SHAKA ILEMBE is an epic, big-budget series broadcast on the Mzansi Magic channel (Multichoice Group). Season 2 will be available to French-speaking African audiences on CANAL+ MAGIC from January 22, 2025.
SHAKA ILEMBE is produced by Bomb! Productions, a South African company headed by Angus Gibson, Desirée Markgraaff, and Teboho Mahlatsi, in partnership with the MultiChoice Group.
The project required six years of research, involving historians, linguists, and cultural experts, in order to accurately reflect the realities of Shaka's era.
Between the first two seasons, production generated more than 16,000 jobs in South Africa (casting, technicians, set designers, costume designers, craftsmen, etc.), illustrating the industrial scale of the series.
In total, SHAKA ILEMBE has 24 episodes of 52 minutes each over two seasons (12 episodes per season).
History
The series traces Shaka's life from childhood to his rise to power, focusing on his mother, Queen Nandi, his father Senzangakhona, and conflicts with neighboring kingdoms such as the Ndwandwe.
Season 1 follows Shaka's birth, his rejection, then his training as a warrior and strategist, until he is ready to claim his place at the top of the Zulu kingdom.
Season 2 begins when Shaka and Nandi arrive in KwaNobamba, the starting point of his reign as the new king of the Zulus, marking the transition from a coming-of-age story to a tale of conquest.
The cast:
The series features a cast of South African actors chosen to portray the great historical figures of the Zulu kingdom.
Nomzamo Mbatha plays the central role of Nandi, Shaka's mother, while also serving as executive producer on the series, making her a key figure in the project both on screen and behind the scenes.
Lemogang Tsipa plays the adult Shaka in recent seasons, while Ntando Zondi plays the young Shaka in segments devoted to his childhood.
SHAKA ILEMBE became the most nominated and awarded series in the history of the SAFTA (South African Film and Television Awards), with 17 nominations and 12 awards at the 2024 edition, including Best Drama TV Series.
The success of season 1 (record ratings, online buzz) led to the franchise being extended with a season 2, followed by the start of production on season 3, announced as the final season, scheduled to air on Mzansi Magic in 2026.
SHAKA ILEMBE is a high-end historical series, produced by an African team, which tells the story of one of the continent's most iconic kings with a visual and narrative ambition rarely achieved on television. It is both a major asset for CANAL+ in Africa and a first demonstration of the benefits that synergies between Multichoice and CANAL+ bring and will continue to bring to African audiences.