mode

Game Of Love returns to Star Life

The series celebrates the extended relations particular with Indian family set up while it follows the lives of three brothers as they navigate through life, career, family and falling in love. The show first follows the bond between the brothers and then shifts to the bonds they share with their significant others.

Game Of Love (Ishqbaaz) will start on 25 March replacing The Inseparables.

WWE Channel extends reach to DStv Access

With the school holidays around the corner, SuperSport will be opening up the WWE Channel to DStv Access from 28 March to 8 April as fans gear up for WrestleMania. Consumers will be able to browse various content such as This Is Awesome and WWE 24.

Prior to this, MultiChoice will be removing M-Net's Me And 1Magic channels alongside Ginx eSports TV on the DStv platform by the end of March.

Vodacom ends free mode on Facebook 

During the week, several Facebook users were alarmed after reports had surfaced that the free version to their service would end on 31 March 2024. With some confusing it for Meta when in reality Vodacom is ending its basic Free Flex campaign.

From 1st April, anyone who wishes to continue using their service would need to allocate airtime in order to get 15mb of Facebook data. Such endeavors had already been seen with other networks such as MTN.

News Shorts: The Equalizer Returns With A Third Season On Universal TV Across Africa, New Original Film The Greatest Hits Unveiled For Disney+ And Zokie Of Planet Ruby To Rollout On International Nickelodeon Channels In May

The Equalizer returns to Universal TV this month 

The Equalizer is set to return for its highly anticipated third season, exclusively on Universal TV. The show stars Queen Latifah as Robyn McCall, Lorraine Toussaint as Viola “Aunt Vi” Marsette, Tory Kittles as Detective Marcus Dante, Adam Goldberg as Harry Keshegian, Liza Lapira as Melody “Mel” Bayani, and Laya DeLeon Hayes as Delilah. The new season consists of 18, one-hour episodes airing every Friday at 20:00 (CAT) from 29 March 2024 on Universal TV (DStv 117). Episodes will be available on demand through Universal+ immediately thereafter.

Season 3 picks up after the tumultuous and nerve-wracking season 2 finale that saw Robyn McCall get abducted in front of her daughter Delilah and Aunt Vi. As someone who has worked hard to keep her family and work life separate, she will have to face a whole new set of challenges when she escapes her captors. Donal Logue (Sons of Anarchy, Vikings) guest stars as Colton Fisk, one of the CIA’s most decorated agents, an ex-CIA union chief in the Middle East during the 1990s. Empowered with a Tier 5 security clearance (the highest possible) he was part of the intelligence team that took out Bin Laden, and for many years he ran “The Farm” (the CIA training base in Virginia). The addition of Logue follows Robyn’s mentor Bishop being killed by her longtime nemesis Mason Quinn (Chris Vance). Similarly to Bishop, Colton is a powerful and connected agent who navigates in the shadows. His connection to Robyn is as yet unknown…

The Greatest Hits to stream on Disney+

Harriet finds art imitating life when she discovers certain songs can transport her back in time – literally. While she relives the past through romantic memories of her former boyfriend, her time travelling collides with a burgeoning new love interest in the present. As she takes her journey through the hypnotic connection between music and memory, she wonders – even if she could change the past, should she?

The film stars Lucy Boynton as Harriet, a woman who discovers that certain songs transports her back in time where she relives a past romance, leaving her wondering if she should try to prevent the accident which resulted in the death of her boyfriend two years ago, or move on with her relationship in present day. 

It arrives on Disney+ from April 12.

Zokie and Ruby are coming to Nickelodeon 

In Zokie of Planet Ruby, quirky 10-year-old vlogger Ruby discovers her only video channel follower is a tail-zapping space alien from the planet Pudge named Zokie Sparkleby, and they quickly become best friends. Along with their friend Earl, a talking con-man squirrel, Ruby teaches Zokie about her version of Earth, while Zokie learns to control his unpredictable powers.

The buddy comedy series was produced and owned by Nelvana Enterprises in Canada was greenlit back in 2019 under the working title, Zokie Sparkleton and Zokie Sparkleby. Oddly enough, the first season was made available to stream on Amazon Prime Video by the end of December with no prior announcement. 

Now the series is gearing up for linear debut on Nickelodeon channels globally (excluding the US) from May 6.t