Radio & TV

Showmax announces its next Kenyan Original series, ‘Single-ish’

Published

5 months ago

January 4, 2022

Showmax announces its next Kenyan Original series, 'Single-ish'

Showmax is kicking off 2022 by announcing its next Original series in Kenya, Single-ish, a 13-part drama series that will premiere on the platform on 20 January 2022.

Adapted from the hit South African series Unmarried, Single-ish follows the lives of three women in Nairobi – Sintamei, Mariah and Rebecca – as they deal with the challenges that marriage, relationships, and their careers throw at them. It also explores the strong bond of friendship that these women share, knowing that even when the world crumbles around them, they will always have each other.

Meet the three ladies at the heart of Single-ish.

Gathoni Mutua as Sintamei

Gathoni Mutua (This Is Life) plays the overachieving, career-focused Sintamei, a brilliant lawyer who seems to have the life that any woman would dream of – she’s on track to making partner in a prestigious law firm and has been happily married for 10 years to the man of her dreams. Or so she thought.

Talking about what drew her to the project, Gathoni says, “Other than the fact that it’s a show about women, Single-ish has this chic yet nostalgic old-school girlfriends vibe that takes the drama a notch higher without feeling like the friendship will fall apart.”

Minne Kariuki as Mariah

Minne Kariuki (Ma’Empress) plays the sassy Mariah, a woman with a taste for the finer things in life, who uses her looks to get whatever she wants.

“She (Mariah) is a modern-day slay queen who pretends to afford a lavish lifestyle and flaunts it all on social media because she wants to keep up with the trends,” Minne says, adding that Single-ish doesn’t shy away from telling it all as it is, capturing the struggles of modern women.

Faith Kibathi as Rebecca

Faith Kibathi (This Is Life) plays the humble and down-to-earth Rebecca, a housewife and a mother of two who has lived with her high school sweetheart for nine years despite not being officially married.

“It’s an honour to get to play Rebecca as she explores motherhood and failures of her relationship,” Faith says, “Single-ish is different because it’s very relatable and has a touch of the actual dating experiences in Nairobi. It also shows the beauty of reliable female friendship especially when things get bad.”

Single-ish also stars Brian Abajah (Sincerely Daisy), Michael Munyoki (A Grand Little Lie), Lucarelli Onyango (Crime and Justice), Mburu Kimani (Nairobi Half Life), Lenana Kariba (Selina), Dora Nyaboke (Crime and Justice) and Jacky Kaboi (Bait).

Single-ish is produced by Insignia Productions, the studio behind popular shows Changing Times and New Beginnings, with Insignia’s duo Philippe Bresson and Grace Kahaki co-directing alongside Robby Bresson (Simiyu Samurai).

“I think for the first time we are able to depict real life in an unfiltered way. To me this is real film making, when you are able to tell the story as it should be, so even as the viewer watches it, they will be surprised, shocked and will fall in love with how we tell the story. I don’t think there’s been any other show that has pushed the boundary in terms of women’s issues as we have,” Philippe says.

Single-ish becomes the second Showmax Original series in Kenya after the Kalasha-nominated hit police procedural and legal drama Crime and Justice, and the streamer’s third Original title in the country following the recent launch of the Showmax Original film Baba Twins.

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Radio & TV

Based on the infamous “texting suicide case,” The Girl from Plainville is now available to binge

Published

2 days ago

May 26, 2022

Ameyaw Debrah

The human story behind the “texting suicide case” – Elle Fanning stars in The Girl From Plainville

• One of Rotten Tomatoes’ Most Anticipated Shows of 2022

• Based on the “texting suicide case” involving teenagers Michelle Carter and Conrad Roy

• Starring Elle Fanning, Colton Ryan and Oscar nominee Chloë Sevigny

• 94% critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes

• “A compassionate and devastating portrait of two teens in trouble” The Hollywood Reporter

• Created by Liz Hannah (The Dropout) and Patrick Macmanus (Dr. Death), with Oscar nominee Lisa Cholodenko (Unbelievable, The Kids Are All Right) among the directors

One of Rotten Tomatoes’ Most Anticipated Shows of 2022, The Girl From Plainville is now available to binge on Showmax. Critics Choice nominee Elle Fanning (The Great, Maleficent) executive produces and stars as Michelle Carter, the teenager at the centre of the unprecedented “texting suicide case” that arose from the death of her boyfriend, Conrad Roy, in 2014.

