10 Stories You Should Know: 05/01/2023

Here are the global TV stories that should be on your radar

Here are the global TV and streaming stories that should be on your radar for Monday, May 1st, 2023:

Young Egyptians Create Viral Campaign Against Netflix’s ‘Queen Cleopatra’ (Egyptian Streets)
Following the release of the controversial Netflix documentary series, Queen Cleopatra, Egyptian experts and youth were outraged, claiming that the show “falsifies Egyptian history” and “promotes Afrocentrism”. In the documentary, Cleopatra, one of Egypt’s most famous historical figures, is portrayed by Adele James, who is biracial. In the trailer, one of the talking heads says, “I remember my grandmother saying to me, ‘I don’t care what they tell you in school, Cleopatra was black’.”

Jock Zonfrillo, Chef and ‘MasterChef Australia’ Judge, Dies at 46 (The Hollywood Reporter)
Jock Zonfrillo, a celebrated chef and a judge on MasterChef Australia, has died. He was 46. “With completely shattered hearts and without knowing how we can possibly move through life without him, we are devastated to share that Jock passed away yesterday,” said a statement from the Zonfrillo family.

'Decision to Leave,' Park Eun-bin take top honors at Baeksang Arts Awards (Korea Joongang Daily)
This year’s highest honors at the Baeksang Arts Awards went to director Park Chan-wook’s “Decision to Leave” and actor Park Eun-bin for “Extraordinary Attorney Woo.” Park, who played protagonist Woo Young-woo, an attorney with autism spectrum disorder in “Extraordinary Attorney Woo,” said during her acceptance speech that she “wants to cherish the steps of Young-woo, who took things step-by-step to acknowledge, accept and embrace her life.”

Japanese Animated Film ‘Suzume’ Released In Saudi Arabia (Arab News)
As anime culture booms in Saudi Arabia, the movie’s release comes at a perfect time. One Saudi fan, Ghana Ibrahim said she had watched all of Shinkai’s films and as excited for the release of a new project by the director.

HBO, Warner Bros Content Deals - Analysing The Road Ahead For JioCinema Beyond IPL (AdGully)
JioCinema has already struck new multi-year content deals with HBO and Warner Bros Discovery. This move is set to bring popular and premium international content such as the Harry Potter series, Game of Thrones and Lord of the Rings onto the platform, making it a competitor against the likes of Netflix and Amazon in the fiercely competitive Indian OTT market. The partnership will also see HBO Original, Max Original and Warner Bros. Television series premiere on JioCinema on the same day as the US. With this deep exclusive arrangement, JioCinema is set to become the house of Warner, HBO in India, and could potentially dominate the Indian OTT industry. This content partnership is expected to bring thousands of hours of streaming content onto JioCinema, which has already gained popularity for showing the IPL cricket tournament on its platform for free during the ongoing season.

Egypt Challenges Netflix, Announcing Local Cleopatra Documentary (Egyptian Streets)
Egypt has announced its own high-budget documentary about Queen Cleopatra VII, challenging Netflix’s controversial documentary about the same subject. The documentary will be produced by newly-launched channel Al-Watha’eqeya (The Documentary)

New 'MasterChef Australia' Season To Feature Jamie Oliver As 1st Special Guest judge (Telly Chakkar)
The new season is titled 'MasterChef Australia: Secrets & Surprises', and will add drama to the culinary art with unexpected plot twists. It will see a fresh group of passionate cooks putting their culinary expertise to the test, under the watchful gaze of judges Jock Zonfrillo, Andy Allen, and Melissa Leong.

New African Series Defies Time And Love (News 24)
Fans can look forward to seeing their favourite Xhosa actors, such as Ngcukana, Zenande Mfenyana, Khayakazi Kula, as well as Lunathi Mampofu, whom we last saw on The Queen before it was canned.

Popular Sky Crime Thriller Axed After Just One Series – Leaving Fans Gutted (The Sun)
The crime thriller saw the clan spot an opportunity to reclaim their former glory on the Costa del Sol.

Producers were preparing to shoot the second instalment. However, Sky bosses are said to have notified them last week that it wouldn't be coming back.

Vietnamese singer Chi Pu competes in top Chinese TV show (VNExpress International)
Vietnamese singer Chi Pu is one of 33 contestants competing in the fourth season of Chinese reality show “Sisters Who Make Waves.”