With startling storylines set in the fast-lane world of investment billionaires and a sterling, diverse cast, this new daily, designed for DStv’s Premium audience, is destined to become the talk of the town when it launches in September 2020.

Executive producer and Director of M-Net Channels, Jan du Plessis, describe this format as follows: “Imagine the Machiavellian mega-rich characters living dysfunctional lives in the award-winning HBO series Succession in a fresh, distinctly South African context. Add a daily dose of The Bold and The Beautiful, colour the concoction with pure escapism in the topical and aspirational style of the best Brazilian telenovelas, and you have Legacy in a nutshell.”

This is the first time in many years that M-Net viewers can come home to the magic of a daily local drama. Legacy is M-Net 101’s very first telenovela.

Legacy’s locus of conflict is an upmarket investment empire that was established by Sebastian Price, the patriarch of the super-wealthy Price family, decades ago, when he was in his early twenties. Now he is a silver fox approaching retirement and it is clear that a family member will soon have to take over the reins. But who will it be? And, at what cost? Sebastian’s bitter ex-wife and ruthless first-born daughter will do whatever it takes to ensure that Sebastian’s second wife, Dineo, does not push her playboy son into the position of CEO.

Of course the power struggle turns nasty. A witches’ brew of betrayal, secrets, lies and revenge.

Stepping into the roles of the current Mrs Price, Dineo, and Sebastian’s ex-wife, Angelique, a former lawyer who is now a woman of leisure, are two of South Africa’s most formidable leading ladies: Kgomotso Christopher and Michelle Botes, both known for creating unforgettable soap characters.  After a long stint on Isidingo, Kgomotso this year clinched her third SAFTA award for her performance in Scandal. She is cut out for the role of Dineo, a beautiful yet tragic second wife with a heart of gold beneath all the Gucci. Michelle rose to fame in the eighties with star turns in series like Arende and Konings, and ruffled the feathers as At Koster’s wife in kykNET’s  Binnelanders. And who will ever forget how she called the shots as Isidingo’s super-bitch, Cherel de Villiers?

In Legacy, Mary-anne Barlow will be the villain everybody loves to hate – Felicity, Sebastian’s eldest daughter. Mary-anne has proved her mettle in shows like Egoli, the British drama Wild At Heart and 1 Magic’s The River, for which she scooped a Best Supporting Actress SAFTA award.

Seasoned film, television and theatre actor Deon Lotz is Legacy’s Sebastian. Deon had a starring role in Skoonheid – South Africa’s Academy Award entry for 2011. He also played government kingpin Kobie Coetsee in Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, and boasts a long list of accolades for his work in kykNET films.

The charming stud who will set the hearts aflutter with his dazzling good looks is Sebastian’s wastrel son, SJ. The role fits Anton David Jeftha like a glove. He has made international inroads in US series filmed in South Africa – most notably Strike Back, Homeland and Dominion.

The rest of the cast will be announced in due course.

Legacy is the brainchild of Phathu Makwarela and Gwydion Beynon from the multiple-award-winning production company Tshedza Pictures.  Their latest feat, The River, made a clean sweep at this year’s SAFTA awards with ten Golden Horns. Johnny Barbuzano, who directed Still Breathing, shares director’s duties with Catharine Cooke and Krijay Govender. Trevor Brown is the director of photography.

Legacy will be screened in September 2020 on M-Net Channel 101. DStv Premium viewers can also catch the series on Catch Up, or stream the episodes live via their mobile devices on DStv Now. Follow all the breaking news around the show on the M-Net Website , and join the conversation with #LegacySA.

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M-Net Binge – The Home of HBO kicks off on Friday 27 March at 19:00. Thereafter it will be available seven days a week, between 18:00 and 06:00, Mondays to Sundays. Why 12 hours only, series aficionados may ask. Only because of the racy nature of the channel and the age restricted material, which is not suitable for daytime viewing.

The weekday schedule for M-Net Binge – Home of HBO has been carefully curated to create appointment viewing. You will find the same series in the same time slot, on the hour, Mondays to Fridays. From series like The Newsroom, which earned leading man Jeff Daniels several TV gongs, to executive producers Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg’s epic war drama Band of Brothers; and the biggest series of modern times, Game of Thrones. Not to forget recent masterpiece The Night Of and the cult series Six Feet Under. When insomnia hits in the middle of the night, there’s also Banshee, The Leftovers and Girls.

On Saturdays, up until 21:00, the line-up is packed with thought-provoking documentaries. At 21:00 there will be another episode of Game of Thrones, which is screened in the same slot during the week. Sunday’s schedule belongs to series that have been exclusive to the streaming service Showmax to date: His Dark Materials and Succession. That’s followed by a superstack (6 episodes) of classic Sex & The City, starting at 22:00. As a special treat for night owls, the next item on air is the HBO film at 01:00. The unmissable documentary picked for Saturday 27 March is Ice on Fire. Narrated by Leonardo DiCaprio, it investigates solutions to try and reverse the effects of climate change while time is ticking. The film on Sunday is Deadwood, the movie HBO created to conclude the hit series form the 1990s.

M-Net Binge – The Home of HBO will also be available on DStv Catch up and on the streaming service DStv Now. Fans can follow all the breaking news around the pop-up channel on the M-Net Website , and join the conversation with #mnetbinge on Twitter (@MNet), Instagram (@mnettv) and Facebook (@MNet).

A quick snapshot and summaries of the shows on M-Net Binge – The Home of HBO:

The Newsroom

Mondays to Fridays at 19:00. Repeats next day at 18:00.

