M-Net Press

The first episode of the new American TV musical comedy series Glee will be beamed by distributor Fox directly to the broadcast centre of pay-TV channel M-Net on 4 October at 6pm. This will be only three weeks after its American debut on the Fox channel.

Glee has been described as “arguably the most inventive new series of year’ and has become Fox’s highest-rated scripted series in three years. The series is about a teacher at McKinley High school who has to convince a rag-tag team to put aside their differences and their cool reputations to put the school on the map with their performances. Glee features great song and dance acts and is about kids who are living life large, dealing with rivalries, romantic tragedies, egos and major competition.

M-Net’s Channel Head Sabiera Patel says the beaming of Glee to M-Net is an incredible step forward in ensuring that viewers get to see the best international series first. “With Glee, we don’t have to wait for broadcast tapes to be delivered from Fox, the international distributors. The episodes are beamed directly to our broadcast centre and the quality remains top-notch.’

As from 23 September at 8pm, well known radio DJ and Idols judge Gareth Cliff will have his own talk show on pay-TV broadcaster M-Net.
Head of Local Content Helen Smit said the broadcaster was looking for a high-profile male celebrity-driven talk show with a local tone. “With Gareth’s no-holds-barred opinitions, the Gareth Cliff Show will ruffle some feathers and spark interesting debates around a variety of topics. Whether you love him or hate him, you have to admit that Gareth has his own take on the world. Brace yourself for a show that will be a blend of controversial topics with an infusion of wit and humour.”

To test the content and likeability of the programme, M-Net commissioned a pilot episode of The Gareth Cliff Show which was taken into intensive market research. “Talk shows are traditionally a difficult genre to crack, as the host plays a vital part, and we are thrilled with the overwhelmingly positive feedback we received,” says Smit.

The Gareth Cliff Show is produced by Imani Media and directed by television veteran, Bobby Heaney, who has been chiseling the concept with Cliff and his agent, Rina Bloomberg, for almost five years. “We’re convinced that the Gareth Cliff brand has never been more ready to branch out into a fully-fledged television show,” says Heaney. “Many talk show hosts have taken themselves too seriously, but Gareth’s gift of the gab, wit and nonchalance will turn this into a highly entertaining product.”

Each week, the gregarious man who invented ‘Phuza Thursday’, will choose a topic which he has a strong opinion about – from current controversies to issues in our day-to-day South African lives. His views will then be challenged, or matched, by three guests on a panel, and a lively three-way interaction between him, the guests, and the studio audience, who are encouraged to ask questions and share their opinions too, will ensue.

The Gareth Cliff Show will run for 13 weeks on M-Net, every Wednesday at 20:00.

On 1 July pay-TV broadcaster M-Net will launch Vuzu, a new youth channel on DStv which will replace the GO channel. Vuzu is geared at increased interactivity through locally produced content. It will also be available online with plans to branch into the mobile space in the future.

Supported by a social network that will be integrated to television, Vuzu taps into 21st century global youth trends featuring international, first and exclusive programming alongside locally produced gaming, entertainment and extreme sport.  

Aimed at 18 – 24 year olds, Vuzu’s viewer-centric programming mix includes international hit shows like Gossip Girl, Entourage, The Simpsons, Kyle XY, South Park as well as new locally produced shows like The Verge – a show devoted to all things high-tech and gaming; V Entertainment – a daily round up of the hottest local and international celeb gossip; Scar Tissue – which consists of various stunts performed by a professional crew across a wide spectrum of everyday situations; Street Cam – a show led by a female host with a “naughty” personality who patrols the streets, the beach and the mall, finding beautiful single women and asking them questions on-camera as well as a yet-to-be named locally produced reality show, to name a few.

Says channel director Yolisa Phahle: “Television remains a big part of this demographics’ lifestyle and ultimately this channel will provide a continental platform for young people to have access to the best and most relevant entertainment on their phones, PCs and television sets. TV is reinventing itself and we are looking forward to working with all sectors of the local industry to create new and innovative ways to thrive in this fast evolving environment.”

Vuzu forms the second phase of M-Net’s new innovative youth programming. First to be launched on 6 April was the dedicated children’s channel Koowee which is aimed at preschoolers between the ages of one and six.

The inaugural Film Category at this year’s M-Net Literary Awards has been won by Deon Meyer, for his novel 13 uur. Judges in this Category were particularly looking for quality novels by South African authors which could be translated into equally high quality screenplays.

Film Category judge Gerrit Schoonhoven is convinced that 13 uur will prove as riveting a television series or film as the book is. “Any filmed production of 13 uur will keep viewers glued to their seats. It’s hard to go wrong with Deon Meyer,” he says. “He writes stories which – apart from being totally engrossing – are easily accessible, and will make a brilliant film.”

M-Net CEO Patricia Scholtemeyer praised the high standards evident in South African literature. “The quality of all our nominees this year was outstanding. We’d like to congratulate Deon Meyer for winning the inaugural Film Category and look forward to working with him to produce a screenplay which reflects the high quality of his literary work,” she said.

13 uur follows the life of Inspector Bennie Griessel, whose private life is a total shambles. Apart from investigating the grizzly murder of a young American girl and the killing of a powerful figure in the Afrikaans music industry, Griessel is also mentor to a group of young coloured and black detectives. And then he gets shot.
The 2009 M-Net Literary Awards also recognized winners in English, Afrikaans and African Language categories.

In the African languages category two books were singled out for awards. Tsireledzo Mushoma’s Tshivenda novel Nne na inwi (You and Me) published by Tafelberg and Babuši ba Lehono  (Today’s Leaders) by Mathete Molope Piet, published by (Zebra Publishing.

The closely fought English Language Category was eventually conquered by Anne Landsman’s deeply felt elegy for a lost father, The Rowing Lesson, published by Kwela Books.

The Afrikaans language category win went to Etienne van Heerden’s 30 nagte in Amsterdam (Tafelberg). This is van Heerden’s second consecutive win in the M-Net Literary Awards.

The judges were unanimous in their praise for all the shortlisted titles. Judge Jane Rosenthal felt that these entries were mostly exquisitely written and wonderful to read. Also gripping and intense, agreed judge Ross Devenish, with some of the shortlisted one’s intensely and undoubtedly South African.

Mushoma’s debut novel, Nne na inwi, was commended by the judges for being a long-awaited contribution to Tshivenda literature. “This novel fearlessly addresses contemporary issues, in particular crime amongst the youth. The author captivates the reader from beginning to end with a sophisticated and intriguing plot structure with relevance to actualities,” says judge Mbulungeni Madiba.

Mathete Molope Piet’s Babuši ba lehono deals with the nature of political understanding. Sepedi judge Riah Mabule ran the rule over Piet’s offering. “If you have ever wondered whether politics was the dirty business depicted by the media, this novel leaves no question unanswered. Reading it enhances the understanding of what true leadership is about and why all people should exercise the right to vote,” she says.

The Rowing Lesson by Anne Landsman was described by English language judge Leon de Kock as “a novel of extraordinary narrative texture and perceptual acuity.” Says de Kock: “Although it is often a hard book to read, this is the same kind of readerly density one experiences in many works of great literature, such as, for example, some of James Joyce’s novels.”

30 nagte in Amsterdam by Etienne van Heerden is described as something of a tour de force, a literary novel with the qualities of a detective story, about the fluidity of identity, the process of memory, the role of the imagination and the complicated dynamics of being and belonging.