The Box: Raveena Tandon To Headline ‘Hotstar' On Disney Plus; ‘Lupin’ Actor Adama Niane Passes Away At 56
Imbewu - e.TV
Africa: Imbewu, the show from Grapevine Productions that has run for 5 years on E.tv, has been officially canceled and will conclude its run at the end of March. The series, which made its debut in April 2018, has been one of the networks most watched shows of the past number of years. E.tv has yet to provide a reason as to why the series has been shelved, though it will reportedly be replaced with an all new drama series.
The SABC (South African Broadcasting Corporation) is looking to axe its transversal strategy after many years of cross-channel rebroadcasting across its networks, SABC1, SABC2, and SABC3. The goal is to establish a unique identity for the channels with each of their own original content in an attempt to curb falling TV ratings.
Sajal Aly - Rodin Eckenroth / Stringer
Asia: Raveena Tandon is set to headline a brand-new series for Disney+ Hotstar. The Bollywood star rose to fame in the 1990s and later headlined the Netflix original series Aranyak in 2021. No further details have been revealed about the series.
Pakistani actress, Sajal Aly, is set to lead a series adaptation of Umrao Jaan Ada, the classic Urdu-language novel written by Mirza Hadi Ruswa. Written in 1899, Ruswa’s work follows the daily lives of courtesans through the lease of the societal structure of19th century India. The novel has received a number of film adaptations in the past, most notably in 1972, 1981, and 2006, to name a few.
Samantha Ruth Prabhu and Varun Dhawan will co-lead an Indian adaptation of the Amazon Prime Russo brothers-helmed action series, Citadel. While yet to receive an official title, the series will be shepherded by the creative duo behind The Family Man, Raj Nidimoru and Krishna DK, with production currently taking place in Mumbai.
Filipino filmmaker, Mikhail Red, has signed on as the series director of an adaptation of the popular action-fantasy comic book, Dreamwalker. Written by pop culture blogger Mikey Sutton and illustrated by Noel Layon Flores, the story follows the adventures of a monster-slaying vlogger. The series is being developed by 108 Media and is aiming for an early 2024 release.
Reliance Entertainment, the Indian production giant, has greenlit a number of projects for developments. Most notably among these include titles for Amazon Prime such as Indian Police Force and Jubilee as well as a supernatural thriller from Pathaan writer in collaboration with Aquaman’s David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick and DC Studios head Peter Safran.
Yoko Higuchi-Zitzmann - SABINE-FINGER
Europe: French actor, Adama Niane, known for his work in Baise-Moi, Get In, and the Netflix series, Lupin, has passed away at the age of 56. Niane has been featured in numerous titles across French television and cinema. No official cause of death has been reported.
Yoko Higuchi-Zitzmann has been appointed as the new CEO of the German licensing production and distribution company, Telepool. Higuchi-Ztizmann will shepherd everything from development to distribution for Telepool.
Mariela Garriga - Tommaso Boddi
Latin America: Mariela Garriga, star of Bloodline and Bosé, has officially signed with CAA. Garriga has appeared in multiple U.S. and Italian television series. The actress will continue to be managed by Vision Entertainment.
The distribution rights to the Mexican dramedy series, Señoras, have been picked up by Sony Pictures TV Latin America. The series, created by Gabriela Marcos Payton, co-founder of the production company Ellas Cuatro, will make its market presentation at Content Americas.
TelevisaUnivision, the Hispanic media powerhouse, is anticipating a larger audience for its annual presentation to advertisers. Feeling that last year’s event drew a larger audience than expected, the company aims to accommodate a larger number of attendees in a bigger venue for its upcoming Upfront Pitch Week. The event on May 16th in New York City
Vice
Middle East: Kaboos, produced in collaboration with Image Nation Abu Dhabi, will be Starzplay’s first Arabic original series. The new show will consist of five episodes, each with their own standalone stories, and will dive into urban folklore from Arab countries across the Middle East and feature genres ranging from horror to noir thrillers.
Vice Media is expanding is business ventures in Saudi Arabia, as the youth-based company has signed a deal with MBC, the country’s government run media platform. This deal will kickstart an array of entertainment content in the Arabic language ranging from music to video games. These projects will be supervised from Vice’s office in Riyadh.