Paramount Likely To Be The Frontrunner In Bid For Warner Bros. Discovery

Paramount is the frontrunner in the race to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery, according to a new report from the NY Post. What’s giving Paramount the advantage? A source for the NY Post says that Paramount is the only company to make an offer that includes CNN as part of the deal.

Paramount, Comcast, and Netflix all submitted bids by the deadline on November 20, with Comcast and Netflix showing interest in the studio and streaming side of the business, while Paramount made an offer to buy it all.

While any sale would have to go through regulatory approval, the NY Post says that Paramount will have a much easier time moving through that process. The company got FCC approval for its merger with Skydance after settling a a $16 million lawsuit with President Trump over a 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris ahead of the 2024 election, and making a promise to commit to to “unbiased journalism” by airing news and entertainment programming across the political spectrum. Post-sale, Paramount put Bari Weiss of The Free Press in charge of news.

Now, CNN could be getting the CBS News treatment. If Paramount succeeds in acquiring Warner Bros. Discovery, CNN would likely also be put under Weiss’ management and made more Trump administration-friendly. Knowing that, Paramount owners are likely to quickly be given the greenlight in the regulatory approval process while Netflix and Comcast, the NY Post points out, would not.

Comcast owns left-leaning news network MSNBC, which CEO Brian Roberts is spinning off, along with other networks including CNBC and USA, into a new entity called Versant. Netflix leaders Reed Hastings and Ted Sarandos have been known to support left-leaning causes. Those ties might work against both companies with this administration, on top of Comcast and Netflix only showing interest in half of the Warner Bros. Discovery business.

Noyontara: The Hidden Truth Coming Soon To Star Life

Star Life, an English dubbed Bollywood channel operated by JioStar that offers a variety of series and movies has announced the addition of a new series Noyontara: The Hidden Truth from 3 December at 22:00 CAT.

Synopsis for Noyontara: The Hidden Truth

The story revolves around Noyontara, a 23-year-old who has been ridiculed her whole life for her ability to see and talk to ghosts. Her life changes when she marries Dr. Surjo Sengupta, a man of science and logic who is grieving a tragic past and does not believe in the supernatural. 

Upon moving into the grand yet eerie ancestral home, "Pari Mahal," Noyontara is pulled into a web of dark family secrets. She finds an unlikely ally in Hasiram, a mischievous child ghost, who helps her uncover the history of greed and forgotten truths within the mansion. 

The central conflict arises when Noyontara encounters two women, both claiming to be her mother-in-law, Lalita. 

Based on the Bengali series Trinayani, Noyontara: The Hidden Truth premiered on Colors TV from 9 June and has since garnered over 160 half episodes. It starred Shruti Bhist as Noyontara "Noyon" Sengupta, Arjun Chakrabarty as Dr. Surjo Sengupta and Narayani Shastri as Lolita Sengupta.

Noyontara: The Hidden Truth replaces The Evil Eye Returns once it concludes in the timeslot of 22:00 CAT from 3 December. Later in the month, Star Life will be adding the female centered drama Ishani in place of Jhanak.

Ishani Coming Soon To Star Life

Star Life, an English dubbed Bollywood channel operated by JioStar that offers a variety of series and movies has announced the addition of a new series Ishani from 28 December at 18:30 CAT.

Synopsis for Ishani

Ishani is now married to a man, named Shashwat, who already has children, named Pihu and Pihu. But even in her new home, happiness remains elusive. Ishani's in-laws and her husband, Shashwat mistreat her for no clear reason at all, and she continues to live under the weight of judgment and isolation. Despite everything, Ishani finds support in an unexpected place, her step-daughter, Pihu.

Encouraged, by Pihu's belief in Ishani, she decides to reclaim her life. She takes a bold step and resumes her education, hoping to finally realize the dreams of becoming an IPS officer that, she had once buried. But life throws another twist her way, when she enrolls in a college and comes face to face, with her past, her ex-boyfriend, Anurag, who is now a college professor at the same institution that, Ishani has enrolled in.

Ishani premiered on StarPlus from 3 July and concluded on 28 October after 114 half hour episodes. It starred Megha Chakraborty as Ishani Sengupta, Karam Rajpal as Anurag Banarjee, Richa Rathore as Pihu Sengupta and Pankaj Bijlani as Advocate Siddharth.

Ishani will be taking Jhanak's 18:30 timeslot with both shows to run for half an hour from 28 December. Prior to its rollout, Noyontara: The Hidden Truth commences on 3 December at 21:00 CAT.

Who Hired The Hitman? Chilling Real-Life Cases Explored In New Series Debuting On Investigation Discovery In Africa

Investigation Discovery, the world’s leading true‑crime destination, is set to unveil its gripping new six‑part series WHO HIRED THE HITMAN?. Premiering Tuesday, 9 December at 21:00 on ID Africa, the series delves into chilling real‑life cases of contract killings, exposing how greed, betrayal, and ruthless ambition can turn deadly. New episodes will air weekly.

 

Featuring six gripping cases, WHO HIRED THE HITMAN? follows the tangled trails of phone calls, suspects, alibis, and hidden motives behind murder‑for‑hire plots. Each episode unravels a unique web of intrigue, from the killing of a snowplough driver that shakes his community, to a real estate entrepreneur caught at the centre of multiple murder attempts. At the heart of every story lies one haunting question: Who is the mastermind pulling the strings? The season premiere, Home on the Rage, airing Tuesday, 9 December 2025, begins with a farmer found dead on his kitchen floor, sparking a complex investigation where everyone on the property becomes a suspect, until a shocking discovery changes everything.

