Category Archives: Comedy

E! Africa’s “Celebrity Game Night” comes to Universal+ this April

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E! Entertainment Television (NBCUniversal International Networks & Direct-To-Consumer’s global, multi-platform brand dedicated to all things pop culture) has announced the launch date and star-studded lineup for the highly-anticipated return of its original production in Africa: Celebrity Game Night. The fourth installment of the SAFTA award-winning series will be available on Universal+ immediately after airing weekly on E! Africa (DStv channel 124) from Sunday, 23 April 2023 at 19:00 CAT.

Based on the Primetime Emmy Award-winning series Hollywood Game Night, Anele Mdoda returns to host Africa’s biggest games night with 10 one-hour episodes promising uncontrollable laughter and non-stop hilarity. Led by long-standing team captains Ayanda Thabethe and Jason Goliath, a starry array of local comedians, musicians, actors and media personalities compete in raucous challenges including all- new celebrity guests ProVerb, Gigi Lamayne, Amanda du-Pont, Anton Jeftha, Thuli Phongolo, Emo Adams, Shekinah, TBO Touch, Zakes Bantwini, Nadia Jaftha, SPHEctacula & Naves (Kings of the Weekend), Lusanda Mbane, Zozibini Tunzi, Anele Zondo, Simphiwe Ngema, DJ Sabby and many more.

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“Only Murders in the Building” Season 2 on Disney+

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I watched Season 1 of “Only Murders in the Building” on Disney+ and was totally hooked after episode 1. Starring comedy legends Steve Martin and Martin Short, as well as Selena Gomez, it’s about three strangers who share an obsession with true crime and suddenly find themselves caught up in one.

The new season returns on Tuesday 28th June 2022 with two episodes exclusively on Disney+ under the Star banner in South Africa.

Following the shocking death of Arconia Board President Bunny Folger, Charles (Steve Martin, “Father Of The Bride”), Oliver (Martin Short, “The Morning Show”) & Mabel (Selena Gomez, “The Dead Don’t Die”), race to unmask her killer. However, three (unfortunate) complications ensue – the trio is publicly implicated in Bunny’s homicide, they are now the subjects of a competing podcast and they have to deal with a bunch of New York neighbours who all think they committed murder.

“Only Murders in the Building” hails from co-creators and writers Steve Martin and John Hoffman (“Grace & Frankie,” “Looking”). Martin and Hoffman executive produce along with Martin Short, Selena Gomez, “This Is Us” creator Dan Fogelman and Jess Rosenthal.

Robust parental controls ensure that Disney+ remains a suitable viewing experience for everyone in the family. Subscribers can set access limits on mature content and create PIN protected profiles, alongside the already existing Kid Profiles, to give parents and guardians peace of mind.

Check out the season 2 trailer below:

“uBettina Wethu” on SABC 1

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Farieda Metsileng plays Betty Sikhakane

If you haven’t caught an episode of uBettina Wethu on SABC 1 (Mondays to Wednesdays, 19:30, also on VIU) as yet – you’re missing out. The show follows the endeavours of main character Betty Sikhakane (Farieda Metsileng) as she navigates her first job in the City of Gold, Johannesburg.

In addition to the humourous and compelling storyline, the show boasts a talented local line up including Zweli Dube (Dingaan Jiyane); Tsholofelo Mashishi (Linda Jiyane) and Lesego “Coconut Kelz” Tlhabi (Zaza Moloi).

uBettina Wethu is based on the successful international format Yo Soy Betty La Fea – most familiar to local viewers as Ugly Betty – and has been adapted to 19 global territories and aired in 180 countries, in 15 languages, holding the Guinness World Record as ‘Most Successful Telenovela’.

The show kicked off on SABC1 in April 2021 and regularly appears in the Top 10 most-watched shows on the channel, drawing in excess of 2.5 million viewers for each of the trio of weekly episodes.

“We’ve been thrilled at South African viewers’ response to the show so far and we have grand plans for this stellar cast and their hugely-popular characters,” says Producer Tshepiso Chikapa Phiri, for Known Associates. “The storyline is at a pivotal point, and we’re going to be building towards our season finale in August this year. Fans may think they know the storyline from the various international versions of the show, but we’ve got some major shocks coming with a truly Mzansi twist”.

