Fabulous South African soprano – Masabane Cecilia Rangwanasha – has won the Song Prize at the prestigious BBC Cardiff Singer of the World 2021. The 27-year-old rose to victory – against finalists from Madagascar, Wales, South Korea and Austria – with a mix of popular Lieder, South African song (in Xhosa!) and spirituals. “Masabane Cecilia […]

My Octopus Teacher, the Oscar-winning South African documentary about a Western Cape man’s special friendship with a female octopus, has spawned numerous videos and spoofs. Here’s the latest video that’s been going viral on social media – showing viewers on the UK’s Gogglebox watching the Netflix show. Their comments are classic. When well-known SA writer Max […]

South African immigrant and Hollywood actor-producer Stelio Savante has two new films, UNDER THE STADIUM LIGHTS and DESTINATION MARFA, making news right now. The first was released in the US last week, and the second is due for release in August. Savante was recruited to the United States from South Africa three decades ago on […]

On Johannesburg’s West Rand, over 1700 hectares of waste piles and open pits have been left behind after the 2018 liquidation of the Australian company Mintails Mining South Africa. Click here if you’re looking for the latest update on what’s coming up on Carte Blanche this Sunday. With an ongoing legal battle relating to a […]

The Kiffness continues to conquer the world. The South African musician who has teamed up with everyone from his dad to a hadeda… and whose recent Alugalug Cat video spawned several international covers (and was shared by Hollywood celeb Ryan Reynolds), has now teamed up with London East End’s famous ‘One Pound Fish Man’ (£1 […]

Simon’s Town’s penguins are poised to become global superstars, as they feature in a new Netflix original documentary series that is sure to have the world fall in love with the endangered African Penguins. Watch the trailer below. It’s very cool! This is what Netflix has to say about the TV series, which starts in […]

Make the circle bigger cause it’s time to JIVA! Today, Netflix dropped the official trailer for the streaming platform’s latest local original series, JIVA!, about a vibrant dancer from Durban, Ntombi (played by Noxolo Dlamini) who does everything in her power to live out her passion. Lead actress Noxolo is naturally very excited for JIVA”s […]

South African student voices have largely remained unheard in formal discussions around COVID-19. A pandemic that should not be put to waste, COVID-19, on some podiums, is seen as laying the groundwork for germination of seeds of change… write Peet van Aardt, University of the Free State and Brian Sibanda, University of the Free State. […]

Here are the highlights of the hot new series, movies, doccies – and of course, one special that’s big, big news – and streaming on Showmax in June. Don’t be left out in the cold – watch Friends: The Reunion and more of the most-talked-about shows streaming right now, from Kate Winslet’s bleak, brilliant Mare […]

This month, Netflix is super excited to bring you more local titles that will keep you company during the cold Winter days.  The well-loved franchise in South Africa, the Kandasamys is back  as best friends Shanti and Jennifer plan a couples’ getaway to rekindle their marriages. The highly anticipated African original, JIVA! is set to […]

It’s been three and a half years since the epic crash of retailing giant Steinhoff – the biggest corporate scandal in South Africa’s history… which wiped more than R200 billion off the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. The company has admitted unlawful conduct, yet there have been no charges and no prosecutions. Currently, Steinhoff faces about 90 […]

The Kiffness – Alugalug Cat has been a surprise hit worldwide! The song – in which South African musician David Scott harmonises with a wailing cat – has clocked up 1.3-million views on YouTube… and inspired several covers of the track by musicians abroad. Today, he’s uploaded a new video… showcasing some of their talents. […]

The Ndlovu Youth Choir is giving Africa and the world chills with its Xhosa cover version of Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper’s duet ‘Shallow’, from the movie “A Star is Born”. The band said this morning that this is a “special South African version”… with only the last line sung in English. It’s filmed in […]

Whatever one thinks of Helen Zille – and I think highly of her – no-one could suggest that she is behind the curve… writes MARTIN PLAUT. While politicians in Britain and the USA are only gradually coming to terms with the problem of “woke” politics, she has been highlighting the issue for years. Now these […]

“The idea of a woman marrying more than one man has been the subject of heated debates over the last few weeks (in South Africa),” says Carte Blanche presenter Claire Mawisa. There have also been memes and video jokes posted with many men finding the idea “preposterous” and women joking that who would want to […]

For all South Africans wondering where you can watch the Friends Reunion in SA, MultiChoice announced today that Friends: The Reunion will premiere on M-Net exclusive to DStv on Sunday, 30 May at 20:00 and will be available on streaming service Showmax from Monday, 31 May 2021. Friends stars Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew […]

MultiChoice’s production houses have won more than half the Golden Horns at this year’s South African Film and TV Awards (SAFTAs) Craft Awards. The awards ceremony, which was held last night (Friday 21 May), honoured the behind-the-scenes talent for their prowess in directing, scriptwriting, cinematography and editing categories to name a few. MultiChoice’s production partners […]

At least 400,000 South Africans have been arrested over the past year for breaking COVID-19 lockdown regulations like not wearing a mask… and many are now left with life-damaging criminal records. Last year, Carte Blanche reported on allegations of unwarranted brutality and violence when police arrested people for breaking these lockdown regulations. This week, the […]

The first official trailer for the much anticipated ‘Friends Reunion Special’ is out, and fans worldwide – including in South Africa – are loving it! Watch below… although be prepared for a few tears. As Rachel star, Jennifer Anniston, says: “Where’s the tissue box?” The trailer includes all six friends reuniting, reminiscing and revisiting the […]

Rugby, travel, cycling and a pair of mad-cap adventurers. What could possibly go wrong? A whole lot, although in the case of the intrepid James Owens from the UK and Ron Rutland from South Africa, their extraordinary journey to the 2019 Rugby World Cup held the ‘key’ to an amazing adventure that was remarkable for […]

SA Agriculture Minister Thoko Didiza has called an attack on farmers in South Africa an attack on the country’s food security. A Rural National Safety Plan has long been mooted, but, Carte Blanche asks this weekend, where are the results? With 15 recorded murders on KwaZulu-Natal farms in the last year, farmers are coming together […]

Cape Town, South Africa, doubles for a lawless 1870s San Francisco in the kick-ass martial arts action series Warrior, which now has two seasons available to binge on Showmax. Shot in Cape Town with Moonlighting 100% critics rating for S2, Rotten Tomatoes Nominated for Best Action Series at 2021 Critics Choice Super Awards “The most […]

Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, who was born and brought up in South Africa, showed his humorous – and human – side last night in the US, in a hotly anticipated appearance on Saturday Night Live (SNL). Many American viewers said they stayed up late just to watch the SpaceX and Tesla co-founder on the comedy […]

Carte Blanche first broadcast the Cooke Report exposé on canned lion hunting in 1997. Two decades later, the captive lion industry has expanded in scope and brutality – cubs are removed from their mothers, hand-reared, petted, then bred for the bullet or their bones. But these practices began to damage Brand SA… By 2019, the […]

Many South Africans have watched DStv telenovela moms for years, and cried with them and learnt from them. Dawn Thandeka King and Kgomotso Christopher are two of these telenovela moms, best known for their years of dedicated service to the television industry and for playing their roles so convincingly that they became surrogate moms to all who watched them. This Mother’s […]