 

Additional episodes this season include: 

The Murder of Big Joe

Premieres Tuesday, 16 December 2025

The midnight murder of a snowplough man puts his friends on edge as their tiny town struggles to root out the culprit. Then, police find a clue on the victim's forehead that may be the killer’s calling card.

 

The Witch Doctor

Premieres Tuesday, 23 December 2025

Killers murder an adrenaline-junkie young father, and detectives sift through tales of illegal chicken fighting, drag racing, cheating, and a mysterious figure nicknamed “The Witch Doctor.”

 

A Hard Man to Kill

Premieres Tuesday, 30 December 2025

For a year, the NYPD follows a bloody trail of murder attempts against a real estate entrepreneur, only to discover that no one is who they seem. The victim has ties to a mob family, and the mastermind is closer than they realised.

 

The Genius and the Mastermind 

Premieres Tuesday, 6 January 2026

The assassination of a computer genius sends detectives on a two-decade hunt for missing gold, uncovers a shocking link to a Saudi sheikh, and exposes a deadly international scheme that claims another life.

 

Dead Body Shop 

Premieres Tuesday, 13 January 2026

A gunman executes three mechanics in a sleepy Connecticut town. Detectives scrape for evidence and uncover a world of chatrooms, embezzlement, an illicit love affair, and three families of potential suspects.   

Afrikaans Adaptation Of The Office To Premiere In January On Showmax

African streamer Showmax is in production on a South African adaptation of global hit format The Office, licensed by BBC Studios.

kykNET will preview the first episode at 8PM on Sunday, 18 January, ahead of the Showmax double bill premiere on Tuesday, 20 January. 

It was more than 20 years ago that the world was introduced to the wonderfully bleak mockumentary world of The Office, created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant. MetaCritic lists the original British version as the best-reviewed comedy series of all time, while the American version won five Emmys, including Outstanding Comedy Series, and was the most streamed show in the world in 2020. 

This universal appeal has seen the BAFTA- and Golden Globe-winning cult comedy remade for audiences around the world, including Australia, France, Canada, Chile, Israel, India, the Middle East, and Poland. 

The South African edition of The Office, to be called Die Kantoor, will be its 14th adaptation and will be filmed primarily in Afrikaans. 

Rapid Blue, part of BBC Studios, is producing the Showmax Original, with BBC Studios handling global sales.

SAFTA and Silwerskerm winner Bennie Fourie is the head writer and director. He is the co-creator of SAFTA Best TV Comedy winner Hotel and plays Baltus in the award-winning mockumentary Magda Louw. 

“It's a massive honour to be able to make the show,” says Bennie. “When we started way back with Hotel, this was the type of show that we were trying to emulate. I don’t think we were ready to make it then but after 10 years of playing with the mockumentary genre, now is the perfect time for us to do this. Everything has really fallen into place and we’re extremely excited.”  

Bennie is clear he’s not just translating The Office into Afrikaans to remake it shot-by-shot with local actors. Instead, he’s reimagined it from the ground up. “South Africa is not the UK and it’s not the US, and we really wanted to reflect that,” says Bennie.

This started by changing the office setting from a paper company to Deluxe Processed Meats, which specialises in polony. 

“South Africa is a proud meat-consuming nation,” says Bennie. “From biltong to droëwors to steak, many South Africans find some of our identity in the meat we eat. But polony is not on that list. It’s just so flippen pink. When you’re standing around a braai, the last thing you want to say is that you are passionate about polony. Especially after that Listeriosis outbreak.”

The staff are looked down upon by their head office, Deluxe Meats, who specialise in prime cuts, and no one feels safe in their positions, as a BBBEE business consortium recently bought a large part of the company.

Rapid Blue produced Is’thunzi, which earned Thuso Mbedu two International Emmy nominations. They’ve assembled a mix of familiar and fresh faces for Die Kantoor, led by 2025 Fleur du Cap winner Albert Pretorius (Niggies; Nêrens, Noord-Kaap) as Flip, the office manager. 

“Flip’s only been the manager for the last year but he’s excited to welcome the documentary crew,” says Bennie. “He feels like this is his Chasing the Sun; like his rise to greatness needs to be recorded.” 

The ensemble cast also includes SAFTA winner Schalk Bezuidenhout (Kanarie, Hotel), screen legend Lida Botha (Die Kwiksilvers), Carl Beukes (Jozi, The Shakedown), Silwerskerm winner Ilse Oppelt (Oh Schuks I’m Gatvol, Fishy Fêshuns), Daniah de Villiers (Mia in Mia and the White Lion), Mehboob Bawa (Bhai in Bhai’s Cafe), former KFM presenter Sipumziwe Lucwaba, and newcomer Gert du Plessis. 

“Our very first Showmax Original was a mockumentary, Tali’s Wedding Diary, so reimagining the most iconic mockumentary of them all has been a full circle moment for us,” says Tracy-Ann van Rooyen, executive head of content at Showmax, part of MultiChoice, a CANAL+ company.

The announcement comes as South Africa celebrates being in third place overall at tonight’s International Emmy Awards in New York, with a record five nominations: Showmax’s Koek (Drama) and Catch Me A Killer (Actress: Charlotte Hope), M-Net’s School Ties (Documentary), SuperSport’s Chasing The Sun 2 (Sports Documentary), and Play Room Live (Kids: Factual and Entertainment). 

While you wait for the South African version in January, re-watch the US version of The Office S1-9 on Showmax.