The Box: New Series and Film Lineups for DStv and Netflix Africa
Africa: Four upcoming crime drama series are set to premiere on DStv, all done as co-productions with international partners: Devil's Peak, a crime thriller set in Cape Town, premieres on October 29th on M-Net (DStv 101). The series is an international co-production from Lookout Point and Expanded Media Productions, MultiChoice Studios, and BBC Studios. Spinners premieres on November 8th on Showmax and November 13th on Canal+ in Africa. It is a drama set in Cape Flats, where a 17-year-old getaway driver dreams of escape through a motorsport subculture called spinning. The series is a co-production between Showmax and Canal+. Filming is underway in KwaZulu-Natal on the second season of the crime drama series Reyka for M-Net and White Lies done in scenic Cape Town. It was co-produced by Quizzical Pictures and Fremantle.
The South African public broadcaster's SABC+ video streaming service has yet to meet expectations and has struggled with advertising problems and high data prices. Not enough people have signed up and used the service. SABC+ also has to compete against media giants like MultiChoice's Showmax, which will be relaunched with partnerships with Comcast's NBCUniversal, Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, Apple TV+, eMedia's eVOD, and smaller streamers like PCCW Media's VIU, BritBox SA, Marquee TV, PrideTV and CineMagic.
South Africa's public broadcaster confirmed its massive loss-making projection. It announced that it had made another annual loss of R.1 billion. The SABC is struggling to pay suppliers and production companies for content, with Danie Odendaal Productions halted production due to non-payment.
7de Laan will restart filming after the SABC failed to pay the money owed to the series. 45 episodes must be filmed at Sasani Studios before 24 October and should conclude with the last episode shown on 26 December.
Netflix Africa previewed its upcoming programming for the remainder of 2023 and 2024: Miseducation, from Burnt Onion Productions, made its debut on September 15th. YOH' Christmas is a holiday series released in late 2023, produced by Johnny Barbuzano, Tiffany Barbuzano, and Morishe Matlejoane for BBZEE Productions. Blood and Water will launch its fourth season in the first quarter of 2024 and the second season of Savage Beauty, produced by Quizzical Pictures. Production will start soon on the third season of the Young, Famous & African reality series. Kandasamys: The Baby will premiere on Netflix on October 20 from writer and director Jayan Moodley. Director Mandla Dube is behind the camera for the spy thriller Heart of the Hunter, based on Deon Meyer's novel. Soweto Love Story is a romantic comedy feature set in Johannesburg's famous township and will be released in the first quarter of 2024. Netflix has signed a new three-film partnership with Jayan Moodley beginning with Kandasamys: The Baby, which is currently in production.
Showmax CEO Yolisa Phahle is leaving after nearly two decades. From March 2024, Phahle will continue to consult for another 12 months and lead Showmax and MultiChoice’s South African operations.
Mo Abudu, the CEO of Lagos-based EbonyLife Media is looking to expand production infrastructure in her home country, Nigeria, and give Africans a more prominent voice in entertainment. Having seen the rise of Korean media in the global entertainment sphere, Abudu sees potential African content on the world stage.
M-Net announced their South African rhino poaching drama series Endangered, based on the South African crime writer Rudie van Rensburg's novel Piranha. The series is written by Jake Riddell and production will start in 2024.
Asia: Indian studio Applause Entertainment and Zindagi, the Indian subcontinent-focused programming block on streamer ZEE5 Global, have set up a wide-ranging content partnership. The partnership will create South Asian-themed content from across the subcontinent starting with productions in Hindustani (combining Hindi and Urdu). Production will then expand into some local languages.
Netflix has released the first trailer for Jaane Jaan by filmmaker Sujoy Ghosh (Kahaani) the Indian adaptation of Japanese author Higashino Keigo’s 2005 novel The Devotion of Suspect X. The cast is led by Kareena Kapoor Khan, Jaideep Ahlawat (Paatal Lok), and Vijay Varma (Dahaad). The film follows a single mother and daughter who commit a crime and a neighbor who helps them cover it up.
Amazon’s Prime Video Thailand will launch its first locally made original, Content Island. The series is produced by Liminal Entertainment with Malin Films Production and executive produced by Jef Lim, Marilyn Tan, and Malin Pongsapipatt. The show follows six actors on a utopian island, tasked with performing improvised skits to lift the locals’ gross happiness index.
ZEE5 Global’s slate of original series and films is beginning to pay dividends for the South Asian content streamer in the U.S. General viewership and subscriber count have been reported to have been on the increase however ZEE5 Global doesn’t release specific viewing metrics or subscriber numbers globally.
Netflix and SK Broadband are ending all their lawsuits and would instead create a strategic partnership to provide better entertainment experiences to Korean customers. Netflix offered a technological solution to traffic volume that it had provided to ISPs in other countries.
Tanaav, the Indian adaptation of the thriller series Fauda, will return for a second season. The series is produced by Applause Entertainment, and the cast includes Manav Vij, Sumit Kaul, Rajat Kapoor, and Shashank Arora, and was directed by Sudhir Mishra (Serious Men) and co-directed by Sachin Mamta Krishn (Hostages).
Disney has green-lit the second season of the Japanese drama-horror series Gannibal. The series follows a police officer who relocated to a village as alarming events slowly uncover the mystery of the villagers and the Goto Family. Yagira Yuya (Nobody Knows) is confirmed to return in the starring role of police officer Agawa, while Kasamatsu Sho returns as Goto Keisuke and Yoshioka Riho as Agawa Yuki. The second season will premiere in 2024.
Studio Ghibli will sell a controlling stake to Japanese broadcaster Nippon Television (NTV). Executives from NTV are expected to join Studio Ghibli’s management. However, the terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Cartoonito
Europe: Warner Bros. Discovery has rebranded its preschool network Boomerang to Cartoonito across Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Turkey, the Middle East, and North Africa. Cartoonito will include Boomerang favorites like Tom & Jerry, Mr. Bean, and Masha and the Bear, along with newer content Thomas and Friends: All Engines Go and Lucas the Spider.
Middle East: Fauda, the Israeli thriller drama, is returning for a fifth season. The series became a huge international hit for Netflix and follows Doron, a commander for a counter-intelligence unit, and touches on the Israel-Palestine conflict.
