Eight All Elite Wrestling Wonders To Wrap Up Women’s Month

TNT Africa wraps up Women’s Month in style with All Elite Wrestling’s explosive roster of female talent on the weekly AEW: Dynamite and AEW: Rampage shows. AEW rings in the explosive power of women in wrestling, and these contenders have a bold commitment to inspiring girls and women globally through the world of wrestling.

Exceptional athletes such as Thunder Rosa, Jade Cargill, Dr. Britt Baker, Nyla Rose, Kris Statlander, Tay Conti, Red Velvet, Toni Storm, and many more have been empowering women both inside and outside the ‘squared circle’ since the launch of AEW in 2019.  Here are the stories of some of these inspiring competitors:

Thunder Rosa is the current AEW Women’s World Champion, having defeated Dr. Britt Baker in March 2022 in an epic women’s Steel Cage Match.  Born in Tijuana, Mexico, Thunder Rosa wrestled around the world before signing with AEW in 2020.  Since joining AEW, she has thrilled audiences with her unique in-ring presence and artistry.

Jade Cargill erupted on the professional wrestling scene in early 2020, making an iconic in-ring debut alongside NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal in a mixed tag team match.  Since then, she’s become the inaugural AEW TBS Champion and remains undefeated with a 36-0 record.  An all-around athlete, Jade played Division 1 basketball at Jacksonville University.  She holds multiple degrees, including a master’s in child psychology, and is the first-ever Black woman on the cover of a wrestling video game – AEW: Fight Forever.

Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D. is the only fully licensed and practising dentist in the professional wrestling industry.  She made her in-ring debut in 2015 while enrolled in the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Dental Medicine. She continued to study dentistry while honing her craft in the ring.  The first woman signed to AEW when the company debuted, Britt is a former AEW Women’s World Champion, a title she held for 290 days.

Nyla Rose is a true student of everything professional wrestling, possessing a unique blend of speed, agility, power and precision.  Nicknamed the “Native Beast,” Nyla is a proud Native American of Oneida heritage.  When Nyla officially signed with AEW in February 2019, she became the first out transgender woman to sign a full-time contract with a top U.S.-based wrestling company.  In 2020, she captured the AEW Women’s World Championship to become the first transgender woman to win the world championship title of a major U.S. wrestling promotion.

Kris Statlander found her love of professional wrestling after training to become a stunt woman.  Since graduating from a top wrestling academy, Kris has been featured on multiple Top 100 and Top 10 female wrestler lists.  Kris, who made her AEW debut in 2019, has established herself as a leading force in the women’s division. 

Tay Conti brings a unique set of skills to the AEW roster with her strong background in martial arts – she even competed in the Olympic trials for the 2016 Summer Games in her native country, Brazil.  Since signing with AEW in 2020, she’s made a tremendous impact, blending her expertise in judo and Brazilian jiu-jitsu with traditional wrestling moves.  Recently married to AEW star Sammy Guevara, Tay Conti is a name to watch.

Red Velvet signed with AEW in 2020 and made an immediate impression with several high-profile matches.  She has since aligned herself with “The Baddies” alongside Jade Cargill, Kiera Hogan and Stokely Hathaway.  Red Velvet is also the daughter of the Colombian World Flyweight boxing champion Prudencio Cardona.

Toni Storm found her passion for professional wrestling at the age of 10 and began training at her local gym in Australia. She later moved to Liverpool, UK, to hone her skills further.  She soon started wrestling around the world, making a name for herself and capturing titles.  She made her AEW debut on March 30, 2022, in the Owen Hart Foundation Women’s Tournament with a first-round victory.  She followed that up with a run at the AEW Women’s World Championship and continues to put the women’s roster on notice. 

“A month such as Women's Month provides TNT Africa with an opportunity to celebrate AEW’s resilient and strong women,” said Guillermo Farré, Head of the Warner Bros. Discovery General Entertainment channels across France, Iberia and Africa.  “We are committed to showcasing and promoting women in professional wrestling and across all sporting arenas.”

Catch these AEW HERoes in new episodes of AEW: Dynamite and AEW: Rampage on TNT Africa (DStv Channel 137) every Saturday and Sunday at 10:00 CAT.

Roundups #89: Megan Thee Stallion Joins The Marvel Cinematic Universe, Selena Gomez Enters Negotiations For Working Girl Reboot, Scrapped HBO Max Series Drawing Interest Of Various Streamers

Megan Thee Stallion joins the cast of She-Hulk

Megan Thee Stallion is following up her role on Starz’s P-Valley with a cameo appearance in Marvel’s She-Hulk: Attorney At Law.

In an upcoming episode, she becomes involved in a legal case that is being handled by attorney Augustus “Pug” Pugliese, played by Josh Segarra. Segarra teased what’s ahead while chatting with Deadline on the red carpet of the show’s premiere.

“A gentleman is being catfished by somebody that lives in another universe, let’s say. Another world,” Segarra said before confirming Deadline’s teasing response that the catfisher is pretending to be a certain recording artist.

Selena Gomez might be joining another reboot

Selena Gomez and 20th Century Studios are partnering for a reboot of Working Girl.

Gomez is in talks to produce a remake of the 1988 comedy that starred Melanie Griffith as a Long Island woman who secretly takes over her boss’ job while she recovers from a broken leg. Harrison Ford and Sigourney Weaver also starred in the original film, which was directed by Mike Nichols and was a massive success, earning Oscar nominations and an impressive $100 million box office haul.

It is unclear if Gomez would also star in the project, which is eyeing a release on Hulu.

Batman is gaining traction

While Bruce Timm, Matt Reeves, and J.J. Abrams' Batman: Caped Crusader won't be coming to HBO Max, the animated series is reportedly very much alive and drawing interest from Apple, Hulu, Netflix, and more.

As reported by THR, Batman: Caped Crusader was one of six animated titled that was pulled from HBO Max's upcoming slate and will no longer be produced by the company. It was stated that these shows were not necessarily canceled, but instead would be shopped to other studios.

According to THR's sources, "it is believed that the various Warners divisions making the show and movies will make more money on the titles by selling them to other outlets than having them on Warners’ own streamer."

 

Why Fan-Favourite Sports Channel Is Not Available On Pay Platforms

In 2021, the isolated SABC Sport channel on the DTT platform was made available to Openview consumers as part of a deal made by the public broadcaster and eMedia Investments which included two more channels and 19 radio stations.

Years prior, SABC Sport made its OTT debut on Telkom's streaming service TelkomOne under a similar agreement with the public broadcaster within it included the 19 radio stations, SABC Education and likely any upcoming channel(s).

