The Box: Somizi Mhlongo Launches New Show ‘Downtime With Somizi’; Rohit Shetty Creating New Series ‘Indian Police Force’ For Prime; Diego Boneto Strikes Deal With Amazon Studios
Somizi Mhlongo - Gallo Images / Oupa Bopape
Africa: Somizi Mhlongo launches new show Downtime with Somizi. His new talk show opened on the 1Magic channel with more than 13 episodes. Each one delves into a pair of celebrity guests attempting new and exciting experiences with Somizi followed up by a lowkey dinner to discuss heartfelt topics. His lineup of guests includes DJ Sbu, Shauwn Mkhize, T-Bo Touch, and many others. Somizi adds to his personal success with his other headlining show, Living The Dream With Somizi Mhlongo premiering its fifth season on Showmax this May.
The Wife has taken a production break. The story follows eight Zulu brothers and their rise as a crime family. Notably, the perspective of the series is taken from the wives of these crime lords. The show was reaching a climactic peak after pregnant Hlomu (Mbalenhle Mavimbela) was kidnapped in the end of its second season. Creators have stated that production will resume later this year as anticipation builds for season 3. The series is based on South African author Dudu Busani-Dube's book Hlomu: The Wife. Fans can rewatch the first and second seasons on Showmax.
Sidharth Malhotra - SUJIT JAISWAL
Asia: A $2 billion-dollar deal has been struck between Viacom18, Reliance, and Bodhi Tree. The goal is to create a gigantic TV and streaming company overseeing India. This will include the unison of Viacom18’s Voot streaming platform and Reliance’s JioCinema streaming app. The deal is set to ink in the coming 6 months.
Rohit Shetty is launching a new series on Amazon Prime titled Indian Police Force. It will be headlined by Sidharth Malhotra. The action series will further the police universe Rohit Shetty has been sculpting after his latest box office hit, Sooryavanshi starring Akshay Kumar.
Vincente Fernández - ULISES RUIZ
Latin America: Diego Boneta is striking a partnership with Amazon Studios. The deal will bring in a full slate of Mexican TV and Film originals. Boneta recently took the lead in the biopic series on Netflix Luis Miguel: The Series.
El Último Rey:: El Hijo Del Pueblo, the bioseries on late singer and superstar Vincente Fernández will be premiering in the U.S. this summer. The controversial series by Univision hit 33 million viewers in Mexico this past year. It notably was protested by the lawyers of Vincente’s family. The producers stood their ground with production following through on a second season and the U.S. premiere set for May 17, 2022.