The widely publicised case saw Carter charged with involuntary manslaughter for encouraging Conrad to commit suicide, mostly through phone calls and hundreds of text messages.

Colton Ryan (Little Voice) and Oscar nominee Chloë Sevigny (Boys Don’t Cry, We Are Who We Are) co-star as Conrad and his mother, Lynn Roy.

Portraying the two very human, very damaged teenagers with sensitivity was a crucial consideration for both the show’s cast. “This was a very ripped-from-the-headlines case,” Elle said on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. But, “the media really painted a very one-dimensional [picture] of this story: Michelle was kind of this black widow manipulator, and Conrad was her victim – and he very much was a victim in this situation, but also, he was painted very one-dimensionally. We didn’t get to know about the young man that he was.”

For Elle, the role came with a great deal of responsibility. “I had to really think about the story that we were telling,” she told Entertainment Weekly. “It ultimately ends in such a tragedy, and these [families] are still alive. We have to be sensitive to them. So it had to be told in the right way that could actually be helpful, and possibly help someone out there who’s suffering.”

Created by Critics Choice nominee Liz Hannah (The Dropout, Mindhunter) and Patrick Macmanus (Dr. Death), The Girl From Plainville has a 94% critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The Hollywood Reporter calls it, “A compassionate and devastating portrait of two teens in trouble.” Time says, “The Girl From Plainville rises to the significant challenge of offering novel insight into the psyche of a young woman whose widely discussed actions seemed not just indefensible, but also inexplicable to the public.” And LA Times hails it as “thoughtful and intelligent,” praising its tone as “neither sensationalistic nor judgmental.”

The actors were conscious of the need to monitor their own judgement about the characters they would be playing. On Good Morning America, Elle noted that although her role is based closely on a real, living person, “I am playing a character. And you can’t judge a character that you play. You don’t have to agree with the decisions that they made or necessarily like them but I think I have to come at it from an understanding.”

Both Elle and Colton belong to the same generation as Michelle and Conrad, and have grown up in the digital world. “This is something that we’re all trying to navigate, this false sense of reality that we face in the technological age of texting and social media and that instant gratification that you feel when you get a text, and how easy it is to say things online and to not see the consequences of the hurt that your words can cause,” Elle said in an interview with Collider.

In the real world, Michelle and Conrad only actually met face to face a handful of times. The bond between them – powerful enough to shape the outcome of both their lives – was built mainly on text messages.

Elle says the blurring of fantasy and reality, and the false sense of intimacy that texting can create, were built into the way the story is told. In the hands of directors like Oscar nominee Lisa Cholodenko (Unbelievable, The Kids Are All Right), the show reimagines the pair’s text exchanges as if they were spoken face to face in intimate moments, and even segues into fantastical musical numbers – Michelle was a huge fan of the series Glee – to help paint the emotional and psychological landscape of their relationship.

“We had access to all the text messages, so reading those was very haunting and very difficult,” Elle told Collider. “You could see that these two people were in a dark place and they were both reaching out to one another, but reaching out to the wrong people. You just wish that they had never met. They didn’t bring out the best sides of each other, unfortunately. So yeah, Colton and I talked about it a bit. We both are the same age and we have phones, ourselves, so we can understand how you can get wrapped up in that alternate universe. You can create whatever you want on your phone.”