Since it's availability to free-to-air consumers, SABC Sport has become the top 10 watched channels on Openview and since then sourced several content outside of SABC 1-3 which includes the best of ESPN and Racing240 and all of that just triggered a certain pay-tv brand, SuperSport.

SuperSport is a sports division of M-Net which houses the biggest sports brands like Premier League, La Liga, UEFA Champions League, Moto GP, WWE, Wimbledon, PGA Tour. Point is they are the biggest sports brands in Africa.

Unfortunately, due to all these prestige over the brand only a handful of matches are accessible to lower masses and those excluded rely on the SABC for some of these matches.

In the beginning, consumers no matter the platform would have access to these matches but following the official launch of SABC Sport that all changed as SuperSport exclusive matches would only be screened on the DStv and DTT platform with TelkomOne and Openview blocked from seeing any of these matches.

If you look at the tactic here, they're basically trying to boost the consumer numbers on their platforms as they experience a decline in DStv Premium and Compact consumers and also with streaming taking over they want to level the playing field.

Since then the public broadcaster had filed an application accusing SuperSport of being anti-competitive in a similar stature to eMedia Investments when their channels where pulled from the DStv platform.

Taking that to account, why would MultiChoice want a channel that rebroadcast SuperSport content especially if it means more consumers will likely downgrade if it means paying less for premium content.

Some of the content that was restricted to TelkomOne and Openview were also excluded from SABC Sport imagine if the channel was already on DStv with those restrictions attached when consumers who missed out would hope to catch-up or rehash some past content.

Laid-Off HBO Max Execs Reveal Warner Bros. Discovery Is Killing Off Diversity and Courting ‘Middle America’

Adam Manno

Former HBO Max executives say the streaming service has been left with few people of color to oversee its diverse slate of programming as Warner Bros. Discovery continues its ongoing corporate reshuffling.

The platform reportedly laid off close to 70 people this month. That includes the entire teams overseeing unscripted, kids and family, and international content, according to two former HBO Max execs who asked not to be named.

Those three divisions, responsible for buying shows from production companies and creators and working closely with them during production, are now completely gone.

One former employee says as many as 13 people of color previously in charge of developing shows like The Gordita Chronicles and the Spanish-language docuseries Menudo: Forever Young have been let go, likely influencing the types of shows and movies that are greenlit moving forward. Among those laid off are Jen Kim, an Asian woman who served as the senior vice president of the international team, and Kaela Barnes, a Black woman who worked under Kim.

“I don’t think anyone knows just how white the staff is,” one former executive told The Daily Beast.

Former HBO Max staffers say there are barely any non-white people left in the upper ranks of content, with one naming Joey Chavez, an executive vice president of drama, as one of the few people of color still there. Because HBO Max and the original HBO channel operate somewhat independently, one former executive conceded that “there may be one Black woman on the HBO side. Maybe.”

The layoffs have “amplified the lack of diversity at HBO,” another former executive told The Daily Beast. “HBO is the most homogenous part of this umbrella. Instead of trying to figure out how to integrate some of the [Max] executives into HBO, they just made this sweeping cut of three divisions: kids, family, and international. A lot of Black and brown people lost their jobs.”

Ever since parent company Warner Bros. merged with Discovery earlier this year, employees at Warner have grappled with the changing values of the newly created company. Discovery CEO David Zaslav was charged with helping Warner crawl out of a $50 billion hole. He came in like a wrecking ball, tearing up CNN’s $300 million streaming service CNN+ and vowing to pull the Warner-owned news channel away from “advocacy” journalism.

More changes have come in the past couple of weeks.

Earlier this month, it was announced that Batgirl, the $90 million film planned for HBO Max starring Afro-Latina actress Leslie Grace, would be shelved completely in favor of a tax write-off. Over the weekend, CNN media correspondent and host Brian Stelter, a frequent target of right-wing criticism, was fired from the network.

Former Warner employees believe these changes are just as much about business as they are about reshaping the ideological perception of Warner properties. It all points to the same end, they say: A rejection of left-wing or highly diverse content in favor of more homogenous, Middle America-friendly fare. The lack of diversity in content staff might just make that goal easier.

“HBO is the most homogenous part of this umbrella. Instead of trying to figure out how to integrate some of the [Max] executives into HBO, they just made this sweeping cut of three divisions: kids, family, and international. A lot of Black and brown people lost their jobs.”
In a statement to The Daily Beast, HBO highlighted shows like Euphoria, Rap Sh!t, A Black Lady Sketch Show and Los Espookys, all of which are led by diverse characters.

“HBO and HBO Max have always shown a commitment to diverse programming and storytellers, and always will,” the company said.

An internal graphic comparing the audiences of Discovery+ and HBO Max showed a stark demographic difference between the two streamers. Where HBO Max is popular with diverse groups, single people, and drivers of hybrid cars, Discovery+ is popular with white, married people who drive SUVs, minivans, and “traveling buses.” HBO Max viewers are on TikTok and Instagram, while Discovery+ viewers use social media platforms Facebook and Twitter, with the added caveat, “if any.” HBO Max viewers have no kids. Discovery+ viewers are either “empty nesters” or have grandchildren. Discovery may be trying to pull HBO into its orbit as it focuses on what it does best.

HBO Max’s reality offerings presented an obvious sticking point for the new bosses. Where Discovery properties like TLC and HGTV send camera crews out to film what they can find, HBO Max’s offerings are more carefully crafted. They’re sometimes buoyed by stars like Selena Gomez or Steph Curry, who have the power to command big paychecks, and they’re noticeably sleeker, with smoother edits and more complicated camera set-ups adding to their budgets.

One former exec describes Discovery+ as a “more general audience platform that doesn’t have the specificity that HBO Max was tailored to. I think Discovery is just a very ‘all’ audience, [they] don’t wanna make things that are political, topical, alienate Middle America—more Chip and Joanna,” they said, referring to the home renovation show Fixer Upper: Welcome Home hosted by Chip and Joanna Gaines.

Leslie Grace in Batgirl

HBO Max
“If David Zaslav had his wish, he would just program Chip and Joanna all day long,” the executive said. “There was just a massive, ‘We don’t need you. You’re not offering the things we’re focused on.’”

The change in perspective could also partly explain why so many titles have recently disappeared from HBO Max’s platform. Our sources agree that the removals are mostly related to money. The company can claim a tax break for the costs associated with certain shows as long as it promises to stop profiting off them, which means taking them down altogether.

“They’re canceling a lens of perspective that I don’t think exists when you look at Discovery-branded shows,” one former staffer said.

Speaking of the company’s plans to combine HBO Max and Discovery+ into one giant streaming service in the near future, the laid-off exec said: “Don’t be surprised if there’s a new name for the platform.”

Overall, there’s a sense that HBO Max’s executives of color were just another casualty in the company’s quest to get itself out of debt, content quality be damned.

