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South African features including the next title in the Happiness franchise and four-part anthology, Umjolo, will start streaming on Netflix later this year, revealed Ben Amadasun, Netflix’s vice president of content for the Middle East and Africa, at Mip Africa.

Happiness Is is the third in a franchise of romantic comedies about a group of friends, following Happiness Is A 4 Letter Word and Happiness Ever After. The first two films were both directed by Thabang Moleya, however Netflix declined to comment on who is directing the third film.

It is produced by Lesedi Siswana through Blingola Media, with Bongiwe Selane...

Netflix unveiled a first look at some of its upcoming films and a series from South Africa at Mip Africa on Tuesday.

Ben Amadasun, Netflix’s vp of content for the Middle East and Africa, unveiled the slate additions, which the streamer says are “showcasing Netflix’s ongoing commitment to delivering authentic local stories from South Africa across a variety of formats and genres.”

Among the upcoming content is a South African edition of the international reality show Love Never Lies, a new movie in the Happiness franchise, a four-part anthology of features, and a film called Disaster Holiday.

“We are incredibly excited to continue strengthening our relationships with our production partners in South Africa and bringing diverse and authentic local stories by local storytellers to our local and global audiences,” said Amadasun. “We have seen South African stories not only be loved locally, but they have also found a...

Netflix is at Cape Town’s Mip Africa event this week, and has unveiled a South African version of reality show Love Never Lies and a batch of feature films to delegates in attendance.

Netflix’s VP of Content for the Middle East and Africa, Ben Amadasun, unveiled the slate, which he said would “continue strengthening our relationships with our production partners.”

Mip Africa has been taking place this week in South Africa, bringing many of the continent’s top content creators together, with the likes of MultiChoice unveiling strategies and programs.

Love Never Lies: South Africa comes from prolific local producer Rapid Blue and is based on the streamer’s 2021 reality series from Spain. It will feature six couples who must test their trust with an eye-scanning lie detector to win money. The series debuts on Netflix on November 29.

Umjolo, from Stained Glass TV, is a four-part anthology of...

Netflix’s director of content for Africa Dorothy Ghettuba laid out the streamer’s strategy for the continent this week at the Durban FilmMart, telling a standing-room-only session that the key to launching the next global sensation is to first capture the hearts of local audiences.

“We want to entertain the world. We want to tell them African stories,” said Ghettuba. “But our focus first has got to be local, and then it goes global. We don’t aim for global hits. Shows like ‘Casa de Papel,’ ‘Burning Body,’ ‘Squid Game’ — those are local shows.”

The Netflix exec appeared in conversation in Durban with South African producers Jayan Moodley (“Keeping Up With the Kandasamys”) and Katleho Ramaphakela (“How to Ruin Christmas”), who used their personal experience as case studies for how to launch a hit on the global streaming giant.

Ghettuba pointed to titles like “Kandasamys,” a comedy franchise set...

Netflix has unveiled a new slate of programming at TV conference Mip Africa. The line-up includes the fourth season of hit drama “Blood & Water” plus a new feature-length rom-com, “Soweto Love Story.”

The streamer also revealed a number of partnerships with South African filmmakers and production outfits. Among them are a deal with Akin Omotoso and Ochre Media for multiple book adaptations, a three-picture partnership with director Donovan Marsh (“iNumber Number”), and a multi-project partnership with production company Gambit Films (“Blood & Water”) across series and features.

“We are incredibly excited to continue with our investment in South African storytelling and to expand our relationships with these amazing storytellers,” said Ben Amadasun, Netflix’s VP of content for Middle East and Africa. “These long-term partnerships with local filmmakers have enabled us to uncover unique perspectives and diverse stories from South Africa to entertain our more than 238 million members around the world.

Netflix unveiled and previewed upcoming original South African series and films at Mip Africa during a panel entitled “See What’s Next on Netflix.” The global streamer also touted multi-title partnerships with local filmmakers.

“We are incredibly excited to continue with our investment in South African storytelling and to expand our relationships with these amazing storytellers,” said Ben Amadasun, Netflix’s vp of content for Middle East and Africa. “These long-term partnerships with local filmmakers have enabled us to uncover unique perspectives and diverse stories from South Africa to entertain our more than 238 million members around the world. This is why we’re committed to investing in South Africa’s creative industry and showcasing the incredible talent the country has to offer.”