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Family Feud Charity Show

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Scandal

 

There’s an extra dose of glitz and glamour in Family Feud this week  when host Steve Harvey welcomes celebrities from Scandal and Rhythm City. Each team is hoping to win the jackpot for their charity.

Tune in to e.tv this Sunday 12th July at 6pm to watch your stars turn out some of their best performances!

The Scandal team is playing for the Johannesburg Children’s Home, which provides a safe refuge for abused, neglected and abandoned children.

 

  • Scandal is the first acting gig for Brighton Ngoma, the team captain. He was a freelance stage manager and is also a body paint artist. Watch how Brighton introduces his fellow thespians by breaking down his Scandal character relationships with them.
  • Actress and businesswoman Mapaseka Koetle-Nyokong reveals that her favourite film is Matilda [based on the book by Roald Dahl]
  • Actress Natasha Sutherland is also a writer and has directed music videos
  • A newcomer in the industry, singer Ayanda Daweti is already working with legends on Scandal
  • Marjorie Langa has a degree in media technology. She also happens to share her name with Steve Harvey’s wife – earning her the rap of the “baddest chick” from Mr. Harvey.

Rhythm City

The Rhythm City team plays for Reach for a Dream. This organisation tries, as far as possible, to make dreams come true for children who are fighting life-threatening illnesses.

  • The team captain is Mzamo Gcabashe. Mzamo was part of the third season of Big Brother Mzansi in 2014. He is also a singer
  • Petronella Tshuma used to be on Scandal but now plays Pearl in Rhythm City. She won the Most Promising Actress award at the 10th edition of the Africa Movie Academy Awards
  • Actor and presenter Jesse Suntele won the 2016 BET Top Actor Africa. He says he is inspired by Denzel Washington
  • Award-winning actress Linda Sokhulu plays the role of a businesswoman and a sangoma (traditional healer) on the show
  • Tebogo Khalo holds a Golden Horn Award for Best Supporting Actress in a TV Soap

Check out the promos here:

https://app.frame.io/presentations/54e864b7-e58d-4f9b-86bf-05e56935aee1

About Family Feud

Hosted by entertainer, businessman and philanthropist STEVE HARVEY, the popular game show calls on two teams in each episode to compete in naming the most popular responses to gathered survey questions in order to win cash and prizes. The game consists of five rounds and each correctly guessed answer is worth a number of points. When a team fails to answer a question, they receive a strike and after three strikes the opposing family has the chance to ‘steal’ the points on the board. At the end of Round 5, the losing team takes their haul home and the other team goes on to play Fast Money in a bid to win the jackpot.

What We’re Watching on Netflix

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I often get asked what’s on my streaming watch list, so I thought I’d write a series of posts for each streaming platform that I watch – starting of course, with everyone’s favourite, Netflix!

Besides discussing what’s just “dropped” I will also look at “golden oldies” such as Friends.  Can this series be considered that? I guess it can, since it celebrated it’s 25th anniversary in September 2019.

Please note that the below may contain spoilers!

First up – #BlackAF starring the creator, writer and executive producer of Black-ish, Grown-ish and Mixed-ish, Kenya Barris. By the way, Mixed-ish is my favourite of this trio, being mixed myself 🙂

The show is loosely based on his own family and life, in the sense that he plays himself, but apparently his character’s personality is the complete opposite of the real person. He has 6 kids (3 girls and 3 boys) with wife Joya (played by Rashida Jones) who is a former lawyer and never lets anyone forget that fact.

The 8 episodes cover their life and adventures as a family going through ups and downs, as only a wealthy Hollywood family can. The show is filmed “mocumentary” style and in reality format, where the characters do “diary sessions” (ala Keeping Up with the Kardashians and every other reality show). This is because the second eldest child, Drea, is using the show as her NYU Film School acceptance piece. The trailer showed the best and funniest bits, so I was expecting a lot, but at the end of the final episode, I kind of felt like I missed nothing. The only really memorable thing about the show is the opening sequence track by Jay Rock called “WIN” – which is now on my Deezer “Favourites” playlist.