“In terms of people seeing themselves reflected, whether it’s ethnic or LGBTQ, when you have people who are diverse, the lens with which they evaluate [content] factors in things that I think my white colleagues just don’t think about,” one former executive said.

“It’s deep,” said another. “What are they going to do with this disproportionate amount of people of color that were let go? They need to replace them in some capacity. Or do they not care? That’s what we’ve been told, that they just don’t care.”

Cartoon Network's Multi-Award-Winning Climate Champions Campaign Celebrates 1 Million Challenges Accepted

A whopping 1 million challenges have been accepted by enthusiastic Cartoon Network Climate Champions worldwide. These are everyday heroes who have decided to take action by heeding the call to protect our earth, one challenge at a time!

Launched in June 2021, the Cartoon Network Climate Champions initiative, aimed at giving kids the tools to act and fight against climate change, invited kids across EMEA to take on small and fun challenges that can make a world of difference to help protect their environment – and kids across Africa have been exceptional!

Of the one million accepted challenges, 18% are from Africa, meaning close to 190 000 African kids actively participated in making an environmental difference. From planting trees and saving water to reusing everyday household items to create useful crafts, our young, real-life superheroes are determined to fight against climate change, and the growing numbers across Africa are proof that our future is in safe hands!

This multi-award-winning campaign has taken away a Bronze Award for the Environmental Category and a Silver Award for the Arts and Entertainment Category at the 2022 PRISM Awards, South Africa’s highly sought-after public relations and communications awards. The campaign also won an Africa SABRE Award in the Media, Arts and Entertainment Category. The Africa SABRE Awards recognizes superior achievement in branding, reputation, and engagement and puts a spotlight on the industry’s most compelling work, especially focusing on programs and initiatives that drives real business impact across the continent. The most recent award, announced in July 2022, was the IPRA Golden World Awards, recognizing excellence in public relations on a global platform.  These are all testament to the fact that Cartoon Network’s Climate Champions is making great strides on a local and international front.

Monika Oomen, VP, Brand, Communications and Franchise, Kids EMEA, Warner Bros. Discovery, said: “Climate change is an important issue to the younger generation, and we can see this in their desire to not only talk about saving the planet but to take action too. Cartoon Network’s Climate Champions provides an engaging platform to inspire kids in this mission and to show them that every action, however small, can make a difference. Hitting one million challenges is a huge milestone that reaffirms our pride in this project and the inspirational kids that have taken part. We look forward to celebrating the next million!

 

Digital First: The Rise And Fall Of e.tv's Youth Block, Craze

Craze is a youth block provided by eMedia Investments on e.tv which has been around for nearly 15 years which houses several animated and live-action shows from various brands on DStv including DreamWorks Channel, JimJam, CBeebies and Da Vinci Kids.

For several months, Craze has slowly started to shift away from primetime as eToonz ramped up their schedule with a dedicated live-action block. On top of that, primetime has moved to weekdays on the channel with the launch of Doodlebops: The Animated Series and Fast And The Furious: Spy Racers.

I'm not saying that Craze won't be around for the foreseeable future but would it be shocking if eMedia was slowly trying to shift their attention away from the renowned youth block and more toward eToonz and their streaming, eVOD.

Take to account, the events that occurred in April where eMedia boosts their local endeavours with the likes of Is'phindiselo, The Black Door and Isono with few international series once seen in the 8:30pm slot now viewable on eXposed.

eMovies and eMovies Extra have both recieved their fair share of new movies something e.tv has been lacking since the introduction of their local lineup as viewership on Saturday and Sunday night slots had begun to deteriorate while other areas experience growth.

Craze's demise was very much in the works I mean look at eExtra and eReality how much of the content was rebroadcast from e.tv. Turn to eMovies and eMovies Extra didn't Abominable and Doctor Strange air first on those channels before e.tv so why not eToonz.

eToonz isn't the best or the worst but performing to the level of most kids channels despite not getting as much exposure as the other e.tv channels. Let's be honest, Craze has been roaming in a similar environment as the only difference was the number of viewers obtained on a monthly basis.

 

Roundups #88: The Good Doctor Getting A Female Led Spinoff, Young Justice Reportedly Not Moving Forward At HBO Max And King Kong Series In Development For Disney+

The Good Doctor spinoff in development

ABC is developing “The Good Lawyer,” a legal spinoff of the medical drama “The Good Doctor” which stars Freddie Highmore as Dr. Sean Murphy, a surgeon with autism.

“The Good Lawyer” will be introduced as a backdoor pilot during Season 6 of “The Good Doctor,” which is set to premiere in October. Sean finds himself in legal trouble and seeks the services of Joni, a twentysomething defense attorney who has OCD. Joni, relatively new to her law firm, is funny, eager, self-aware and anxious. She is a skilled lawyer and doesn’t want to be treated differently by others, though her OCD symptoms affect her personal and professional life. At one point, her firm tries to fire her, after which she is forced to threaten to sue for a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

One higher-up at the firm involved in the firing attempt is Janet, a highly-regarded attorney and partner at the firm who has represented Dr. Glassman (Richard Schiff) in several legal matters throughout the years. Glassman turns to her to represent his protégé Shaun, and when Shaun chooses Joni to represent him, the cynical Janet is forced to reconsider her assessment of Joni.

Young Justice cancelled on HBO Max

It appears that Young Justice has been canceled for the second time in its run as HBO Max is reportedly not bringing the beloved DC animated series back for season 5. August has been a turbulent month for Warner Bros. Discovery following their massive merger earlier this year. The studio made major headlines with the shocking decision to cancel HBO Max's Batgirl movie, starring Leslie Grace as Barbara Gordon. Despite principal photography having completed in late March, Warner Bros. Discovery shelved Batgirl while also revealing plans to have HBO Max and Discovery Plus become one streaming service next summer.

With the shake-up going on, it was also revealed during the Warner Bros. Discovery earnings call that animation would be part of a "restructuring" for the new version of the studio. This put the popular series Young Justice in question regarding if it will get a season 5. Despite having already finished airing season 4, subtitled Young Justice: Phantoms, HBO Max, or Warner Bros. TV have yet to announce a renewal for the series, which originally began on Cartoon Network. Concerns have been high ever since Young Justice showrunner Greg Weisman confirmed on social media that they have yet to learn about a potential season 5.

King Kong is coming to Disney+

An iconic monster is headed to Disney+. Disney Branded Television is in very early development on King Kong (working title), a series for Disney+ tracking the original story of the famous ape. Deals have just closed for the project, from James Wan’s Atomic Monster, which would mark the first live-action series set in the Kong universe.

