Popular South African Classic Drama Series Picked Up By Netflix. It’s been more than fifteen years since the conclusion of television teen drama ‘Yizo Yizo’. Being one of South Africa’s most iconic shows of the late 1990s and early 2000s, the drama is set to make a comeback on ‘Netflix’.
Netflix SA’s official Instagram recently announced that season one of ‘Yizo Yizo’ will start Friday, 21 April 2023, followed by season two on Friday, 28 April 2023. ‘Yizo Yizo’ dominated viewership from its inception with many teenagers being its core demographic.
Its 7:30 pm time slot on ‘SABC 1’ also made it perfect for many of its viewers, particularly teenagers who wanted to emulate many of the characters that portrayed inspirational characteristics. Jabu Christian Khubekha, Ronnie Nyakale, Charmaine Mtinta, Israel Makoe and more who hooked many of its avid viewers to their screens.
The show was a fictional retelling of pupils lives who attended a school named Supetsela High in Soweto. The complex schooling lives of the pupils coupled with their struggles were just some of the things that the drama was based on. As such, many people viewed it as an educational show that touched on important subjects like gangsterism, violence and drugs affecting high schoolers.
Despite its popularity, many people including politicians had called for its ban because it had introduced homosexuality. After three seasons, the show got axed and last aired on ‘SABC 1’ in July of 2004.
Some of the show’s notable accomplishments are its first season winning five Avanti Awards including Best Production and Best Director. It also won the Japan Award and was screened at festivals in London, Rotterdam, New York and Barcelona.
Over the past 10 years, the show has been rebroadcast on ‘SABC 1’, with some of its cast members namely, Meshack Mavuso and Innocent Masuku reportedly not getting any royalties. In an interview with Metro FM, in March of 2018, Meshack shared how his finances were in shambles.
“There was a point where I didn’t even have a car (anymore). I remember they wanted to repossess our house at some point. It was so terrible. People would come and view the house and my daughter would say; ‘What are they doing here? Why do they want to take our home?’ I would go into the toilet and sit there and cry,” Mavuso said in the interview.
It would be interesting to see whether any of the show’s cast members will get royalties from the show being streamed on Netflix.
