STUDIOCANAL has launched international sales of Shaka iLembe: Zulu King, the South African historical drama, taking the isiZulu-language series to buyers outside Africa for the first time.
The studio began sales on October 1 ahead of MIPCOM 2026, where it is presenting the franchise and a first look at its third season.
Produced by Bomb Productions for MultiChoice, a CANAL+ company, Shaka iLembe tells the story of the rise of King Shaka kaSenzangakhona. The series is performed in isiZulu and was developed with African filmmakers and historians.
The international launch comes as the third season prepares to premiere in Africa.
The first two seasons established the series as one of South Africa’s most successful television dramas. According to the supplied production information, it became the highest-rated drama in DStv’s history, was South Africa’s most-searched television series in 2023 and holds the record for the most South African Film and Television Awards won by a drama series in a single year, with 12 awards, including Best Drama Series.
Third season expands the story
The third season is set four years after the events of the second season.
The story follows Shaka as his kingdom faces growing external pressure, including British expansion and increasing European influence.
The new season also introduces the emerging Basotho Kingdom of Moshoeshoe, King Faku’s Mpondo Kingdom and the settlement of Port Natal.
Queen Nandi and Shaka’s aunt Mkabayi remain central to the story.
The cast includes Lerato Mvelase as Queen Mpikase, Aiden Scott as British trader Henry Francis Fynn, Conrad Kemp as Lt. Francis Farewell and Wonder Ndlovu as Prince Mpande.
Desiree Markgraaff and Nomzamo Mbatha serve as executive producers. Mbatha also plays Queen Nandi.
Markgraaff said the Bomb Productions team had spent more than 12 years developing the project, with the aim of combining large-scale television production with an African perspective on the historical figures and events depicted.
“Our ambition was to tell this story with the scale, drama and epic sweep of world-class mainstream storytelling, while portraying the Africa we know and love with the dignity, complexity and humanity it deserves,” Markgraaff said.
Mbatha said the series demonstrated what African productions could achieve when given the resources and opportunity to develop stories for international audiences.
“As an Executive Producer, I’m most proud of the series’ success at home and abroad, and of its real contribution to our creative economy,” she said.
International expansion
The series has already expanded beyond South Africa, with CANALAfrique+ MAGIC carrying 24 episodes from its first two seasons in francophone Africa.
The production information describes the project as MultiChoice’s largest single investment in a local production and says it generated more than 20,000 jobs across production.
STUDIOCANAL chief executive Anna Marsh said the international launch formed part of the studio’s wider effort to take local productions to audiences outside their home markets.
“STUDIOCANAL is incredibly proud to bring SHAKA ILEMBE: ZULU KING to MIPCOM,” Marsh said.
Nomsa Philiso, vice president of content at CANAL+ Africa, said the international launch reflected MultiChoice’s long-running investment in local productions.
“MultiChoice has spent decades investing in local stories because we believe cultural authenticity and global appeal are not opposing ideas; they are mutually reinforcing,” Philiso said.
STUDIOCANAL said sales of the third season will begin at the London Screenings in 2027.
The international push comes after the CANAL+ Group’s acquisition of MultiChoice Group and forms part of STUDIOCANAL’s expanding production activity in South Africa.
The studio is also producing Shadow Has Fallen, the next instalment of the Has Fallen franchise, with its third season being filmed in South Africa.
STUDIOCANAL is separately completing production on Bill Condon’s feature film The Road Home, starring Thabo Rametsi, Cynthia Erivo, Guy Pearce, Johnny Flynn and John Legend.
The studio said the productions form part of its longer-term investment in South Africa’s film and television industry, citing the country’s production infrastructure, technical expertise and local creative workforce.