Written by Paper Girls creator Stephany Folsom, King Kong is a serialized action-adventure drama that brings the classic monster story into the modern age, with a return to Skull Island and the dawn of a new Kong. The series will explore the mythology of King Kong’s origin story and the supernatural mysteries of his home based on IP from Merian C. Cooper’s original books and the new King Kong novelizations by Joe DeVito.

A live-action series, King Kong Skull Island, was in development at MarVista Entertainment and IM Global Television five years ago with a different creative team, also based on Cooper’s King Kong and DeVito ArtWorks’ Skull Island, with Festa executive producing. It did not come to fruition.

Warner Bros. Discovery September 2022 Highlights (Final): Gotham's #1 Crime Fighter Makes A Dash Onto Cartoon Network And Boomerang Africa

Cartoon Network:

JELLYSTONE!
JOURNEY TO JELLYSTONE!, WHERE ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN!

Take a trip to the quaint little town of Jellystone!, chock-full of all your favourite Hanna-Barbera characters from Yogi Bear and Huckleberry Hound to Top Cat. It’s the perfect place to live, work and play. Join in on the silliness and misadventures as the colourful residents accidentally cause crazy trouble for each other! This month, Augie, Shag and Yakky accidentally turn everyone into babies in the hope of having other kids to play with. In another fun-filled episode, Yogi has a midlife crisis and starts a rock band. A mishap could even be in the making when we look to Mayor Huck to put together a team of astronauts to save the world from an impending cosmic disaster. Tune in for this brand-new season. You’ll love it…and laugh a lot.

PREMIERE: Monday, 05 September 2022
TUNE IN: Mondays to Fridays @ 18:10 CAT

NINJAGO
WHAT’S YOUR NEXT NINJA MOVE?

Get into stealth mode and tune in to the new season of Ninjago: Crystalized! The ninjas are back with some brand-new adventures, and this time, they have been locked up in the Kryptarium Prison, surrounded by some of their old enemies. Here they learn a mysterious Crystal King is recruiting a council of evil enemies. To find out the identity of this new enemy, they escape from prison and become fugitives. Who is the Crystal King? Why is he gathering a powerful counsel? Team up with Wu, Kai, Lloyd, Zane, Nya, Jay and Cole and get ready for some more action-packed missions!

PREMIERE: Saturday, 03 September 2022
TUNE IN: Weekends @ 09:15 CAT

CN MOVIES SPECIAL: BATMAN
LET’S CELEBRATE EVERYTHING BATMAN!

To ensure you don't miss any of the Batman Day festivities, Cartoon Network is handing you three back-to-back LEGO Batman movies to celebrate the day with the funniest Batman movies of them all. Starting with Lego DC Comics: Batman Be-Leaguered Superman and other superheroes start disappearing mysteriously – will Batman save the day? Batman then teams up with the Justice League to face the Joker and Lex Luthor in Lego Batman: The Movie – DC Super Heroes Unite. And finally, in Lego DC Batman: Family Matters, Batman and his team encounter the villainous Red Hood, who’s obsessed with destroying the Bat-family and all of Gotham City. The super-villains are up to no good on Batman Day!

TUNE IN: Saturday, 17 September @ 09:35 CAT

Boomerang:

THOMAS AND FRIENDS
It’s all engines go!

All aboard for some brand-new episodes of Thomas & Friends: All Engines Go! With an adorably fearless “I think I can” attitude, Thomas and his friends are not afraid to take on any challenge, big or small. In the first of these brand-new episodes, a big storm approaches and Thomas and the tank engines must complete a week’s worth of deliveries by the end-of-the-workday whistle. But Sandy needs repairs … will they make it on time? Then, another big wind blows in, and Sir Topham Hatt’s Hat has swept away, and it’s up to Thomas and his friends to catch it. So, join Thomas and Friends for more episodes like this where they lift, load, pull and choo-choo through every new adventure.

PREMIERE: Monday, 29 August 2022
TUNE IN: Everyday @ 07:05 CAT

BATMAN DAY – MOVIE STARS SPECIAL
It’s a case for Batman!

Did you know that 17 September is Batman Day? And Boomerang is taking on the villains to celebrate everyone’s favourite superhero! On this day, Boomerang’s Movie Stars features Scooby-Doo and Batman in the movie Scooby-Doo & Batman: The Brave and The Bold. It's a thrill a second! After saving Scooby-Doo and the gang from some truly dangerous villains, Batman enlists the help of the Mystery Inc. gang to solve one of his few unexplained cases. Meanwhile, they must also deal with a new mysterious villain who calls himself the 'Crimson Cloak', who is planning to take over Gotham City! It's a big case – are you brave enough to be Batman's sidekick and help him save the day?

TUNE IN: Saturday, 17 September @ 09:40 CAT

AKISSI: A FUNNY LITTLE BROTHER
Fiercest adventures with our amazing adventurer of Africa

Tag along for a funny African adventure with Akissi: A Funny Little Brother. This heartfelt Boomerang half-hour special follows a fearless and feisty little girl, Akissi, and her monkey friend, Boubou, as they set out on hilarious adventures in their contemporary African city. But oh, she has some big hoops to jump through when the neighbourhood cats try to steal her fish, and Boubou almost ends up in a frying pan! How will that turn out? Join in on the adventure - and all the mischief - with the beloved Akissi, who seems like a pest to her brother when in fact, she is nothing but a true adventurer, always looking for the next thrill. Nothing scares her away from hilarious escapades in her modern African city, only on Boomerang!

TUNE IN: Saturday, 24 September @ 09:15 CAT

 

Mentalism Isn’t Magic But Its Mystery Is Just As Captivating - Larry Soffer

The leading mentalist in Africa Larry Soffer explains the five qualities that make a good mentalist (and we’re not talking of the TV show kind)

When Larry Soffer tells people he is a mentalist, they immediately think he spends his days unravelling crimes and putting offenders in prison, just like the lead character in the American drama television series 'The Mentalist'.

The truth is the only likeness Larry has to Patrick Jane’s character Simon Barker is their passion for entertainment. “Although I have been approached several times to help crack a crime, this is not something I feel comfortable doing. My aim has always been to entertain and inspire,” he says.

The misperception generally stems from the fact that people simply do not know what mentalism really is.

Mentalism explained 

We all know that magic encompasses a whole range of different things, from illusions on stage to close-up magic tricks amongst others. It is a performing art in which audiences are entertained by seemingly impossible feats using natural powers.

Mentalism comes under the ‘magic’ umbrella and could perhaps be best described as the magic of the mind. It is a sophisticated practice and an incredible skill that takes years to develop.

