The highly anticipated 5^th season of Lockdown will come with a lot of tears, spine chilling drama and gripping moments.

And if the new trailer is anything to go by, Sophie Lichaba’s debut on the show will be finding her revealing layers to her craft we haven’t seen before!

Sophie Lichaba will debut as ‘Palesa’ in the upcoming 5th season of prison drama, ‘Lockdown’. Photo Credit: Supplied

The action-packed two-minute trailer gives fans their first look at this season’s new star, Sophie Lichaba, aka Sophie Ndaba, who became a household name in South Africa during her two-decade-long starring role as the feisty receptionist Queen Moroka in the SABC1 soapie Generations.

Arch-rivals Mazet (Dawn Thandeka King in a SAFTA-winning role) and Tyson (Lorcia Cooper in a SAFTA-winning role) are running the prison yard together. Photo Credit: Supplied

In Lockdown, Lichaba portrays the character of a certain Palesa, the head nurse at Kgotsong Asylum, a key location this season, where Monde’s sister, Katlego (Natasha Thahane), has been transferred.

“Palesa’s a broken woman who’s been through it all,” says Sophie in a press statement. “She’s so broken she will do anything to feel better, even if it’s not right.”

The drama series, which boasts the honours of being the most awarded drama series at the 2019 SAFTA awards, on Wednesday debuted the upcoming season trailer.

As QuenchSA reported last year, the prison drama, which previously aired its premiere episodes on Mzansi Magic, will be streaming on Showmax exclusively from 30 January 2020. The streaming platform will be releasing two episodes per week every Thursday.

Notorious for its cliffhangers, plot twists and emotional rollercoasters, Lockdown takes viewers into the daily battle for survival in the cells and offices of Thabazimbi Women’s Correctional Facility.

WHAT TO EXPECT ON LOCKDOWN SEASON 5

As Season 5 picks up, Masebata’s cult is no longer in power. Arch-rivals Mazet (Dawn Thandeka King in a SAFTA-winning role) and Tyson (Lorcia Cooper in a SAFTA-winning role) are running the prison yard together, for now.

Governor Deborah Banda (Pamela Nomvete in a SAFTA-nominated role) is under pressure from the Department of Correctional Services, after one death too many at the prison. And Monde (Zola Nombona in a SAFTA-nominated role) is trying to make things right with Vicky (Lauren Jenae).

Sophie joins a stellar cast, which also includes SAFTA winners Nomsa Buthelezi and Linda Sebezo as fan favourites Slenda and Maki, and the multi-award-winning Patricia Boyer as Sue.

“It’s an all-female power cast,” says Lauren. “You see these magnificent women who are so beautiful in real life, and then they come into prison in Lockdown, and they are grungy and nasty. It’s so nice to be part of a cast like this, where beauty is nothing – it’s all about how dirty you can get and how true to your character.”

“The other show I do, I’m glam and beautiful, with the hair, the heels and all of that,” says Nomsa. “Then on Lockdown, I come with short hair and nothing and I look like a boy. But when you’re a storyteller, you forget about yourself.”

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Both Zola and Lorcia say Lockdown helped them escape being typecast. “At the beginning of my career, I was starting to be typecast as the bimbo with the hair and boobs and short skirts,” Zola remembers. “I was tired of that, so when this came along, I was like, ‘Thank you, Lord; you’ve answered my prayers; I’ve always wanted to play a character as bare as I can be, without my beauty being enhanced.”

Similarly, Lorcia says, “Before getting Tyson, I was always typecast. I think people always saw the pretty coloured girl with the good body and straight hair… to a point where I used to go to auditions and people would say, ‘You don’t look coloured enough.’”

Lockdown creator Mandla N, who still directs every episode, started his career as an actor on shows like City Ses’la and Ses’Top La before moving into directing. That experience helped turn him into “a cast whisperer,” to quote Zola.

“Authenticity is everything,” he says. “Prison is a gritty, dirty, grungy world and we can‘t glamourise that. So when you see the ladies in prison in Lockdown, you think: ‘This person could give me a run for my money.’”

That authenticity is helped by his decision to film the series at Constitution Hill, the historic prison complex where the likes of Nelson Mandela, Mahatma Gandhi and Albertina Sisulu served time.

As Lauren says, “As soon as you get here, you feel the history and the stories that have come out of this prison. It really changes your mindset as soon as you walk in here.”

Mandla’s also surrounded his cast with background artists who are largely former inmates. As Zola says, “We ask them, ‘Does this really happen?’ It’s a big bonus as an actor being able to have that direct reference next to you.“

This season, Dawn says fans can look forward to more action than ever. “I’m excited about the audience seeing the stunts that we are going to be doing this season,” she says. “There’s a heist, we blow up stuff, I was in a van that was burning, and there’s a lot of shooting. I shoot a real gun this season. It’s been exciting; I’ve never done these kinds of stunts before.”

Showmax will release two episodes every Thursday, from 30 January 2020. If you’re not already addicted to South Africa’s favourite prison drama, you can catch up on the first four episodes of Lockdown S1 on YouTube from Thursday, 16 January 2020, and the previous four seasons on Showmax.

Discover New TV News and Exclusive Interviews and Album Reviews on QuenchSA.com!