In an interview with Extra TV, Colton said, “This still happens under all of our watch. Many young people are looking for themselves, and I think that [the show is] asking the question, ‘Are they looking for it in the wrong place? Are we all looking for it in the wrong place, by valuing ourselves more online?’”

Elle hopes The Girl from Plainville will help to destigmatise mental health and get people talking about it. And, as LA Times put it, “Plainville may get you thinking more generally about responsibility – of media that sells kids death-wrapped images of love, of how ready we are to believe we know what we only think we know. It may at least remind you that, in an age fueled by reductive statements about everything under the sun, nothing human is as simple as it seems.”

Watch the trailer: https://youtu.be/3_K6r2jJBls

Watch The Girl from Plainville on Showmax: https://www.showmax.com/eng/tvseries/cu44pyaf-the-girl-from-plainville

Also watch the critically acclaimed HBO documentary, I Love You, Now Die: The Commonwealth v. Michelle Carter, on Showmax.

Radio & TV

More Drama In The BBNaija ‘Shine Ya Eye’ Reunion On DStv & GOtv This June!

Published

4 days ago

May 24, 2022

Ameyaw Debrah

After the BBNaija Shine Ya Eye Season premiered back in July 2021, viewers and fans across Africa have been patiently waiting to see all their favourite housemates again during the reunion show! The reunion show is where all the juicy details and hidden secrets are revealed to the fans and also, the moment the housemates voice their thoughts and opinions as well as correct false gossip.

The Shine Ya Eye Reunion Show which will be hosted by the one and only ‘table shaker master’ Ebuka Obi-Uchendu, is promised to be one of the hottest reunions to be viewed on our screens! Who will crack under pressure? Who will spill ALL the beans? And who will bring the heat back to back? Well, tune in to join the conversation with all 26 housemates; Angel, Peace, Jackie B, Tega, Arin, Maria, Liquorose, Beatrice, Princess, Saskay, JMK, Nini, Boma, Queen, Yousef, Pere, Whitemoney, Niyi, Yerins, JayPaul, Saga, Emmanuel, Kayvee, Michael, Sammie and Cross.

The Shine Ya Eye Reunion will be available to customers on DStv Premium, Compact Plus, Compact, and GOtv Supa and Max packages from Thursday, 2^nd June 2022, weekdays at 7pm on AM Urban (DStv channel 153 and GOtv channel 106) and 7:30pm on AM Family (DStv channel 154 and GOtv channel 102). Sign up to DStv today via www.dstvafrica.com or get GOtv on www.gotvafrica.com.

Abeg is the headline sponsor, and the associate sponsor is Flutterwave.

To keep up with all updates on the reunion show, visit www.africamagic.tv/bigbrother. You can also follow the official Big Brother Naija social media pages for news and updates with the hashtag #BBNaijaReunion on Twitter @bbnaija, Instagram @bigbronaija and Facebook www.facebook.com/bigbrothernaija.

Radio & TV

Iconic South African actor, Jamie Bartlett dies

Published

4 days ago

May 23, 2022

Ameyaw Debrah

Well-known South African actor Jamie Bartlett has died. He was 55. (more…)

Radio & TV

Orlando Pirates and RS Berkane square off in CAF Confederation Cup final, available to stream live on Showmax Pro in Africa

Published

1 week ago

May 19, 2022

Ameyaw Debrah

The annual CAF Confederation Cup comes to an epic close on Friday, 20 May 2022 at Uyo in Nigeria as South Africa’s Orlando Pirates go head to head with Morocco’s RS Berkane.

All the footballing action will be available to stream live on Showmax Pro in Africa from 20:00 (WAT); 21:00 (CAT); 22:00 (EAT), courtesy of SuperSport.