“A mentalist uses specialist techniques to demonstrate their art and skill of mind reading, metal bending, second sighting and predicting the thoughts of others. In truth, it involves anything that reveals the power of the mind and requires the ability to read body language and micro facial expressions. It basically utilises each of the five human senses to create the impression of a sixth sense,” explains Larry.

Done well, mentalism can positively impact the person watching the performance unfold. Not only does it allow the audience to step outside their mundane, everyday life, but it also transports them to a different reality, and inspires them to believe in the impossible to create a better future for themselves. 

After witnessing his fair share of mentalists and magicians perform all over the world, Larry believes these five qualities are what sets apart the good ones from the not so good:

Focus on the audience: Some mentalists perform so that they can feel great, validated, and admired but this makes their performance a one-sided affair. A great performer is able to focus on the audience’s experience and how it will connect with them emotionally. He always tries to give the audience the best experience THEY can have. The focus should always be on them and the feelings and emotions they will walk away with.

Have great intuition:  You can spend years studying mentalism, but nothing quite compares to being born with amazing intuition. Even as a child Larry perceived things that other people didn’t, which is probably what drew him to mentalism when he was studying magic.

Don’t be afraid to take risks: Pulling off scary stunts like putting a spike through your hand, making spoons and forks bend, lightbulbs burst, or broken watches come back to life can be tricky. Imagine having millions of listeners to a radio station for you to predict the incorrect newspaper headlines.

Luckily this has never happened to Larry, but he always pushes himself to do risky things as this has the biggest payoff.  He once performed for the First Lady of Kenya in Nairobi and popped a balloon with a large knife while blindfolded. To add some danger, he asked an audience member to stand somewhere in the crowd with the balloon and used what he calls ‘Second Sight’ to find them. It went down a treat with the crowd.

Eat, sleep and breath mentalism: Mentalism requires you to successfully blur the lines between reality and the supernatural. To do this well, you need to be more than just good at your craft. Only then will audiences believe that what you did was something impossible. You need to get even the biggest cynics to walk away in awe.

Create a memorable impression:  People must remember the experience they had with you for years and years. Only then will you have impacted them with your performance and skill. He once performed at the J&B Met a few years ago and ran into someone that saw him there a few years later. The gentleman came up to Larry to tell him that he kept a spoon that he bent for him for all these years because it reminded him that there was more to life, and this kept him rehabilitated from drugs.

You can never put a price on how this makes you feel!

Larry inspires his audiences to believe in the impossible so that they can achieve their dreams. Follow @LarrySoffer or visit his website for more information at www.larrysoffer.com.

PBS Kids Africa To Become A Pop-Up Channel For Arthur

PBS Kids, the #1 educational media brand for children aged 2 to 8 with community-based programs that reflect and celebrate lovable, diverse characters who serve as positive role models in life will soon be hosting likely a month worth of Arthur.

Based on the book of the same name by Marc Brown, Arthur set in the fictional U.S. city of Elwood City, and revolves around the lives of an anthropomorphic aardvark, his friends and family, and their daily interactions with each other.

The series often deals with important issues families face such as asthma, dyslexia, cancer, diabetes, and autism spectrum disorder. It also encourages reading and relationships with family and friends by explaining that people have different personalities and interests.

Earlier in the year, the series wrapped production in the U.S. after 25 seasons with a total of 253 half hour episodes with reruns still seem on the brand making it the longest running children's show in the U.S. and second longest running animation behind The Simpsons.

As seen this past week, PBS Kids seems to be maxing out their schedule for a months worth of Arthur which might include specials and movies as the channel has yet to air any of those for some reason but the question to Arthur's presence remains a mystery.

Could it have something to do with its 26th anniversary in October or is there something bigger happening especially now that the main feed got a makeover with ones in Africa and Australia expected to follow soon.

The Arthur Bonanza starts on Saturday 3 September exactly at 23:59 which does seem a bit odd of a timeslot but PBS Kids is known for such instances airing stuff when most viewers won't be present so they view repeats.

 

Digital First: Rebranding Of MTV Asia To MTV 90s

Paramount is scheduled to roll out their streaming service Paramount+ in Africa alongside various other markets by 2023 and as seen with Disney+ their streaming service has led to a further cutback in channels with questions regarding Paramount's linear offering.

I know Paramount had stated a while back that they weren't planning to halt their linear offering as seen with The House Of Mouse. But that doesn't mean they won't do it eventually as they make some minor changes to the current offering.

In the UK, BET became a digital exclusive and Nicktoons is seen as music channel (NickMusic) in Latin America outside of that Paramount has been eliminating a lot of channels mainly MTV as they're said to carry outdated content or don't have a lot of viewers following them.

Unfortunately this wasn't the case in Asia as Sky announced the rebrand of MTV Asia which will now be MTV 90s a music channel from 1st September. This comes after Nickelodeon exited South Korea a few months ago and that just builds onto further speculation.

Is it possible that MTV and Nickelodeon's future in Asia will be the same fate awaiting consumers around the world. It's possible as evolution is a constant you had your VCR now there's DVD and not a lot of people SMS as there's social media.

Regarding MTV, I can see many reasons for Paramount to let go off the channel one cause compared to other general entertainment channels MTV holds more original content which a company like Disney would want to put onto a streaming service.

Compared to BET and Comedy Central as there's not much on there I mean you get plenty of original content but it doesn't dominate the schedule as seen with MTV. Not saying there's no chance of them going away but the less relevant a brand gets the more easier it will be to miss.

Adani Acquires 29% Stake In NDTV

Gautam Adani, Asia’s richest man, signalled serious intent for a play in India’s media and entertainment industry as his companies acquired a 29% stake in broadcaster NDTV Ltd and launched an open offer to acquire an additional 26% from shareholders, as mandated by law.

The acquisition capped months of speculation about a potential acquisition that saw the NDTV stock rally fivefold in nine months (from ₹75.55 on 1 December to ₹376.55 on Tuesday on BSE).

Adani Group companies acquired the stake in NDTV indirectly by buying Vishvapradhan Commercial Pvt. Ltd (VCPL), which owned convertible debentures (warrants that provide for the conversion of debt to equity) in RRPR Holding Pvt. Ltd that in turn owned 29.18% of NDTV Ltd. Vishvapradhan acquired the debentures in 2009-10 in return for a loan amounting to ₹404 crore it extended to the promoter holding company.

According to India’s securities law, an entity that acquires more than 25% of the equity in a publicly traded company must launch an open offer to acquire an additional 26% from public shareholders. Adani Group and Vishvapradhan on Tuesday announced an open offer at ₹294 per share (based on Sebi’s takeover guidelines), representing a 28% discount to NDTV’s ₹376 closing price on Tuesday.

The acquisition drew immediate protests from NDTV, which said in a filing to the exchanges on Tuesday evening that Adani group firms had acquired the stake without consulting its promoters.

