Saturday, February 20th marks the premiere The Man Cave, returning for another season at 21:30 on channel 101.

The show presents ten all-new adrenaline-fuelled episodes with a panel of presenters. Bringing their testosterone to the table is returning favourite presenter Siv Ngesi, comedian Jason Goliath and radio jock come petrol-head Warrick Stock. Also joining the team this season is SA Style award winner and Cosmopolitan SA sexiest man 2014, Jonathan Boyton-Lee.

The series – offering insights into the multiple facets of the modern-day man – is guaranteed to entertain with its action-packed line-up of competitive challenges, adventures, casual conversations, engagements with local heroes and sporting stars, bucket-list adventures, supercars and classic rides.

Exclusive to this season, the guys actively address issues that plague today’s society, explore South Africa and its people, discover the mythical bond between man and machine and host casual non-scripted conversations with top South African personalities.

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WHAT WAS IN THE HUMMER LIMO? Well South Africa, The #BachelorretteSA gifted Qiniso Van Damme four more men to choose from. Her journey for love has gotten bigger and more complicated. These four men mean business and will add to her experience of romance. The second episode, on Thursday 18 February at 7.30 pm on M-Net 101, will feature thrills and drama, as the new addtions make a big impact.

A host of eligible young men will soon realise that The Bachelorette South Africa is not for the faint of heart as they compete to win the affection of the vivacious, model, actress and masters student.

The Bachelorette South Africa season 1 will be available on DStv Premium and Compact Plus.

In January, M-Net announced the first five men to #BachelorNation, this was followed by ten men and now M-Net channel 101 is excited to reveal the last four stunning eligible suitors vying for Qiniso’s love.

CAMERON SCOTT

Age: 25

Height: 183 cm

Town: Johannesburg

Cameron is a multi-disciplinary filmmaker – primarily an actor with experience in producing, writing and directing. He runs a production company with his friend and business partner Kagiso Rabada.

In 2021 they will debut their first exciting powerhouse story called “beast”  and launch an accessible podcast platform called Zapcast. Cameron is a modern man and immediately sucks you in with his cheeky charm and imagination. He is a straight shooter who knows exactly what he wants and will not allow anything to stop him. Keep an eye on this one.

He is open and communicative. He is an actor, so first instinct is that he would plug that – but that is common ground for him & Qiniso. He is a low-maintenance, talkative and a real guy.

CRAIG KHUMALO

Age: 31

Height: 168 cm

Town: Johannesburg

Craig was born in Addington hospital in Durban where he did his primary school years also and then moved to Newcastle for matric. His family roots come from KwaHlabisa in Northern of KZN.

He graduated from GIBS already in Social Entrepreneurship in 2020. The objective is about helping learners with learning disabilities reach optimal development.

Craig studied Child and Youth Development at the Durban University of Technology.

Craig enjoys swimming, gardening, taking walks and playing basketball impacting the youth through skills development.

He owns a social enterprise called Sizo Social Solutions which focuses on empowering young people through hands-on education.

He hates people who disrespect elders most and hypocrites with no backbone.

GARETH EHRET

Age: 27

Height: 188 cm

Town: Cape Town/Stellenbosch

Gareth thrives on adventure and loves making fun out of life. He has quiet confidence as well as a wonderful sensitive side. He is determined, ambitious and enjoys the beauty of a healthy lifestyle. Gareth is in digital marketing whilst also coaching people on how to live responsibly with body & mind…he believes a good balance in life is crucial.

After graduating from UCT and Stellenbosch University, he spent a few years abroad. Now, after his travels he is content with pursuing a life back home, no longer seeking a solo adventure…he now seeks a partner to journey through life with.

Gareth is sexy, confident and very competitive and considers his sense of humour unusual. He has a strong creative streak and loves writing, perhaps a reason him and Q might hit it off? He is open to the process and excited to see where this journey leads.

GREGORY BARKHUIZEN

Age: 28

Height: 181 cm

Town: Houtbay, Cape Town

Greg, born and lived in Johannesburg for most of his primary school years. After that, his family moved to Port Elizabeth for a few years and then Cape Town which has been his home for the past 7 years.