From the imagination of Aaron Sorkin, creator of The West Wing, comes another riveting political drama series, set in the newsroom of the fictional Atlantis Cable News television channel. The Newsroom won a Critics’ Choice Television Award for Most Exciting New Series, along with Golden Globe nominations and a string of other accolades. These include a Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series (Jeff Daniels) and Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series (Jane Fonda).

Band of Brothers

Mondays to Fridays at 20:00.

Hollywood legends Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks, who collaborated on one of the greatest war movies of all time, Saving Private Ryan, teamed up again and revisited World War II as executive producers on a project that won high praise from viewers, and Emmy and Golden Globe awards for Best Miniseries. Based on a non-fiction bestselling book by historian Stephen E Ambrose, it follows the history of a parachute battalion from jump training in the United States through its participation in major actions in Europe.

Game of Thrones

Mondays to Saturdays at 21:00 and 22:00 (two episodes).

The most talked about television series of the new millennium, bar none, took the fantasy genre to a new level. Game of Thrones won a record 58 Emmy Awards, and has a global fan base that long ago surpassed the one billion mark – and keeps growing. If you’ve just returned from another planet and missed it first time around, you’ve got some catching up to do. There are 72 episodes, all told. Set on the fictional continents of Westeros and Essos, it has several plot arcs and a huge ensemble cast. Please remember that the series contains scenes of nudity and violence.

Six Feet Under

Mondays to Fridays at 23:00.

A funeral parlour may not sound like the ideal setting for a long-running drama series, but Six Feet Under was a smashing success, named by Time Magazine, The Guardian and Empire as one of the best television series of all time. Nine Emmy Awards, three Screen Actors Guild Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, and a Peabody Award back up those assessments. The story revolves around the trials and tribulations of the Fisher clan, owners of Fisher & Sons Funeral Home. Besides the usual themes of interpersonal relationships, love and loss, it fearlessly tackles the most important philosophical question of our time: the meaning of life.

The Night Of

Saturdays at 23:00.

Following a wild night of sex and drugs, Nasir “Naz” Kahn, a Pakistani-American student, wakes up to find that the woman he’d spent the night with has been stabbed to death. He has no recollection of the events of the night. This is the premise of a multiple award-winning crime miniseries starring John Terturro as John Stone, the lawyer who represents the murder suspect. It won four Primetime Emmy Awards and a Directors’ Guild of America Award among a slew of accolades. It has a score of 90 on Metacritic, based on 40 reviews, and 95% on Rotten Tomatoes, indicating universal acclaim.

His Dark Materials

Sundays at 19:00.

Strangeness and wonder mark this fantasy drama based on the cult novel series of the same name by Philip Pullman. The action takes place in a multi-world reality, switching from one to the other in an absorbing, unusual narrative. In an alternate world, all humans have animal companions called daemons. As it turns out, they are manifestations of the human soul. The main character is a girl named Lyra, an orphan who discovers a dangerous secret. And then her path crosses with a boy named Will. The series combines live action and animation and won an Annie, America’s top animation award.

Succession

Sundays at 20:00 and 21:00 (two episodes).

An American satirical comedy-drama television series that won the British Academy Television Award for Best International Programme and the Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Drama. In addition to that, Brian Cox, one of the lead actors, won the Golden Globe for Best Actor – Television Series Drama. A dysfunctional family battles for control of a global media and hospitality conglomerate – and the patriarch’s health is in steep decline. Who will inherit the throne?

The post New Popup Channel to Save You from Boredom – M-Net Binge – The Home of HBO appeared first on Stage and Screen.

As Winter is Coming, and there is no Game of Thrones to look forward to this July, M-Net Movies is making sure that their Bang Bang Heroes Pop-UP Channel, will send John Snow heating all up…

Get ready for a selection of non-stop, pulsating, explosive, jaw-breaking, bone-crushing, no-holds-barred movies, built around legendary Hollywood action heroes.

Hot on the heels of the M-Net Movies Marvel Studios Pop-Up Channel, the high-octane M-Net Movies Bang Bang Heroes channel is yet another unique pop-up offering – a testosterone-fuelled TV experience that will be available to DStv Premium, Compact Plus and Compact customers.

The M-Net Movies Bang Bang Heroes pop-up channel will run for 24 days: from Friday 18 May until Sunday 10 June, and will screen a collection of over 90 movies featuring cinema’s most iconic pop-culture action legends. Larger-than-life blockbuster stars Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Bruce Willis and Chuck Norris will flex their pecs on channel 109.

While viewers will see eight incredible titles per day, each of these actors will have their very own time in the limelight one day during prime time. For example, on Friday 18 May Sylvester Stallone will strut his stuff in Get Carter, Cobra and Over The Top.  Saturday, 19 May then belongs to Jason Statham with The Transporter, The Mechanic Resurrection and Parker and on Sunday, 20 May, Jet Li moves into action with The One, Romeo Must Die, and Dragon Fight.

Be sure to tune in when Bruce Willis takes on the world in every single installment of the Die Hard franchise on Saturday 25 May. Then, don’t miss Dolph Lundgren’s fighting spirit on Saturday, 26 May in Masters Of The Universe, Universal Soldier: Day Of Reckoning and Skin Trade. Catch  all the action when Jean-Claude Van Damme, The Muscles of Brussels, shows off his brawn on Saturday, 2 June in Streetfighter, Shepherd, and The Sudden Death.

To round off this amazing experience the channel will play all three “Expendables” films on Sunday, 10 June beginning with The Expendables at 16:30, followed by The Expendables 2 at 18:15 ending with The Expendables 3 at 20:00.

Follow M-Net Movies Bang Bang Heroes Pop-up channel with #mmbangbang

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