“The NDTV founders and the company would like to make it clear that this exercise of rights by VCPL was executed without any input from, conversation with, or consent of the NDTV founders, who, like NDTV, have been made aware of this exercise of rights only today."

Adani’s acquisition of a stake in the high-profile broadcaster, although the subject of market speculation even before the Adani group formally announced its entry into media in March this year, dramatically came to light in exchange filings fired in quick succession on Tuesday evening. On Monday, NDTV told exchanges in response to a media query that its promoters were not engaged in any talks for a stake sale. On Tuesday evening, Adani Enterprises first announced its wholly owned subsidiary Adani Media Networks acquired Vishvapradhan from Eminent Networks and Nextwave Televentures—entities linked to entrepreneur Mahendra Nahata.

Then came the announcement that VCPL had exercised the convertible warrants and now owned 99.5% of RRPR Holdings and, in turn, 29.18% of the equity stake in NDTV. Alongside, Vishvapradhan and the Adani companies announced the open offer triggered by the acquisition.

“This acquisition is a significant milestone in the journey of AMNL’s goal to pave the path of new age media across platforms," Sanjay Pugalia, chief executive officer, AMG Media Networks Ltd, said in a statement.

NDTV founders Prannoy and Radhika Roy control 32.2% of shares in NDTV, while the public shareholders own 38.55%. The company posted revenues of ₹421 crore and a net profit of ₹85 crore in the year ended March 2022.

The 2009-10 transaction between Vishvapradhan and RRPR Holdings was subject to regulatory ire as the Securities and Exchanges Board of India (Sebi) held in a 2019 order that the loan agreement between the two entities amounted to a transferring of beneficial interest in NDTV and should have triggered an open offer by Vishvapradhan then. The regulator castigated the NDTV promoters in strong terms, saying they perpetrated fraud on minority investors by entering into this kind of arrangement. The order was subsequently set aside by the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT), which held that just because no interest was charged on loan, it didn’t mean an indirect acquisition as there was no transfer of management control.

In May, Adani Media Networks acquired a 49% equity stake in Quintillion Media, founded by media entrepreneur Raghav Bahl.

El Mataviejitas. The Killer Of Old Ladies

2005. At a symposium on crime in Mexico City, a man from the Department of Justice stands up to give a talk. What he has to say is horrifying. He announces that Mexico is now experiencing “a terrifying and new phenomenon: the presence, now indisputable, of a serial killer. That which happens to us today didn’t happen to us before; happened in movies, in the United States. However, violence and crime have also become globalized—the serial killer of elderly women, El Mataviejitas, is an example of this.”

El Mataviejitas. The Killer of Old Ladies. You could tell from the nickname—from the El in El Mataviejitas—that the police were looking for a man. They were looking for a man because—well, who else could commit crimes like these? Someone was killing elderly women in brutal fashion around the city, leaving them dead on the floor, strangled by things like stethoscopes or phone cables or women’s tights. Sure, witnesses were claiming that they’d seen a woman—a tall woman—around the scenes of some of these crimes, but authorities would not be shaken from their belief. The killer was a man. Maybe a man who dressed in women’s clothes. But a man nonetheless. El Mataviejitas.

Susana Vargas Cervantes has been studying the case of the killer initially known as El Mataviejitas for over a decade. One of the things she noticed was that Mexican police had kind of imported their idea of what a serial killer looked and acted like from their neighbor to the north—from the United States, land of the celebrity serial killer. So when police in Mexico City finally started thinking that all of these killings of elderly women might be connected, they started looking for someone…well, someone like Ted Bundy. Someone charismatic. Brilliant. Psychopathic. And definitely male.

Back in the 1960s, before the killings of old women and before the symposium on crime, a thirteen-year-old girl was being sold to an older man. The girl’s name was Juana Barraza. Her mother, Justa Samperio, was an alcoholic who beat her daughter at every turn. Juana grew up in poverty, north of Mexico City, and had never learned to read or write much, and didn’t know her biological father. But the main source of trauma in her life, it seems, was her mother. Justa would have done anything for a drink. Anything. And so when Juana was thirteen years old, her mother sold her to a man named Jose Lugo in exchange for—some say—three beers.

The exchange was so cruel that Juana thought that the whole thing was somehow…not real. A joke, or a misunderstanding, or a set-up. Jose Lugo took her back to his house and she waited for her mother—or her stepfather, who she trusted—to come and save her. But no one showed up. No one showed up when Jose Lugo tied her to his bed. No one came to save her for the next five years, while Lugo raped her over and over, when she had an abortion, or when she gave birth to a son. After those five years, her uncles finally found her and rescued her. As it turned out, Juana’s mother had been lying to the rest of the family this entire time, saying that Juana had just…left with her rapist of her own free will.

Years later, Juana would weep on camera, under arrest, as she said, “That is why I hated older women.”

Credits: Tori Telfer

Warner. Bros Discovery September 2022 Highlights (Drafted): Heritage Day Reigns In On TNT Africa, Goku Makes A Comeback To Cartoon Network Africa In Dragonball Super And Thomas The Tank Engine Is Back For More Adventures On Cartoonito

TNT:

Morgan Freeman Fan Month
Celebrate Heritage Day
Road Trip Special

Cartoon Network:

Dragonball Super (rerun)
Four years after the defeat of Majin Buu, Goku is seen working as a farmer, and his family and friends live peacefully. However, the God of Destruction Beerus awakens after decades of slumber. Beerus, along with his Angel assistant and teacher, Whis, seeks a warrior known as the Super Saiyan God, threatening to destroy the Earth if he loses to him. Goku transforms into the Super Saiyan God with the help of his friends, battles Beerus and loses, but his efforts appease Beerus, who spares the planet.

Ninjago (new episodes)
It centres on the fictional world of Ninjago, telling the story of a group of six teenage ninjas and their battles against the forces of evil.

Power Rangers Dino Fury (new episodes)
In the present, intergalactic warrior Void Knight accidentally unleashes the Sporix whilst trying to steal them, forcing Zayto and his friend, a cyborg dinosaur named Solon, to recruit a new team of Dino Fury Power Rangers to help in their fight.

Jellystone (new episodes)
The series is a reimagined take on the legendary Hanna-Barbera brand, focusing on a modernized ensemble of its characters as they live, work, play, and destroy the town together with their everyday lives being turned into madcap hilarity.

Craig Of The Creek (new episodes)
In the fictional suburban Baltimore/DC area town of Herkleton, Maryland, a boy named Craig Williams and his two friends, Kelsey Pokoly and John Paul "J.P." Mercer, have their many adventures in the titular creek, described as a kid utopia of untamed wilderness in which tribes of children reign over tree forts and dirt bike ramps.