He is a barman, part-time hardcore guitarist, freelance scuba diver & enjoys old school motorbikes.   He is a gentle soul but is still figuring out where he will be in the next few years.

He aspires to be a self-sustained individual. He has never been in love, except for a teen romance in high school. Up until recently, he has been selfishly focusing on himself and now he is ready to look for love.

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The signs were there.

Once the darling of South African television, winning every award, topping the ratings, and dominating social media conversations every night, Isibaya‘s last days have spelled a sad decline for the once critically lauded soapie.

The daily drama, which premiered on Mzansi Magic on March 18th, 2013, will be airing its final episode in the coming weeks. The announcement of the television show’s cancellation might have stung the more than 800 000 daily viewers who tune in to watch their favourite program, but most were not entirely surprised. Or moved.

By the time M-Net confirmed the news last month, speculation had already been rife. The high-profile departures by some of the show’s leading cast members didn’t help quell the fires. The likes of Siyabonga Thwala and Nomzamo Mbatha triggered chatter about the show’s potential canning by mid-2020.

The mass exodus from the show was an indication that folk had begun jumping ship.

Nomzamo Mbatha went on to pursue a Hollywood career, later landing a role on ‘Coming 2 America’. Thwala, on the other hand, joined the formidable cast of ‘Legacy’, picking off where he’d left off with popular daily dramas, which the local channels often call telenovelas.

By the time the likes of Jessica Nkosi and Menzi Ngubane, both previously on Isibaya, started to pursue other projects, at one point both tipped as cast addition on The Queen, it became obvious that Isibaya had been on its last leg.

As if the cast departures weren’t enough, the show’s ratings began taking a gradual dip. Once the highest-rated program across the DStv ecosystem, Isibaya slowly lost hundreds of thousands of viewers. By December 2021, its rating had just been above 800 000. That number pales when compared to the numbers the show once did, once peaking at more than 1,4 million viewers.

The ratings dip went along with storylines that could no longer be justified. Many times without a clear direction, sometimes trying too hard to reinvent the show while alienating its core audience, and other times delivering downright hideous plots. Things started to feel weird and forced.

That was not always the case for the series, however. At the peak of its reign, none of the local television shows could compete. In many ways, the Bomb Productions show played a central role in building up Mzansi Magic to become a leader in local storytelling and entertainment.

Between 2013 and around 2017, the show had sustained the rich portrayal of black life in South Africa from angles previously ignored. With compelling storytelling layered in complexity and nuance, a brilliant ensemble, well-written story arcs with satisfying peaks, and overall amazing production, Isibaya led the pack in all scores.

What could have gone wrong?

For M-Net, it’s all about the ever-changing times. The landscape is now different, and the channel had to adapt to these changes. The channel’s director, Nomsa Philiso, told Channel 24 that “It’s always sad when a show that was popular and loved ends. However, times change and television is about adapting.”

But while there’s no doubt that Isibaya suffered the fate of being outgrown by an ever-shifting audience whose taste eventually checked out, we can also think about the end of this era in other terms.

One take would be the general decline of long-running ‘telenovelas’ and soapies.

Uniquely, local TV channels have largely eliminated actual TV dramas and other traditional primetime formats with the long-running ‘daily dramas’/telenovelas/soapies.

The appeal is obvious. The formula has worked for the better part of the last decade. Daily social media trends are one way to gauge this, as local audiences have become quite immersed in the genre. Ratings have been another.

There’s also the bottom line; why go through the headache of commissioning new shows with different budgets and logistical realities, when you can just keep the one working and proven formula with a more or less stable forecast? The risk, for some, could prove to be scarier in an increasingly competitive landscape. Keep it rolling.

The end of Isibaya, Rhythm City and Isidingo, however, suggests the rise of a new era. Where in the late 1990s and early 2000s could go out with a bang, at their peak, therefore preserving their iconic status, the telenovelas seem to go on until no one can stand them anymore.

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