Following on a groundbreaking and successful first season, the satirical online newscast ZA News is back at last – with new puppet characters, a brand new website, new skits and more irreverence than ever.
ZA News is a long-term collaboration between famous cartoonist Zapiro and film and TV producer Thierry Cassuto. The satirical newscast consists of life-size puppets of some of South Africa’s most famous and infamous figures: former and current South African presidents Nelson Mandela, Thabo Mbeki and Jacob Zuma; Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Western Cape Premier Helen Zille, to name a few.
ZA News attracted over 700 000 viewers over the course of its first season last year, shattering previous records to establish ZA News as SA’s favorite online video content. Although received well by the general public, the same cannot be said about the reaction by broadcasters. After SABC showed interest in the show in the beginning, the show never made it to television. But the team found a more global medium by which to air their show and with the help of kulula.com, the show began broadcasting daily online in October 2009.
“We are able to raise the bar this year, thanks to some really talented young people who have recently joined ZA crew,” says executive producer and director Thierry Cassuto, who created the show in collaboration with Zapiro. “We'll be showing new characters, new sets, new skits, a slick new website… and plenty more ‘teeth’. Overall, I think our fans will be really pleased and we'll have many surprises for them in the weeks to come.”
“I’m really glad we are finally able to launch season two. There is just so much material to draw from right now and our writers, our voice artists and our manipulators are all fired up,” adds Zapiro.
To mark the launch of the second season, ZA News will be presenting at the Design Indaba Conference where the audience can interact with the puppets and their creators. If you’re looking to get a bit closer, the team will also have a stand at the Design Indaba Expo – and who doesn’t want to get closer to Madiba? The Design Indaba Expo will be running from 26 to 28 February so be sure to make a turn at the stand and have a chat with Tutu or Zuma, because this is the one place where watching the news will leave you with a smile on your face.
ZA News Season 2 debuts on February 23 and will be streamed daily exclusively on www.zanews.co.za.
Following on a groundbreaking and successful first season, the satirical online newscast ZA News is back at last – with new puppet characters, a brand new website, new skits and more irreverence than ever.
ZA News is a long-term collaboration between famous cartoonist Zapiro and film and TV producer Thierry Cassuto. The satirical newscast consists of life-size puppets of some of South Africa’s most famous and infamous figures: former and current South African presidents Nelson Mandela, Thabo Mbeki and Jacob Zuma; Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Western Cape Premier Helen Zille, to name a few.
ZA News attracted over 700 000 viewers over the course of its first season last year, shattering previous records to establish ZA News as SA’s favorite online video content. Although received well by the general public, the same cannot be said about the reaction by broadcasters. After SABC showed interest in the show in the beginning, the show never made it to television. But the team found a more global medium by which to air their show and with the help of kulula.com, the show began broadcasting daily online in October 2009.
“We are able to raise the bar this year, thanks to some really talented young people who have recently joined ZA crew,” says executive producer and director Thierry Cassuto, who created the show in collaboration with Zapiro. “We'll be showing new characters, new sets, new skits, a slick new website… and plenty more ‘teeth’. Overall, I think our fans will be really pleased and we'll have many surprises for them in the weeks to come.”
“I’m really glad we are finally able to launch season two. There is just so much material to draw from right now and our writers, our voice artists and our manipulators are all fired up,” adds Zapiro.
To mark the launch of the second season, ZA News will be presenting at the Design Indaba Conference where the audience can interact with the puppets and their creators. If you’re looking to get a bit closer, the team will also have a stand at the Design Indaba Expo – and who doesn’t want to get closer to Madiba? The Design Indaba Expo will be running from 26 to 28 February so be sure to make a turn at the stand and have a chat with Tutu or Zuma, because this is the one place where watching the news will leave you with a smile on your face.
ZA News Season 2 debuts on February 23 and will be streamed daily exclusively on www.zanews.co.za.
