Award-winning local drama Spinners will make its debut on Mzansi Magic and e.tv this spring, giving South Africans a chance to catch up before Season 2 in October.
Award-winning local drama Spinners will make its debut on Mzansi Magic and e.tv this spring. Picture: Supplied
Award-winning South African drama Spinners is set to reach a wider local audience, with Season 1 debuting on Mzansi Magic and e.tv in the coming weeks, ahead of the show’s already-confirmed Season 2 return in October.
The acclaimed series, a CANAL+ Original distributed internationally by StudioCanal, will air on Mzansi Magic (DStv Channel 161) from 30 August at 9 pm, before making its free-to-air debut on e.tv (DStv Channel 194 and Openview Channel 104) from 4 September at 9:30 pm.
The move brings Spinners to millions more South African viewers who may have missed the show’s original run, with Season 2 confirmed to premiere on Mzansi Magic on 25 October.
What Spinners is about
Directed by Jaco Bouwer and created by Joachim Landau and Benjamin Hoffman, Spinners follows Ethan (Cantona James), a 17-year-old from the Cape Flats who is pulled into gang life while trying to support his younger brother. When he discovers South Africa’s high-octane motorsport subculture, spinning, he glimpses a possible way out and the chance of a different future.
Beyond its crime-drama surface, the eight-part series explores themes of family, survival, ambition and the choices that shape a person’s life, set against the backdrop of the Cape Flats.
The show is produced by Federation MEAC (formerly Empreinte Digitale) and Native At Large, in a coproduction between MultiChoice, a CANAL+ company, and CANAL+.
Local and international acclaim
Since its release, Spinners has picked up a string of accolades both at home and abroad. It became the first African series selected to compete at the 2023 Canneseries festival, took home three awards at Dakar Series, including Best TV Series, and beat Emmy-winning HBO drama Succession at the Shanghai TV Festival.
Locally, the series received a standing ovation at its sold-out Silwerskerm premiere and has collected multiple SAFTA Awards.
Why now?
The decision to bring Spinners to both DStv’s Mzansi Magic and free-to-air e.tv reflects a broader push to get South African stories in front of as many viewers as possible.
“Spinners struck a chord with audiences from the moment it launched. Bringing Season 1 to even more screens gives more South Africans the chance to discover this incredible story and connect with its unforgettable characters. As we gear up for Season 2, we want the whole country to be part of the journey,” said Nomsa Philiso, Executive Vice President: Content at CANAL+ Africa in a statement.
Marlon Davids, Chief Content Officer at e.tv, echoed the sentiment, noting the value of collaboration between broadcasters.
“Partnerships of this calibre between leading broadcasters are instrumental in elevating South African storytelling. At e.tv, we’ve seen how audiences continue to embrace the wide variety of content we bring to screen.”
Spinners Season 1 stars Cantona James, Chelsea Thomas, Brendon Daniels, Dillon Windvogel, Sephren Saayman, Braeden Buyz, Elton Landrew, Clayton Everston, Danny Ross, David Isaac and Katlego Lebohang Mhlongo. The series was written by Matthew Jankes, Sean Steinberg, Gillian Breslin, Daniel Zimbler, Byron Abrahams and Zoe Laband.
Season 2 premieres on Mzansi Magic on 25 October.
