MTV SHUGA DOWN SOUTH: New Name, New Crew.

Say hello to the newest members of our crew…

Following last year’s announcement, we are proud to present even more talent for our upcoming season in South Africa, which will be known as MTV Shuga: Down South.

Kwesta, Seyi Shay, Given Stuurman, Ayanda Makayi, Stephanie Sandows, Winnie Ntshaba and Samkelisiwe Makhoba are the latest names to dive into our Mzansi edition.

Hip hop star Kwesta and Afro-pop diva Seyi Shay will be featuring as themselves in the new series, which hits your screens on 8th March.
 Let’s take a closer look at some of the dope new talent we have joining the team:

• Given Stuurman (Invictus, Konig Otto, Straight outta Benoni) – playing our very own “Reggie”; a cool, smooth, talented soccer star who’s getting to grips with his sexual identity, and trying to map out his own way in life.
• Stephanie Sandows (Scandal, Bonisanani) – she’ll be nailing the role of “Tsholo”, a headstrong teenager who’s looking to make some serious movements.
• Ayanda Makayi (Against the Wild 2: Survive the Serengeti, Skorokor, Jana und der Buschpilot) – blessing us with role of “Sol”, who spends his time driving a kitted-out taxi, whilst also being a possessive boyfriend to Tsholo.
• Winnie Ntshaba (Generations) – bringing us the hyper-religious mother to 15-year old school girl, “Khensani”.

Also joining our star-studded crew are Lerato Walaza, who plays teen mum, party lover and Zenzele queen “Zamo”, and Phila Mazibuko who’s kicking back as resident DJ and music genius “DJ Coalstove”.

Hold up Shugafam, there’s more…
Remember the open and public auditions we held last year? In our search for Mzansi’s freshest new talent, we came across some serious fire. Although we were only looking for a couple of spots to fill, the sheer talent on display meant that we had to make an exception when picking our winners. We managed to go through the 1,400 dope auditions and come out the other end with six new members of MTV Shuga: Down South.

In particular, Samkelisiwe Makhoba, who came through the doors of Bassline in Joburg, is playing the massive role of “Khensani”, who’s finding her teenage years especially tricky.  Other cast members hand-picked from the public auditions include Cebo Zikhali (“Kitso”), Sphelele Mzimela (“Sis No’xolo”), Herbert Sibanda (“Fentse”), Eve Rasimeni (a clerical nurse), and Thabiso Seboka (a soccer player).

The new cast members join our previously announced crew: Vanessa Mdee (“Storm”), Clint Brink (“Rakeem”), Thuso Mbedu (“Ipeleng”), Mohau Mokoatle Cele (“Bongi”),  Jezriel Skei (“Quinton”), Emmanuel Ifeanyi Ikubese (“Femi)”, Nick Mutuma (“Leo”) & Adesua Etomi (“Sheila”).

Setting sail in the cool clubs, chilled spots and local schools of Braamfontein and the made-up township of ‘Zenzele’, MTV Shuga: Down South will be hitting your screens across Africa on MTV Base (DStv Channel 322), BET (DStv channel 129), BET International.  The series will also air on other broadcasters and third party broadcasters around the world, including SABC in South Africa from 8^th March 2017. The MTV Shuga project doesn’t stop there. As part of the series, we will also be running a radio drama series, peer educator programme, comic book, mobile information service, social media and a range of digital platforms.

If you want to keep on top of all the latest news on MTV Shuga: Down South then hit us up on our website, Facebook, Twitter or Instagram using #MTVShugaDS

We’re just getting started fam…