Because we see them splashed everywhere, all the time, it’s easy to feel weirdly familiar and acquainted with celebrities.

Having become a household name thanks to his portrayal of the fictional Ayanda Mdletshe on popular SABC 1 soapie Uzalo, Kay Sibiya has become one such famous figure. As the 29 year old South African actor readies his anticipated appearance on Tropika Island of Treasure, premiering on SABC 3 on March 20th, we dish out 10 fun facts you didn’t know about Kay Sibiya.

1)      Kay’s ideal weekend would be at home with his phone on flight mode so that he can’t receive any calls or texts, and watching series. “I’m a big fan of vegetating on my couch and watching series. I love it so much,” he says. “Whenever I get a chance to relax and binge, I’m at my happiest.”

2)      Kay’s favourite food is African cuisine. “African food is so underrated,” Kay says. “I have travelled extensively in Africa and the food in Kenya, Ghana, Nigeria and Ethiopia is so great. I’m so much a fan of African food that I tried all these cuisines before I even visited the country and I really think we need to be shouting about this more.”

3)      He is a big fan of the ocean. “I once shot a show and I stayed in Mauritius for four months where I went to the beach every single day. In fact, it’s one of the reasons I am so excited about taking part in the upcoming season of Tropika Island Of Treasure.”

4)      Speaking of Tropika Island Of Treasure, Kay’s cool wit and competitive nature will work in his favour when he captains Team Peach when the series, which takes place on the Caribbean island of Curaçao, premieres on 7 March 2020 on SABC 3.

5)      While Kay is often the life of the party, he considers himself a bit of a loner to some extent. “I often withdraw to my own little corner,” Kay admits. “Sometimes the attention gets a little bit too much for me so I make sure I take a step back and remind myself what is really important in life and not let the attention and the fame get inside my head.”

6)      Tom Hardy is his favourite actor. “He’s the best actor who has ever lived. He’s highly underrated but he’s amazing,” Kay says. “The way he embodies characters is incredible. He is never the same as any character before and that’s always so great to watch. He’s the master of accents and dialects and he’s a shapeshifter as well. He never looks the same for any character and I love how dedicated he is to his work. He’s phenomenal.”

7)      Kay loves being naked. “It’s liberating,” he says. “When I am at home in my personal space, you can often find me without any clothes on and I really enjoy the feeling.”

8)      Content is very important to Kay who admits that he is a huge YouTube junkie. “I live off YouTube,” he says. “My latest obsession is battle rap. I love how creative people can be with wordplay and its essence really intrigues me. I also watch spoken word poetry, tutorials of just about everything, music videos, vlogs and almost everything I can get my hands on.”

9)      Another reason Kay can’t wait to take part in Tropika Island Of Treasure is because he is obsessed with reality TV. “I love watching singing and talent competitions especially because I love seeing dreams come true and how people put themselves out there doing the thing they love the most,” Kay says. “It’s such a big stage and people don’t make excuses. They don’t choke or stumble; and they take advantage of the platform that has been given to them because they have been working their whole lives for that one moment.”

10)   Kay says that the most terrifying moment of his life was when he became a father to his four-month-old son. “Being a father and trying to be the man that you want your son to be one day is terrifying,” Kay admits. “The gap from where you are to where you want to be and the person you want your child to emulate is so vast and I fear I may never be the person I need to be in order for my son to look up to me. It’s not something you recover from but something you work on every day.”

Discover New TV News and Exclusive Interviews and Album Reviews on QuenchSA.com!

In new South African TV News, e.tv has pulled the plug on its daily local drama series, Isipho.

The free to air channel has confirmed that the series, which hit screens Mondays to Thursday at 18:30, aired its final episode on the 19th of December 2019.

The decision to cancel the show was reached by both the channel and the production companies Herbivision Multimedia and The Ntintili Factory, QuenchSA has learned.

“The mutual decision to conclude production on the drama series is a strategic business one and was reached amicably by all parties involved”, e.tv expressed in a press statement.

Marlon Davids, Managing Director at e.tv, explained: “It is with sincere regret that we end a locally produced drama series; however, following lengthy discussions with our partners, the decision was made to end the series. e.tv continues to look forward to fulfilling its mandate of producing exceptional and relevant local content.”

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Although the cancellation couldn’t have come as the most exciting of news, Isipho‘s Executive Producers Herbert Hadebe and Busisiwe Ntintili are thankful that the series had it’s day on primetime television

“This has been an amazing and breath-taking journey for us as independent local producers. The opportunity to tell stories that uplift South African audiences and create employment for South African families is our mission”, they said in a joint statement.

“This fantastic experience has given us, as young companies, great courage to continue with the vision of upskilling our people and contributing to the growth of our film and television industry”, they added, thanking e.tv and eyeing future opportunities.

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The series, which premiered on e.tv on July 1st, 2019, followed the story Moses Shezi, a former academic whose peaceful life takes an unexpected turn when he experiences a telling vision that reveals his daughter’s death.

Viewers can watch re-runs of Isipho on free-to-air satellite platform Openview’s eExtra channel 105, every Monday – Thursday at 10:25 AM until Sunday, 19 January 2020.

Discover New TV News and Exclusive Interviews and Album Reviews on QuenchSA.com!