2021: The Year of Stars on DStv
News
DStv kept customers feeling every moment as our constellation of channels, series and stars lit up the night in 2021.
DStv was seeing – and making – stars in 2021. It was a year of exploration, discovery and delight.
As well as showcasing brilliant local talent, DStv’s channels were taking homegrown stars to the world, exploring new galaxies of entertainment, creating local versions of hit international series and transporting local audiences to new worlds, too.
Exploring our galaxy in 2021
2021 was filled with opportunities for local talent to become breakout stars. As well as bringing in new seasons of supernova local telenovelas like Legacy, Suidooster and The River, DStv launched four local telenovelas in 2021. Lingashoni arrived in March, with DiepCity following in April and Grootboom & Sons and Umkhokha arriving in October 2021.
DStv also brought audiences local versions of their best loved reality series, including Survivor SA: Immunity Island. On the back of its runaway success, M-Net (DStv channel 101) has renewed Survivor South Africa for season 9: an All-Stars season titled Return Of The Outcasts, which will air around July 2022.
2021 also saw South Africa get its first local seasons of The Bachelorette and Wie Word 'n Miljoener? on DStv and brand new seasons of Idols South Africa, My Kitchen Rules and Come Dine With Me South Africa, and The Real Housewives Of Durban. (keep your eyes peeled for a brand new Big Brother Mzansi, in 2022, too).
And there were plenty of original format reality series, too, including the touching and hilarious “date an actor” series Op My Eish! which has a sequel in the works for 2022, and superstar powered reality series from Babes Wodumo and Mapintsha, Kelly Khumalo, Bonang Matheba, Moonchild Sanelly, and Shauwn Mpisane.
Shooting stars
2021 saw a constellation of blue chip local series launch. M-Net’s drama series Reyka (a co-production with Fremantle) has since become an international hit, getting scooped up for Global Networks in mid-November. Reyka will now air on UK’s Channel 4, Canada’s CBC, Canal+ in Europe and HBO LatAm, bringing South African stars like Kim Engelbrecht, Hamilton Dhlamini, Leeanda Reddy and Thando Thabethe to the world.
International channel BET (DStv channel 124) released a brand new season of original local comedy series Black Tax in 2021. And thanks to DStv’s partnership with Showmax, the rest of the world is also getting to see series like the Mzansi Magic (DStv channel 161) human trafficking drama Mzali Wami, the new season of hostel assassin drama eHostela, the thoroughly gripping taxi empire drama Nqobile, along with DStv’s 2021 big local social justice shows like Wang’ Kolota, Ho Lekane, Unefa and Utatakho.
Explore new worlds
DStv expanded its international selection in 2021, too, exploring the K-Pop universe with Korean pop-up entertainment channel tVN in March, along with the martial arts themed KIX, a permanent fixture on DStv channel 147.
We’ve also created a one-stop channel for the very best in African lifestyle and entertainment with the launch of Honey (DStv channel 174) in February. Honey has erased borders, bringing stars from around Africa into the same room to find common ground in talk shows like The Buzz, hosted by our own lovely Anele Mdoda. It’s spotlighting local flavour, too, as series like Wawu, That’s My Dress got its own versions in Kenya and Zambia.
There were also more dazzling international series and movies on South African TV than ever before with DStv, including Emmy Award winners like Mare Of Easttown, Last Week Tonight With John Oliver, Hacks, and the Golden Globe winning The Flight Attendant, along with multi-award winning films like Nomadland, Tenet, Promising Young Woman, and Minari.
DStv dazzles online
2021 saw DStv explore new galaxies online, creating stars for viewers to engage with.
Following a talent search, DStv’s #OhSnack show launched on YouTube in June 2021, with hosts Robyn and Taki chatting to SA’s biggest stars, hosting roundtables on serious issues, and profiling and reviewing new shows as they arrived on DStv. DStv’s YouTube channel also saw an explosion of fun, talent and personality as Landzy Gama and Naledi Mallela onboard with #HotSpot, and reviews. And when Monstie joined the team in November, child stars came along, too, giving their adorable views and insights.
Shine on
And the stars keep shining. Going into the new year, DStv is committed to giving you the very best in local and international star power and enable you to feel every moment.
In fact, we’ve already begun! This December, we’re beefing up the Box Sets experience for our DStv Premium customers and adding more titles than ever before – including past seasons of some of our customers’ favourite shows so you can binge over the holidays and beyond.
You’ll also see the launch of the brand new children’s gaming experience Island Adventures within the MyDStv App.
Indeed, the stars aligned on DStv in 2021 and will continue to shine bright in your TV screens. Get and stay connected to DStv to enjoy so much more star powered entertainment.
Download and watch later
Get the DStv app (Apple, Android or Huawei) and download episodes to watch on your phone or tablet – just remember to connect to the Wi-Fi first so there are no surprise data costs.
