Tag Archives: HBO

Int’l broadcasters take SA drama Reyka

Reyka stars Kim Engelbrecht

BritBox in North America, Channel 4 in the UK and HBO in Latin America are among the buyers to have acquired Reyka, Fremantle‘s first South African drama.

Commissioned by M-Net in South Africa, the contemporary crime thriller stars Kim Engelbrecht and Iain Glen and was coproduced with Harriet Gavshon of Quizzical and Serena Cullen of Serena Cullen Productions.

Following deals with RTL Group-owned Fremantle, the eight-part English-language drama series will be available in more than 80 territories with broadcasters including the CBC (Canada), SBS (Australia), TVNZ (New Zealand), RTL (Germany), Cosmote TV (Greece), Sky Italia and Canal+ (Poland and France).

HBO in Latin America will launch Reyka in numerous countries following a pan-regional deal struck by Sheila Aguirre, executive VP of content distribution and format sales for Latin America, the Caribbean and Hispanic US at Fremantle, which boarded Reyka in 2018.

Other outlets to have acquired the series include Marjan Television (MENA Farsi), OSN Streaming (MENA Region), Hot (Israel), RTL Klub (Hungary), Viasat (Russia, CIS, Georgia, Ukraine) and Now TV (Hong Kong, Macau).

The series follows a flawed but brilliant criminal profiler who, haunted by her past, investigates a string of brutal murders committed by a serial killer in the sugar cane fields of KwaZulu-Natal.  Having been abducted as a child by a farmer, she is traumatised by the experience but this also helps her enter the minds of Africa’s most notorious criminals and turn them inside out.

Julie Hodge, editorial director of global drama at Fremantle and executive producer of Reyka, said: “With compelling scripts, world-class performances and astonishing production values, it is not a surprise the series has performed excellently for M-Net, and I have no doubt that success will be emulated in the international market, cementing Fremantle as a key player in the English-language drama space.”

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Erivo, Fagbenle, Aduba up for Emmys

L-R: Cynthia Erivo, OT Fagbenle and Uzo Aduba

Award-winning Nigerian-British actors Cynthia Erivo and OT Fagbenle and Nigerian-American actor Uzo Aduba have been nominated for Emmy Awards.

Erivo was put forward for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or TV Movie after her performance as singer Aretha Franklin in the third season of National Geographic series Genius.

Fagbenle was nominated as Outstanding Supporting Actor for his role as Luke Bankole in Hulu drama The Handmaid’s Tale, while Aduba is up for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for her performance as Dr Brooke Taylor in the fourth season of HBO drama series In Treatment.

“Thank you to the Television Academy for this honor. Dr Brooke Taylor is feeling gooood,” said Aduba on Instagram.

The 73rd Emmy Awards ceremony will take place on September 19 in Los Angeles and will be broadcast in the US by CBS and ViacomCBS-owned streaming service Paramount+.

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HBO lines up human rights doc

The Legend of the Underground

Documentary The Legend of the Underground, which highlights the struggle against rampant discrimination in Nigeria, is set to debut on entertainment platform HBO.

Directed by award-winning Nigerian-American filmmaker Nneka Onuorah and Giselle Bailey, the film celebrates gender non-conformity and freedom of self-expression in the country, as seen through the lens of several “bold and charismatic, non-conformist youth who fight to live life out loud,” according to the producers.

The anti-LGBTQ Same-Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Bill, enacted in 2013 in Nigeria, has been used to oppress, harass and imprison people for not conforming to Nigerian societal and cultural norms.

The film features a man who suffered police brutality for attending a party in Lagos with other men, and another who had to leave Nigeria for New York after being attacked. Both are fighting a system that seeks to silence them as well as advocating for a safe haven abroad.

The film follows the fight for the right to personal expression, with the help of social media, underground radio and other resources, following tight-knit groups trying to spark a cultural revolution that would challenge the ideals of gender, conformity and civil rights in Nigeria.

The Legend of the Underground, which debuts on June 29 at 21.00 ET/PT, is a collaboration between HBO and Get Lifted Film, executive produced by Mike Jackson, John Legend, Ty Stiklorius and Austyn Biggers of Get Lifted Film. For HBO, the senior producer is Sara Rodriguez and executive producers are Nancy Abraham and Lisa Heller.

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Uzo Aduba to star in HBO’s In Treatment

Award-winning Nigerian-American actress Uzo Aduba is to star in the fourth season of HBO series In Treatment.

According to the cable network, Aduba will play the observant, empathetic Dr Brooke Taylor, the therapist at the centre of the new season. Aduba’s character will come into contact with a diverse trio of patients, helping them solve a variety of modern concerns while trying to deal with complications in her own personal life.

The fourth season comes 10 years after the third season’s finale and is set in present-day Los Angeles. It also stars Anthony Ramos, Liza Colón-Zayas, John Benjamin Hickey, Quintessa Swindell and Joel Kinnaman.

Aduba took to Instagram to say: “One doctor, three patients, and a whole lot of treatment. The time is yours.”

The series will premiere on May 23 on HBO Max.

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DStv brings Michael Jackson doc to Africa

Leaving Neverland focuses on Michael Jackson’s relationship with two men when they were children

African pay TV platform DStv is set to air controversial documentary Leaving Neverland, in which allegations of child abuse are made against the late pop star Michael Jackson.

Directed and produced by British filmmaker Dan Reed for Channel 4 in the UK and HBO in the US, this documentary will now be shown on African screens across the continent via MultiChoice-owned DStv.

The film exposes the experiences two adult men, James Safechuck and Wade Robson, went through while they were kids and friends with Jackson. They make allegations of sustained abuse and reveal how they were affected by the relationship.

According to MultiChoice Nigeria’s chief customer office, Martin Mabutho: “Bringing Leaving Neverland to African screens is testament to the fact that DStv brings the most compelling content to the continent as quickly as possible.

“Please note, however, that documentary is not suitable for younger viewers as it contains strong language, discussions of self-harm and graphic descriptions of child sexual abuse.”

Leaving Neverland, which premiered in the US at the Sundance festival, will be aired on M-Net City and DStv channel 115.

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Ayorinde lands True Detective role

British-Nigerian actor Deborah Ayorinde has joined that cast of the new season of HBO drama True Detective.

Deborah Ayorinde

After a two-year hiatus, True Detective will return next year for its third season on the US cablenet. As well a sAyorinde, the crime anthology series feature Oscar-winning Moonlight star Mahershala Ali, plus Ray Fisher, Carmen Ejoho and Sarah Gadon.

The new season will focus on a crime that takes place in the Ozarks in the US, with a mystery that deepens over decades and plays out in three separate time periods. Ayorinde will play Becca Hayes, daughter of lead character Wayne Hayes (Ali).

Her role in True Detective comes after her part in last year’s hit US movie Girl’s Trip. Ayorinde has also featured in a number of TV series, including Sleepy Hollow, Necessary Roughness, Luke Cage and Game of Silence.

The third season will again be written and produced by creator Nic Pizzolatto.

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