Fashioning Modern Africanism

With new episodes every Tuesday until 17 January 2023,  Donkerbos , an Afrikaans-English-Venda murder mystery set in Limpopo, is now streaming on Showmax,  When the bodies of six children are found in the backwater forests of Donkerbos, an ostracised detective must wrestle with her dark past, her family and a distrustful community to catch the killer before another child is taken. Written and directed by Nico Scheepers ( Nêrens, Noord-Kaap ), the 18LSVN series is produced by Nagvlug Films (2022 SAFTA winner  Nêrens ,  Noord-Kaap,  2022 SAFTA nominee  Skemerdans , and 2022 Oscar entry  Barakat ).  Multi-award winner Erica Wessels ( Dwaalster  and  i am ALL GIRLS ) stars as detective Stephanie ‘Fanie’ van Wyk. “We had six incredible options but everyone else approached the character with anger,” says Nico. “Erica brings empathy. She elevated the character so much; I couldn’t fathom the depth she brought.”  Fleur du Cap winner Sanda Shandu ( Skemerdans ,  The Kissing Booth ) plays detecti

  Showmax has just dropped the trailer for  Blood Psalms , an epic, action-packed African fantasy series. A co-production with CANAL+,  Blood Psalms  will premiere on Showmax on 28 September 2022, with new episodes every Wednesday for 11 weeks.  Blood Psalms  will also have its world premiere in Cape Town on Wednesday, 24 August 2022 as the opening night screening at MIP Africa, part of FAME Week Africa.   In Ancient Africa, one thousand years after the fall of Atlantis, the five surviving houses of Kemet find themselves beset with fears of a prophesied end of days.  Watch the trailer: Bokang Phelane ( Keeping Score, Isidingo ) has the role of a lifetime as Princess Zazi, a fiercely determined teenage princess who must navigate primordial curses, long-standing ancestral vendettas, and her inexplicable role as the damning prophecy’s chief harbinger.    Mothusi Magano, winner of four SAFTAs and an African Movie Academy Award, plays her father, mad king Letsha, while SAFTA winner and 2022

It’s a first for kykNET and also a first worldwide! Fans of the Real Housewives franchise can now look forward to the first Afrikaans version of the international reality series when kykNET launches Die Real Housewives van Pretoria (RHOP) in October. Six women from Pretoria will dust off their most beautiful and expensive pairs of stilettos to entertain viewers every Thursday night. Think luxury vehicles, magnificent mansions, designer clothes, extravagant parties and the most expensive diamonds – all packed into 13 episodes with Pretoria as the backdrop. "It is a privilege to bring the famous international Real Housewives franchise to kykNET. The fact that this series is set in Pretoria rather than Lagos or Cape Town was always going to require us to approach it differently than the other Real Housewives shows produced around the world. We want to showcase a group of strong Afrikaans women from Pretoria who play big roles in their families and communities, and of course also brin

Bongekile “Babes Wodumo” Simelane and her husband, Mandla Maphumulo, popularly known as Mampintsha, have just dropped the trailer for Season 2 of their hit reality series  Uthando Lodumo . From 1 September 2022, the Showmax Original reality show will see the Gqom superstars take their fans behind the scenes of their rollercoaster lives.                              Watch the trailer:  In Season 1, which set a then record for first day views on Showmax, we saw the controversial couple concluding their lobola negotiations, celebrating their star-studded wedding and anticipating the birth of their first child, now affectionately known as "Sponge". Now the family of three returns to Showmax for another dramatic season that zooms into their lives. The new season will show what life has been like for the couple, drawing the curtain back to reveal the story behind the most contentious headlines of the past year while also showing how the couple’s careers are evolving.   In the exclu

  Mohale: On The Record, Reyka, The Roast of Khanyi Mbau, The Wife: Behind The Veil, Silwerskerm shorts & more MOHALE: ON THE RECORD   | Stream from 5am on Thursday, 4 August 2022 Mohale Motaung has just released a  YouTube video  of himself reading mean tweets (see above), ahead of the launch of  Mohale: On the Record , his 51m tell-all interview with Aldrin Sampear, host of  Unfiltered  on SABC 3 and the drive time show  Beyond The Headlines  on SAFM. Mohale and Somizi Mhlongo became the poster couple for gay marriage in South Africa when their SAFTA-nominated 2020 wedding special,  Somizi & Mohale: The Union , was labelled the Union of the Year and set a then-record for the most first-day views on Showmax at launch. Their relationship was also a central focus on  Living The Dream With Somizi  Season 4, which won the 2020 SAFTA for Best Structured or Docu-Reality Show. But Somhale wasn’t the fairytale union it seemed. This became clear when the audio of an off-the-record inte

While you wait for Season 3 in November 2022,  Behind The Veil  brings all your faves back to revisit the questions that kept  The Wife  at the top of Twitter every Thursday for two seasons.  The Wife  broke records on Showmax, won DStv Mzansi Viewers’ Choice Awards for Abdul Khoza (Nqoba) and Kwenzo Ngcobo (Qhawe), and is now up for 10 SAFTAs, including Best Telenovela, Best Actor (Bonko Khoza as Mqhele), Best Supporting Actor (Abdul Khoza as Nqoba), and Supporting Actress (Zikhona Sodlaka as Mandisa).                                 Watch the trailer: In episode 1, Bonko and Mbalenhle Mavimbela (Hlomu) talk about their characters’ toxic love story and how the nation fell in and then out of love with Mqhele.    In episode 2, the directors and writers of  The Wife  weigh in on what “inspired by” actually means and the controversial changes they made to Dudu Busani-Dube’s beloved books.    In episode 3, Khanyi Mbau (Zandile) and Mondli Makhoba (Nkosana) reflect on their characters’ love

In the Showmax Original horror series  Pulse , launched on Thursday, 23 June 2022, Thapelo Mokoena plays Errol, a game producer who discovers that survival is no longer just a game when an electromagnetic pulse bomb fries every electrical circuit in his office high-rise – and people’s heads.  Sam Wright caught up with the SAFTA-winning  Trackers  and  Wild At Heart  star to find out more about his role in the freaky show, which was picked   by  The Hollywood Reporter  as one of the 25 buzziest series at this year’s MIPTV, a leading global TV market in Cannes, France. What is your claim to fame? I’m just an individual trying to live a life of purpose. I’m somebody who grew up on a farm, in a small farming town, where everything that was exciting was heard about, read about or seen on TV. All I ever wanted to do was go out and see, go out and touch, and go out and take some. I’m somebody who’s really been adamant about conquering and unveiling those dreams, making them become a reality.

Aldrin Sampear, The Host  of  Unfiltered  on SABC 3 and the drive time show  Beyond The Headline  on SAFM just wrapped up the one on one Interview with Mohale for Showmax Origianal. The Showmax special will premiere on 4 August 2022, first on Showmax.  Mohale and his husband Somizi Mhlongo became the poster couple for gay marriage in South Africa when their SAFTA-nominated 2020 wedding special,  Somizi & Mohale: The Union , was labelled The Union of the Year and set a then record for the most first day views on Showmax. Their relationship was also a central focus on  Living The Dream With Somizi  S4, which won the 2020 SAFTA for Best Structured or Docu-Reality Show.  As Aldrin says, “As a queer person, their union has been a celebration of what many would love to achieve but, because of societal norms, have struggled to. Some of us even lived our fantasies through their love story and became invested in it.” But Somhale wasn’t the fairytale union it seemed. This became clear when t