M-Net brings back Big Brother Mzansi for a fifth season

With the success of Big Brother Naija, MultiChoice and M-Net are reviving Big Brother Mzansi after seven years for another South African season.

“The MultiChoice Group and Banijay are pleased to announce that the much-loved Big Brother Mzansi will be making its highly anticipated return to your screens soon, and it promises to be as exciting, entertaining and action-packed as ever,” MultiChoice and M-Net’s local entertainment division says in a statement.

It’s not yet clear whether Big Brother Mzansi that will run as a 24/7 stream, will be just a dedicated DStv TV channel with highlight programmes running on M-Net’s Mzansi Magic (DStv 161) channel, or whether it will be a property running exclusively on MultiChoice’s video streaming service Showmax.

M-Net and Endemol did the first season of Big Brother South Africa exactly 20 years ago in 2001 with Mark Pilgrim as the host.

Following two seasons of Big Brother SA and a Celebrity Big Brother season for South Africa, the reality show switched and rebranded to Big Brother Mzansi with a Big Brother Mzansi: Secrets season in 2014 and a Big Brother Mzansi: Double Trouble season in 2015.

MultiChoice and M-Net’s Africa Magic division then did nine seasons of Big Brother Africa as a pan-African version with contestants from various African countries between 2003 and 2014.

There have so far been six seasons of Big Brother Naija 2006 and the just-concluded 6th season, with a 7th season that will definitely follow for DStv subscribers in 2022.