Thursday, November 5, 2015

EbonyLife TV acquires the TV rights from CBS to remake the American drama series Dynasty and Melrose Place as African versions with black stars.

Following a black remake of Disney's Desperate Housewives for Nigeria, EbonyLife TV (DStv 165) now plans to tackle both the 80's series Dynasty and the 90's series Melrose Place after having acquired the format rights to these American dramas from CBS Studios International.

While the African remake of Desperate Housewives wasn't that popular and didn't get a big publicity push from EbonyLife TV, the entertainment and lifestyle channel is forging ahead with more black versions of former American TV shows which it wants to show in several African countries through its channel on DStv.

"We're highly pleased to have acquired the format rights for Melrose Place and Dynasty, two of the most iconic and unforgettable series from CBS Studios International," says Mo Abudu, the CEO and executive chairperson of EbonyLife TV.

"This is a first for CBS Studios International's scripted formats and we are thrilled to be working with EbonyLife TV to develop these two iconic series for the African market," says Roxanna Pompa, the vice-president for international sales and production at CBS Studios International.