1Magic's Back to the Future telenovela 1802: Love Defies Time blasted through space last week as a headline victim of the evolving fiasco surrounding 1Magic.
As you may know, some DStv subscribers have been sent an inbox message stating that 1Magic and the Me channel 115 are being terminated on 2 February 2024.
But that's the only official word on it. DStv's gone hush-hush and haven't confirmed nor denied that it's happening, while 1Magic goes into freefall, with 1802 the hardest hit.
It's been airing from Mondays to Wednesdays since its start in May last year but suddenly, last week, episodes started airing from Thursdays to
Saturdays too. No weekday show has ever aired on Saturdays - the channels that do this are Star Life, Zee and Telemundo, but never local ones.
And now this week it's airing in double bills, also Mondays to Saturdays, which reveals that the channel's burning off episodes to finish it by the beginning of February.
By our calculations and based on the number of episodes, it should end on 7 February, five days after the inbox message says so it could extend to Sundays too to cram it in by 2 February.
Which is the date that The River reaches its series finale on 1Magic. We suspected that the end of The River might mark the demise of 1Magic when
The River's cancellation was announced last year because the channel's been a problem since the start.
Let's not forget how it's impacted on
Mzansi Magic viewers who were sold down The River back in 2019 when the series started a sloppy seconds re-run on Mzansi Magic during primetime.
Also, DStv's been unsupportive of 1Magic for a long time now, by promoting new shows on Mzansi Magic instead of 1Magic. Various series start on 1Magic first, followed by Mzansi Magic, but DStv doesn't tell people when this happens anymore.
There's been an influx of repeats from other channels too, which goes against what the channel was supposed to be: an exclusive, first run experience.
All these factors are proof that it's over for 1Magic and we suspect that DStv hasn't confirmed or denied this yet because there must be a bigger picture at play. More changes, something else - possibly a change to the subscription packages and what's available where, impacting on the Me channel too.
We'll keep you posted as soon as there's clarity on the chaos.
In the meantime, here's another Twlight Zone development to ponder: Mzansi Magic premieres a new soccer-themed telenovela called Champions on 5 February at 19h00 - the same time as The River 5.
Will it move to late night or will it be relegated to a new repeats channel of some kind to return Mzansi Magic to its former first run glory?
Maybe Me will morph into a Family bouquet channel of repeats of local and international series from Compact and Premium. If so, we hope 1802 will get another run where it can air properly, with respect for the production and its fans. Let's see.