Stunts: Batman Birthday and Teen Titans GO! Top Talent

Movie Holidays
As part of the school holidays featuring characters from Teen Titans GO!, Regular Show, We Bare Bears and D.C. Superhero Girls.

Boomerang/Cartoonito:

Thomas And Friends: All Engines Go (new episodes)
A younger Thomas the Tank Engine goes on adventures with all of his friends as they work on the island of Sodor.

Scooby-Doo And Batman: The Brave And Bold
The film involves Scooby-Doo and his friends teaming with Batman and other DC Comics superheroes in order to defeat a new villain. It is the first film based on Batman: The Brave and the Bold since the series ended in 2011.

 

Roundups #87: Warped Cancelled After One Season On Nickelodeon, Overcoming The Past Coming Soon To Citizen TV And Curse Of The Sands Makes Its Freemium Debut On Zee One

Nickelodeon reportedly cancels another series

Nickelodeon has reportedly decided to cancel and not renew Warped! for a second season. The news follows the network not renewing Side Hustle for a third season last month. The news comes from TV insider Matt Webb Mitovich at TVLine, however, has yet to be confirmed by Nickelodeon.

In Warped!, Milo, the beloved head geek at a popular strip-mall comic book shop, Warped!, finds his world disrupted when his boss hires a new employee. With the quirky and excitable Ruby now on the payroll, the two form an unlikely alliance to create the world’s greatest graphic novel. Joining them in their adventures are Darby, a smart and fashion-forward friend who is always there to lend a hand, and Hurley, a neighboring pizza shop employee who spends his time coming up with brilliant culinary creations.

More TLNovelas shows swing to Africa

During the past week, it was reported that TLNovelas would begin airing the second instalment to the Overcoming franchise titled Overcoming Heartbreak now there's reports that another African region would air the third instalment, Overcoming The Past.

The series follows four women who try to overcome misfortunes. Realizing that what is posted on social media is never erased, they must find a solution to live in the present and focus on a positive future if they want to overcome past obstacles.

It stars an ensemble cast lead by Angelique Boyer, Sebastián Rulli, Erika Buenfil, Africa Zavala, Manuel "Flaco" Ibáñez, Leticia Perdigón, Ferdinando Valencia, and Horacio Pancheri.

Things are about to get spooky on Zee One

Zee One which serves a duplicate channel to Zee World airing mostly already seen content will be airing another former Zee World drama series titled Curse Of The Sands (Manmohini) starring Reyhna Malhotra, Giaa Manek, Ankit Siwach and Garima Singh Rathore.

Curse Of The Sands follows a witch named Mohini has waited for her unrequited love of 500 years, Rana Saa, who has been reborn as Ram. Ram is a businessman who lives with his wife, Siya, and his half brother, Vivian. Ram and Siya were on the verge of divorce. However, when Siya learns of Mohini, she decides not to divorce Ram to save him.

Season 1 commences this Friday 26 August on Zee One.

Adult Swim Unleashes Global Rick And Morty Fan Experience: #Wormageddon!

Leading into the season six premiere of Adult Swim’s Rick and Morty, fans around the world are invited to participate in an immersive adventure that brings to life the two-time Emmy® Award-winning animated hit comedy series. #WORMAGEDDON is a global ‘living episode’ and treasure hunt that features 14 unique and immersive scenes that bridge the events from the season five finale episode with the recently announced season six premiere.

The first activation was unveiled on Saturday, 20 August, in Mexico City, with a global treasure hunt to find more #WORMAGEDDON scenes kicking off today. Reaching every continent except Antarctica, spectacular new custom scenes will unfold nearly every day until #WORMAGEDDON concludes with the season six global premiere of Rick and Morty starting on Sunday, 4 September at 11:00 p.m. ET/PT on Adult Swim.

Facing a threat of complete global destruction, the heroes and anti-heroes of Rick and Morty will team up against #WORMAGEDDON.  Between the destruction of the Citadel of Ricks at the end of season five and the beginning of season six, a new threat lands on Earth in the form of a mysterious alien worm that aims to take over the planet.

Featuring 14 custom scenes that showcase the worm’s destructive path and featuring fan-favourite Rick and Morty characters, starting on Monday, 22 August, fans are invited to join the hunt and unlock clues to discover the nine hidden locations in countries around the world. The first fan to find each hidden location in person will be rewarded on the spot with a life-size golden ‘Rick’ head.  Fans can get details and rules on how to participate in the global treasure hunt here.

Today marks the debut of the first custom scene in Casa de Cultura Jesús Reyes Heroles, Coyoacán in Mexico City. This massive build stands 13 feet tall, 12 feet wide, and 14 feet long and depicts Rick and Morty characters, Beth Smith and Supernova, in the fight of their lives to save Earth.

“To celebrate the new season, we are inviting fans around the globe to take part in an immersive experience that allows them to go on a real-life Rick and Morty adventure,” said Tricia Melton, Chief Marketing Officer for Warner Bros. Discovery Kids, Young Adults and Classics group. “Our world is being invaded by alien space worms so menacing that #WORMAGEDDON has been declared on nearly every continent. The first fan to find the hidden battle scenes around the world will nab a golden Rick head, clearly one of the most collectable items in the universe.”

To set the stage for this new adventure, Adult Swim debuted a series of custom animated shorts about the origins of this dangerous alien invasion. Beginning with A Citadel Secret revealed at the Rick and Morty panel at the Adult Swim Festival  Block Party on 6 August, followed by A Journey to Earth released on August 17, Saturday marked the debut of Threat Level: Wormageddon in which Rick is alerted about #WORMAGEDDON and enlists others to join him in the battle against the massive alien monster.

Fans can follow along as the beloved characters from Rick and Morty battle to save Earth from #WORMAGEDDON by visiting the show’s official social channels and on RickandMorty.com.

Rick and Morty was the #1 comedy across all US cable in 2017, 2019, and 2021. Since its launch, Rick and Morty has ranked as one of the top series for HBO Max, both domestically and globally. Lifetime to date, Rick and Morty has been viewed over 10B times globally across linear, digital, and streaming platforms.

Details of where Rick and Morty enthusiasts across southern Africa can catch the new season of the Emmy-winning animated comedy series will be announced shortly – watch this space!