That’s my 2 cents, but you can decide. Here’s the trailer:

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Season One of “Family Feud South Africa” Coming Soon

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Last year, I attended the media launch of Family Feud, and now this popular show is finally going to broadcast on local screens. Read about the media launch post here and what Steve Harvey’s hopes were for the show, which have now come to fruition.

South African families are preparing to take each other on as the widely popular international television game show FAMILY FEUD makes its local South African debut on Sunday 5th April at 6pm on e.tv.

Hosted by award-winning entertainer, businessman and philanthropist STEVE HARVEY, who has been hosting the American version of Family Feud with enormous success since 2010, the debut of the 26-episode season is a dream come true for Mr Harvey.

“Bringing Family Feud to Africa has long been a dream of mine,” Mr Harvey said. “I believe Family Feud will become a household name for local South African families. This is just the beginning. I expect this show to lead to multiple media and business projects in and throughout the continent of Africa.”

Against the backdrop of a game show, FAMILY FEUD is really a family comedy with funny-man STEVE HARVEY embarking on a journey to learn about South Africa and its people, while two families compete to name the most popular responses to survey questions related to the country. The family that gains the most points walks away with the prize money.

The answers to the survey are locked into the game board and even if the contestants give a really good answer, if the answer is not on the board, it doesn’t count. Each correctly guessed answer is worth a certain number of points, which increase during the rounds. If a team fails to answer a question, they get a strike. After three strikes, the opposing family gets a chance to ‘steal’ the points on the board. After five rounds, the family with the least points walk away with their winnings, while the other family goes on to play ‘Fast Money’ in a bid to win the jackpot in addition to money won during the game.

You can expect fun and laughter all the way as fellow families win serious cash. And no-one walks away empty-handed… To show that even ‘feuding’ families can come together, headline sponsor KFC will give away a Finger Lickin’ Good bucket of R10 000 in KFC vouchers every week to the losing family.

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Tracy Morgan – No Disrespect South Africa Tour

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Legendary comedian, Tracy Morgan, has announced his 2020 No Disrespect world tour which includes three back-to-back shows around South Africa – Cape Town on the 29th May, Durban on the 30th May and Pretoria on the 31st May.

Tickets are available via Ticketpro.

“Blu Blood has always been on the forefront of bringing quality entertainment to South African stages and we are extremely honoured to be adding Tracy Morgan to our portfolio.  Tracy is one of the most respected comedians in this field and he adds an exciting element to this year’s social calendar,” comments Blu Blood MD, Osman Osman.  

Tracy Morgan is best known for his appearances on Saturday Night Live and his role as ‘Tracy Morgan’ in seven seasons of NBC’s Emmy and Golden Globe award-winning, 30 Rock, opposite Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin.  His film credits include Paramount’s rom-com film, What Men Want with Taraji P. Henson and The Longest Yard opposite Adam Sandler and he has also lent his voice to hit animations Rio, Rio 2 and the Oscar-nominated, Boxtrolls.   Across his career, he has had stand-up specials on Netflix, HBO and Comedy Central and has headlined comedy tours and festivals around the world.

Morgan can currently be seen in the second season of TBS’ The Last OG, which has recently been renewed for a third season.  He can next be heard voicing the role of Fox in Netflix’s Green Eggs & Ham, as well as Caption Caveman in the upcoming 2020 feature, Scoob.

Tickets for Tracy Morgan’s No Disrespect tour start from R350 and are available through Ticketpro.  The show carries a PG-18 age restriction.

Tracy Morgan: No Disrespect is proudly brought to South Africa by leaders in entertainment, Blu Blood in association with Comedy Central, East Coast Radio and KFM.

