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During SABC 1’s heyday as one of television’s most dominant channels, the public broadcaster arguably dominated the 19:30 to 22:00 time slot. From the Nguni news to Generations, which followed. Then there’d be the 22:30 show, which would be popular because of its time slot.
SABC 1 was prominent at the time not because of its clout, but because it provided original and compelling programming during that time slot. The 1999 premiere teen-drama series Yizo Yizo, in particular, had a similar appeal.
The premise of the show was a fictional retelling of the lives and times of teenagers who attended the Sowetan high school Supetsela High and the struggles they faced. As such, the series was touted as an educational series tackling issues like drug abuse, teenage pregnancies, student-teacher relationships and gangsterism.
Seasons one and two of the series were back-to-back, with the third season coming sometime after the second season in 2004. Despite the popularity of the series, it was cancelled after the third season. Allegedly, due to it losing its educational purpose. However, it can be argued that the introduction of homosexuality as a storyline and the backlash at the time could have also contributed to its cancellation.
But now it seems that the series is going to get new life following Netflix’s latest announcement.
Yizo Yizo is coming to Netflix
Following SABC’s partnership with the hybrid on-demand video subscription platform Viu, one of the retro series which was made available via the platform was Yizo Yizo. However, Viu as a video-on demand subscription platform is not as popular as the likes of Netflix, HBO Max, and Apple+ locally.
As such, the removal of Yizo Yizo from the platform did not make headlines. However, if you search for it now, you would not find it and now the reason has been revealed.
This is as Netflix took to their social media to confirm that on Friday, 21 April 2023, Yizo Yizo season one will premiere via its platform. Thereafter, on Friday, 28 April 2023, season two will be made available to view via Netflix. No word on season three currently.
South African classics is one thing I don't joke about 😤 Both seasons of #YizoYizo are coming to Netflix in April! pic.twitter.com/15qmZa6xJW
— NetflixSA (@NetflixSA) April 1, 2023
While there might have been those that felt aggrieved by the fact. For the most part, it seems that South Africans are excited about the prospect of finally being able to watch Yizo Yizo again without the hassle of finding the series via obscure sites.
https://twitter.com/mmami_mel/status/1642125154678390784?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1642125154678390784%7Ctwgr%5E5fd552e8c1853f4f648cc997546b1ac4b6a787a6%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fzalebs.com%2Ftop-of-the%2Fyizo-yizo-is-coming-to-netflix
Yizo Yizo: The Return Baba 🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/rqxibmEULD
— Thulani Ndaba (@tndaba) April 1, 2023
However, while waiting for Yizo Yizo to arrive on Netflix. Another local and recently released series that has earned attention is Unseen. As reported:
Gail Mabalane gets her flowers with Unseen
Netflix confirmed the availability of its latest South African original series Unseen on Thursday, 29 March 2023. The premise of the series is shared as:
“In this crime thriller, a house cleaner commits a string of murders while searching for her missing husband.”