Here is a look at the upcoming series:

Miseducation, a new young adult series from Burnt Onion Productions (How to Ruin Christmas) making its debut on Netflix on Sept.

New York Times bestselling author turned TV creator Taiye Selasi captivated a packed theater at the Joburg Film Festival this week, acknowledging that the deck is stacked against Black female creators in Hollywood, but insisting that the power of African women remained in their ability to overcome any obstacle in bringing their stories to the screen. “There is nothing that can stop, has ever stopped, or will ever, ever stop an African woman,” she declared to a rapt audience.

Selasi spoke in front of a full house at Johannesburg’s Theater on the Square on Friday as part of a day-long celebration of African women in film. During a rousing session in which she shared lessons from her experience at the helm of Cocoa Content, the TV production company she founded in 2019, Selasi weighed in on the growing demand for African talent in Hollywood while also unpacking the “hype” about...

How to Ruin Christmas is a South African Netflix series directed by Johnny Barbuzano and starring Thando Thabethe, Busi Lurayi and Nambitha Ben-Mazwi.

Premise

Prodigal daughter Tumi tries to make things right after completely ruining what should have been her sister’s picture-perfect Christmas wedding.

Release Date (Thrid Season)

December 9, 2022

Where to Watch How to Ruin Christmas

Netflix

List of Episodes Season 1

It’s Not What It Looks Like

A reluctant bridesmaid to the core, Tumi arrives the day before her sister’s traditional wedding day and manages to upset almost everyone.

I’ll Handle This

To get back in her family’s good graces, Tumi looks for the missing best man. Against their better judgement, Tumi and Beauty seek out a family member.

Can’t a Girl Catch a Break?

Tumi shocks both families and devastates Beauty by letting slip a secret. But this time, after some soul searching,...

Actress Busisiwe Lurayi, who starred in the Netflix series How to Ruin Christmas, died suddenly this weekend, according to a statement from her agency, the Johannesburg-based Eye Media Artists. No cause was given.

Lurayi “passed away suddenly and was pronounced dead at her residence on Sunday 10.7.2022 by medical personnel,” reads the statement. “The reason for her death is still unknown as we await the results of the autopsy report.”

The actress is survived by her daughter, who was featured in her last Instagram posts two weeks ago. Eye Media Artists indicated the family is trying to “come to terms with this tragic news.”

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The first season of her Netflix show, How to Ruin Christmas: The Wedding, debuted in 2020. Here’s the logline: “Prodigal daughter Tumi goes home for the holidays and manages to ruin her sister’s wedding plans.

Unsurprisingly, with just five days to go until Christmas, the focus for a lot of people has shifted solely towards festive fare, even if the ongoing effects of the Coronavirus pandemic promise a holiday season unlike any other in living memory, with restrictions being tightened around the world as the recent surge in infections shows no signs of slowing down.

Luckily, there are more than enough streaming services available to provide plenty of content to keep everyone occupied, and while Christmas movies have been dominating the Netflix Top 10 most-watched list all week, heartwarming tales of family and friendship aren’t the only titles being added to the library these days.

This week brought almost 30 new additions covering a wide variety of genres, with the biggest of the bunch being Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, which sees the late Chadwick Boseman deliver a career-best performance opposite an equally fantastic Viola Davis...

Netflix is adding nearly 30 new titles over the coming days.

We’re now officially about to enter the week before Christmas, and ahead of the festivities, the streaming giant has a few notable releases, holiday-related or otherwise, set to drop. On the whole, it’s a relatively quiet week for Netflix, but there are still a bunch of movies and TV shows that you’ll want to check out.

On Monday, December 14th, three new additions become available – holiday romcom A California Christmas, the second season of animated series Hilda and Tiny Pretty Things, a ballet-themed TV drama based on the bestselling novel of the same name.

Moving on to Tuesday, the batch of fresh titles includes musical docuseries Song Exploder Volume 2, the first two seasons of Teen Mom and The Professor and the Madman, the historical biopic starring Mel Gibson, Sean Penn and Natalie Dormer.

Here’s the full...