Pirates will be playing in their fourth CAF final despite a shock home defeat to Al Ahli Tripoli in their second semi-final leg as they advanced 2-1 on aggregate to secure their place in the final. Their opponents, RS Berkane, defeated Congolese giants TP Mazembe 4-2 over two legs. RS Berkane, the 2019/2020 CAF Confederations Cup champions, will be playing in their third final after coming up short in 2018/19 when they finished as runners up.

The Soweto giants have not enjoyed a good domestic season as they currently sit in a disappointing seventh place in the DStv Premiership. League form normally goes out the window when it comes to cup competitions and this was the case for Ezimnyama Ngenkani as they topped their group, which consisted of Al-Ittihad Tripoli, JS Saoura and Royal Leopards with four wins, one draw and one defeat in their six games.

The Orange Boys currently share the same domestic position as their opponents as they sit seventh in the Botola Pro 1, further demonstrating that league form does not translate to cup performances. Like Pirates, RS Berkane also topped their group, which had Simba S.C, ASEC Mimosas and Union Sportive Gendarmerie Nationale on the way to the knockout stages, managing three wins, a draw and two losses. This sets up a perfectly balanced final that both sets of supporters and neutrals will be glued to until the final whistle.

The winner of the CAF Confederation Cup will take home a whopping $1.25 million in prize money and will also take part in the CAF Super Cup, where they will play against the winner of the CAF Champions League which will see Al Ahly will battle it out in the final against Wydad Casablanca on Monday, 30 May 2022 – which will also be live on Showmax Pro. All the CAF action will be streaming live for all Showmax Pro subscribers in Africa, courtesy of SuperSport.

Radio & TV

Mellow & Sleazy talk about working separately on Apple Music’s Africa Now Radio

Published

1 week ago

May 19, 2022

Ameyaw Debrah

This Week’s Episode Features a Conversation With Mellow & Sleazy, the 5 Hottest Tracks of the Week, Africa Rising and LootLove’s Favourite Track of the Week!

Tune in to Africa Now Radio with LootLove at a special time this Saturday, May 21st at 10a Lagos/London / 11a Johannesburg/Paris / 2a LA / 5a NYC on Apple Music.

Cover Star Interview

South African amapiano production duo Mellow & Sleazy join LootLove via FaceTime on Apple Music 1 to talk about their latest track, “Chipi ke Chipi.” They also discuss showcasing emerging talent on their new album, ‘Midnight In Sunnyside,’ playing with experimental sounds, and how they developed their unique creative process.

The Big 5

LootLove shares the 5 hottest new African tracks of the moment. This week’s selection includes new tracks from Lojay & Sarz feat. Chris Brown, Wanitwa Mos, Master KG & Lowsheen feat. Nkosazana Daugther, Omah Lay, Lil Kesh feat. Joeboy, and Nanette.

Africa Rising

Nigerian Afropop singer-songwriter Ninety—Apple Music’s latest Up Next: Nigeria artist—is the latest artist featured from Apple Music’s Africa Rising playlist, a campaign which shines a light on the next generation of African superstars, and this week’s show features his singles, “Hold My Side,” and “Somebody.” Listen HERE.

Loot Loves

Each week, LootLove chooses her favourite track, taken from one of Apple Music’s African playlists. This week she spotlights South African singer-songwriter Manana and his track, “In The Morning,” from Apple Music’s Mzansi Soul playlist. Listen HERE, and catch all of LootLove’s picks on Apple Music’s LootLoves playlist HERE.

Tune in and listen to the full episode at a special time this Saturday, May 21st at 10a Lagos/London / 11a Johannesburg/Paris / 2a LA / 5a NYC on Apple Music 1.

Mellow & Sleazy on working separately

We’re almost never in the studio at the same time. He usually makes his own beats separately and I make my own beats separately, then we just exchange the projects and finish off each other’s projects. We just give each other space – he does his own thing, I do my own thing then once we’re done we’ll share what we have done, he’ll edit whatever I’ve done and I’ll edit whatever he did, then it becomes a full song.