 

Tour Dates:

Friday, 29th May @ Grand Arena, GrandWest, Cape Town (8PM)

Saturday, 30th May @ Durban ICC, Durban (8PM)

Sunday, 31st May @ Sun Arena at Time Square, Pretoria (6PM)


Find Tracy Morgan:
www.tracymorgan.com
Facebook: tracymorgan
Instagram: @tracymorgan
Twitter: @realtracymorgan

Jason Goliath’s new comedy show “Manstruation: Surviving a Wife”

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I attended the media launch of Jason Goliath’s new one-man show, called “MANSTRUATION: Surviving a Wife” on 1 October. The show is on from 2 to 12 October 2019 at the Auto and General Theatre on The Square at Sandton City, Johannesburg.

Jason is one of the very few comedians fondly known for getting away with making audiences laugh at life’s uncomfortable truths. Now having married the love of his life, audiences can prepare themselves for brutally honest and uncomfortable truths around relationships and a whole lot of laughter!

MANSTRUATION is a perfect night out. Whether you are in a short-term or long-term relationship, engaged, married, divorced or single, the show is a must see. Not only does he talk about what he has learned as a married man of 8 months, Jason also weaves in little nuggets of knowledge that he has picked up from strangers at car washes, about the sanctity of marriage.

Jason promises that his show it is not a story about the battle of the sexes. The very construct of the show is unbiased as it makes light of either side in the Jason Goliath way – hilarious and thought provoking. His authenticity and energetic personality will win you over and more than likely, leave you gaping at a thought, then immediately breaking into raucous laughter.

The content of the show talks to various types of relationships, but also the various stages of relationships, the relationships one should stay in and relationships one should get out of.

What should audiences expect? I thought the show was 90 minutes of humourous advice about how to love and treat your partner. It started out with a fair amount of toilet humour but quickly picks up to the more “serious” side of things when Jason starts to talk about marriage and the beauty of relationships.

“After leaving my show, I want people to better understand their situation and start thinking about what they want and where they are going. I want people in amazing relationships to “get out of their own way”. More often we take things too seriously, we have become too sensitive, we over-analyse and have become so selfish. My show offers a deeper understanding and a solution in the way I know best – being funny”.

 

Ticket Price:           R150 via Computicket

Venue:                    Auto and General Theatre on The Square, Sandton City

Dates:                     2-12 October 2019

Rock of Ages at Montecasino’s Teatro

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I first saw “Rock of Ages” (the movie starring Tom Cruise as Stacee Jaxx) back in 2012. The second time was at the Lyric Theatre at Gold Reef City about 3 years ago. Now, Broadway’s smash hit musical, Rock of Ages is set to rock Montecasino’s Teatro for the first time from Thursday, 26 September to Sunday, 20 October 2019.

This jukebox musical features 28 classic rock songs from the 1980s including hits “Don’t Stop Believin’”, “The Final Countdown”, “Here I Go Again” and many more. As the humorous high-energy storyline unfolds, the audience takes a journey back to a colourful era, while singing-a-long to rock anthems that come alive on stage. Rock of Ages is a feel-good stage production where audiences are rocking in their seats at every performance.

Tickets are on sale at Montecasino.co.za and Computicket.

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The New VW T-Cross SUV

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The new Volkswagen T-Cross is here and to create the ultimate car launch, Volkswagen’s creating the ultimate city, the ultimate urban playground: T-Cross City.

T-Cross City initially lives online, but with enough audience interaction on the microsite, areas will open up week-by-week until it’s eventually built as an actual, real-life city for fans to explore and enjoy for free on 21 and 22 September 2019 at Montecasino’s outdoor area.

Always innovating with their launches, this latest event is taking Volkswagen to new heights, literally. Think of a giant film set with scaffold and facades, housing exciting, engaging experiences such as a raised rooftop party structure and an intimate, opulent jazz club.  All of the pop-up areas will be curated by top names in the industry who’ll be rallying their fans to ensure that they get a spot at the spectacular event.

Driving the new Volkswagen T-Cross gives you the freedom to make your own choices, which is why they’re giving fans the choice of experiences to include at T-Cross City.

Visit www.TCrossCity.co.za, select the experience that best represents your idea of fun city living and you’ll get two tickets to the event with a bite to eat and a drink included. Your tickets will be for the full event, not just one experience.  Register soon though, before they’re all gone.

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