Notes:
·        #WORMAGEDDON is a global ‘living episode’ and treasure hunt that bridges the events from the season five finale episode to the season six premiere
·        Story: Between the destruction of the Citadel of Ricks at the end of season five and the beginning of season six, a new threat lands on planet Earth in the form of a mysterious alien worm that aims to take over. Facing a threat of complete global destruction, the heroes and anti-heroes of Rick and Morty will team up against #WORMAGEDDON. 
·        #WORMAGEDDON features 14 unique and immersive scenes that showcase the worm’s destructive path and feature Rick and Morty characters.
·        Nine locations are hidden in countries around the world, and fans are invited to find them via a social treasure hunt.
·        #WORMAGEDDON scenes will reach every continent except Antarctica.
·        The first activation was unveiled on Saturday, 20 August, in Casa de Cultura Jesús Reyes Heroles, Coyoacán in Mexico City and features Beth Smith and Supernova fighting the alien worm.
·        A global treasure hunt to find more #WORMAGEDDON scenes kicks off today, Monday, 22 August.
·        The first fan to discover these ‘hidden’ scenes will receive a life-size golden ‘Rick’ head.
·        Adult Swim is debuting a series of custom animated shorts about the origins of this dangerous alien invasion.
·        Fans can follow along as the beloved characters from Rick and Morty battle to save Earth from #WORMAGEDDON by visiting the show’s official social channels and on RickandMorty.com.

 

Roundups #86: Diepcity Cancelled After Two Seasons On Mzansi Magic, Pawsitive Pawsabilities Shooting Upcoming Project For DStv, Upcoming Developments For Comedy Central This September

Mzansi Magic bids farewell to another local drama

Mzansi Magic telenovela DiepCity will not be returning for season 3 when its second season comes to an end in March 2023.

"Mzansi Magic would like to announce that it will be bidding farewell to the riveting award-winning telenovela, DiepCity," the channel said in a press statement.

In the fictional suburban Baltimore/DC area town of Herkleton, Maryland, a boy named Craig Williams and his two friends, Kelsey Pokoly and John Paul "J.P." Mercer, have their many adventures in the titular creek, described as a kid utopia of untamed wilderness in which tribes of children reign over tree forts and dirt bike ramps.

More animal based entertainment for DStv customers

Pawsitive Pawsabilities strive to contribute to the rehabilitation, improved well-being and the best physical and mental condition possible of each patient encountered by the absolute fortitude, dedication, passion, love and dignity to achieve this.

The brand is currently shooting content for a TV show on DStv which we will be showcasing puppy socialization and have given audiences a chance to appear on TV.

What's coming to Comedy Central in September?

LIVE FROM THE SAVANNA COMEDY BAR SEASON 3
TUESDAYS FROM 20 September @ 22:00
A third season of Comedy Central Live is headed to your screens. Documenting the escapades of some of the biggest names in comedy as they hit the road and experience all of SA’s 9 provinces, the show features Lindy Johnson, Thabiso Mhlongo, Cobus Van Rensburg, Noko Moswete, Jason Goliath, David Kau, Mojak Lehoko, Rob Van Vuuren, Lihle Msimang, Siya Seya, Robby Collins and many more.

THE DAILY SHOW WITH TREVOR NOAH
TUESDAY – FRIDAY
2 AUGUST @ 23:30
Along with the help of his Daily Show correspondents, Trevor Noah covers the biggest news stories in politics and pop culture around the world. His creative and jocular spin on events, leaves one inspired again about living a fulfilling life.

THE COMEDY CENTRAL ROAST OF KHANYI MBAU
MONDAY 26 SEPTEMBER @ 21:00
The Comedy Central Roast of Khanyi Mbau brought to you by Showmax brings you the first African female to be roasted! With Mpho Popps being the Roast Master featuring a star studded cast including: Celeste Ntuli, Devi Sankaree Govender, SelBeyonce Mkhize, Tbo Touch, Youngsta CPT, Nadia Nakai, John Vlismas, Sol Phenduka and legendary actor Sello Maake Ka Ncube, expect hilarious shots to be fired! Triggered to watch? Good, catch all the action on DStv 122 in this world-firstroast of an Africanwoman.

Afrikaans Voice Overs For In Die Ysterhand Se Greep And Kruispad + An Update On Die Put Voice Overs For Season 2

In Die Ysterhand Se Greep

Gustav Gerdener as Yigit
Sesethu Ntombela as Nur
Shemane Harris as Iciai
Karin Retief as Aytul
Sanli Jooste as Nazaan
Denver Vraagom as Cahit
Claudia Jones as Yaren
Susan Coetzer as Hafize
Mia Anne Kennedy as Elmas

Kruispad

Anton Dekker as Suleyman
Adrian Styen as Mert
Rika Senne as Kudret
Sue Pyler as Nehir
Marlee Van Der Merwe as Ilay
Cindy Swanepoel as Eda

Die Put replacements

Wilhelm Van Der Walt as Selim
Jaundre Kim as Karaca

Credits: Die Afrikaans Voice Page

Roundups #85: Live-Action Pac-Man Movie Is In The Works, BET+ Acquired Broadcasting Rights To South African Drama Series Pulse And Doom Patrol Alongside Titans Expected To Be Cancelled

Pac-Man to get feature film

A live-action film is in development based on the classic arcade game character with an endless appetite, Pac-Man.

The project hails from Bandai Namco Entertainment — the company behind Pac-Man, as well as games like Galaga and Tekken — and Wayfarer Studios, the production company founded by Justin Baldoni and Steve Sarowitz.

First introduced in the U.S. in 1980 — and originally called Puck Man in Japan — Pac-Man became a coin-operated staple. The game is set in mazes where Pac-Man has to eat pellets while being pursued by colorful ghosts as the mazes get progressively more difficult.

Pulse is streaming overseas

BET+ has picked up the U.S. streaming rights to South African-produced sci-fi survival thriller “Pulse.”

“Pulse” tells the explosive story of an electromagnetic pulse that disables a secure building and disrupts the bio-electric signals in everyone’s minds, trapping a group of video game designers and turning each floor into a psychotic battlefield. The show questions whether the modern human race can really survive without the technology that defines our way of life today.

The series shot in South Africa as well as Mauritius.

Doom Patrol and Titans have not been cancelled

DC fans were sent into a flurry the past day as a Variety report circulated that Doom Patrol and Titans, two refugee shows from the DC Universe streaming service, were expected to be cancelled.

But now, it has been updated that piece to reflect that a decision has not been made and that “like all shows,” their renewal will depend on the performance of the upcoming seasons that will be out later this year. I think fans were freaked out about maybe even those seasons being not allowed to air, given that anything seems possible after WB killed its finished Batgirl movie in order to take the tax writedown. Nothing feels safe, even if so far, Batgirl and one Kevin Smith project appear to be the only confirmed casualties under the new WB Discovery management.

But even if Titans and Doom Patrol are safe for now, I would be somewhat surprised if that continued into the future, and for me personally, I do expect probably Doom Patrol, and possibly Titans to be canceled as WB tries to rein in its variety of DC universes they have running, whether that’s deserved or not.