Mellow & Sleazy on experimental sounds

So basically we’ve only tried experimenting with two genres, Bacardi and… I forgot the name of the sound but it’s from Angola so we’ve tried experimenting with those two sounds and a bit of soulfulness, because most of the people know us for being hardcore producers that make like loud music all the time, so we tried making it soulful but keeping that element at the same time. The whole EP is Bacardi, basically.

Mellow & Sleazy on exciting talent showcased on their new EP

The underground talent that we have on our EP… the first one is M.J, he’s a rapper and singer. He’s been on a lot of hits actually, he’s one of the vocalists that we always work with because he’s very versatile. He can do what five vocalists can do in the studio, so that’s why we’re always working with him. Another one is Matute Boy. Bacardi usually needs someone to rap fast, and with the lingo… and who else? Azi! Azi is a singer, we’ve just started working with him now, he’s very very new but he’s too much. I’ve never heard a voice like that so yeah, we’ll see where that takes us.

People & Lifestyle

Disney+ now streaming in South Africa

Published

1 week ago

May 18, 2022

Ameyaw Debrah

Disney+, the streaming service from The Walt Disney Company (https://TheWaltDisneyCompany.com), launches today in South Africa. Standard pricing at launch is confirmed at R119 per month, or R1190 for an annual subscription, with sign-up information available at DisneyPlus.com.

With over 1000 films, more than 1500 series and a slate of 200 exclusive Originals from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, National Geographic and general entertainment from Star, Disney+ offers fans the greatest stories, all in one place.

Previously announced, subscribers will have access to Star Wars’ “The Book of Boba Fett”, both seasons of “The Mandalorian” and, from 27 May, the highly anticipated “Obi-Wan Kenobi”. In addition, Disney+ will be the home of the entire Skywalker saga, with Star WarsEpisodes 1 through 9 streaming on the service.

Confirmed from launch, superhero fans will have access to over 60 Marvel Studios’ films including Academy Award®-nominated “Shang-Chi and the Legend of The Ten Rings”, “Eternals”, “Avengers: Endgame” and “Captain Marvel”, and over 80 Marvel Studios’ series including “Moon Knight”, “Loki” and “WandaVision”.

Subscribers will also be able to enjoy over 100 titles from Disney and Pixar, including the entire “Toy Story” franchise, the Academy Award®-winning “Soul” and the Academy Award®-nominated “Luca”. From Walt Disney Animation Studios, stream the Academy Award®-winning “Encanto” which tells the tale of an extraordinary family, the Madrigals, and fan favorites “Frozen” and “Frozen 2”. Disney fans can also stream the Academy Award®-winning “Cruella” starring Emma Stone as the legendary “Cruella de Vil” and Disney’s “Jungle Cruise.”

National Geographic documentaries including “The Rescue” and “Free Solo”, from Academy Award®-winning directors and producers E. Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin, will sit alongside popular National Geographic series such as “The World According To Jeff Goldblum” and “Gordon Ramsay: Uncharted”.

In general entertainment, subscribers will also be able to watch titles including the hit original comedy series “Only Murders in the Building,” limited series “Pam and Tommy”, “The Kardashians”, “Queens”, and mystery thriller “Death on the Nile”, directed by and starring Kenneth Branagh, as well as “The Simpsons” and back seasons of “Grey’s Anatomy”, “9-1-1″, and “Black-ish”.

With unprecedented access to Disney’s vault, beloved classics such as “Cinderella”, “Tangled”, “The Princess and the Frog”, and “The Little Mermaid”, will be available to stream alongside recent blockbusters like “Raya and the Last Dragon”. There will also be hundreds of Disney Channel series, shorts, and specials available to stream, including “Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir” and “Phineas and Ferb”.

Users will have access to features like high-quality viewing, up to four concurrent streams, 4k video quality for select titles and the ability to set up to seven different profiles, including the ability for parents to create pin-protected profiles, ensuring kids access age-appropriate content.