Johannesburg, 22 March 2018: MTV Shuga Season 6 “MTV Shuga Naija” was screened on Tuesday 20 March at Multichoice’s DStv Cinema in Randburg, featuring a powerful story and a stellar cast from both Nigeria and MTV Shuga Down South. MTV Shuga Naija is on MTV Base (DStv channel 322) on Wednesdays at 21h30 and promises engaging, captivating, suspenseful and twitter-ready moments that homegrown MTV Shuga is renowned for.
Globally regarded as Africa’s most viewed youth-focused series, MTV Shuga has since inception in 2009 grown local cultural and social relevance on a continent which is rich in social diversity and culture and where countries are wanting content in local languages that resonates with them culturally.
Broadcast in over 61 countries, the series format which combines music and prevalent pro-social issues which are relevant across the continent, MTV Shuga Season 6 features a plot that both in storyline and visually, portrays the vibrant streets, eclectic clubs along with the bustle of Lagos metropolis along with the contrasting Northern Kano and Kaduna regions.
In keeping with growing and investing in the production and film industry in Africa, the full cast of local talent includes MTV Shuga veterans who make an appearance to consolidate their roles from Season 4. Timini Egbuson, Jemima Osunde, Sharon Ezeamaka and Olumide Oworu all make a warm return to our screens. MTV Shuga Naija is produced by award-winning writer/filmmaker and MTV Shuga Season 4 producer Chris Ihidero working together with Emma Uduma and award-winning Nigerian directors, Tolulope Ajayi, Ishaya Bako and Tope Oshin.
“Together with the MTV Staying Alive Foundation, we are committed to empowering young people and industry talent in Africa. Through the Foundation’s important work with MTV Shuga, we address key social issues affecting young people through realistic storylines and characters that resonate with them. The series seeks to impart knowledge and empower the youth to take positive action towards their health and lives,” said Alex Okosi, Executive Vice President and Managing Director for Viacom International Media Networks Africa (VIMN Africa).
MTV Shuga is a great example of where the format and story line resonates globally. This series together with pulsating entertainment and pop culture is where MTV Shuga Naija weaves in stories that speak to young people across Africa and the many gatekeepers they have to engage with as they navigate choices about safe sex, family planning, the use of contraceptives, peer pressure, domestic and sexual violence.
Commenting on the return of MTV Shuga, Vice President for Youth and Music and BET at VIMN Africa, Monde Twala, said: “We are thrilled to be bringing another installment of MTV Shuga on the continent. We can’t wait to share the exciting new storylines and important messaging on family planning and sexual health that we’re touching on this season. We’ll explore more issues that affect young people and highlight the reality faced by many adolescents in their everyday lives, as well as the choices they can make to empower themselves.”
Commenting on being a part of MTV Shuga, Jemima Osunde said: “I’ve always wanted to be a part of MTV Shuga because the show discusses topics and things that I am faced with every day, through my peers and my work as a medical student at the University of Lagos. Being in this show means I get to address these issues on both television and in my work as a student.”
MTV Shuga is nominated twice for a SAFTA in the Best Youth Programme (TV/Non Fiction) category for MTV Shuga 5: Down South and MTV Shuga – In Real Life. The award ceremony takes place this weekend in Sun City.
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About MTV Shuga
Pioneered in Nairobi, Kenya in 2009, MTV Shuga is a long-running drama series and multimedia campaign that follows the lives of young people on the African continent. Aired on Viacom international channels around the world, the content is also offered rights-free to 3rd party broadcasters and content platforms, and used as a teaching aid by educators, healthcare workers and grassroots HIV/AIDS organisations around the world.
Over five seasons, the drama has crossed the continent from Kenya to Nigeria and onto South Africa and touched on numerous plotlines relating to HIV and safe sex including HIV testing, stigma, living with HIV, mother to child transmission, transactional sex, gender-based violence, and condom use. MTV Shuga is multi-award winning, most recently winning the Third Sector Award for Big Impact and the World Media Festival, Gold Award for Edutainment & Intermedia-Globe Grand Award (2016). It is broadcast globally on 180 platforms.
To view full episodes of MTV Shuga, seasons 1-5, please visit www.mtvshuga.com
About Viacom International Media Networks (VIMN Africa):
Multimedia entertainment powerhouse VIMN Africa offers the most comprehensive international broadcast portfolio on the African continent, reaching more than 100 million viewers across 48 territories in Africa. VIMN Africa currently comprises 10 separate TV channels and 5 consumer websites, as well as multiple mobile and social media sites. The company’s African business interests include content production and distribution; spot sales, 360-degree sponsorships, events, mobile, digital and consumer products.