26 - New Year's Special

26 - New Year's Special

Author: Gino Shelile January 1, 2024 Duration: 7:25

Welcome to the first podcast of the year, on the first day of the year. 1 January 2024. Happy New Year to all of you, wherever you are.
Let’s take a look at 2023.

Episode 01 of African Couch Potato - the Mash-up entered the digital arena on the 18th of July, Nelson Mandela's birthday.
It is now listened to from Johannesburg to San Francisco, from Toronto to Tokyo, Across Africa, the United States, through Europe and into Asia - not bad for six months.

We are available on over 15 different streaming/podcast platforms and so far have featured 14 in-studio guests - not bad for six months. 

We already have a good list of recommendations from you, the listener, and we will get to them as soon as we can. Keep sending them in - it is good to keep Gino busy.

Our local recommends while you are still doing the holiday vibe include:

On Netflix,
  The Queenstown Kids
  Can You See Us
  Love, Sex and 30 Candles
  Miseducation, Netflix
  Runs In The Family
  Yoh! Christmas
  Magenta Coal
  Six In The City

On Prime,

  My Girlfriend’s Father
  Courting Anathi
  The Honeymoon

On Showmax
  Adulting 2 
  1802

We wish you all a very Happy New Year, and trust that one of your New Year's resolutions is to keep on binging.

Yes? No? Send us a text

Let us know what you think, what movie or series you would like to see featured, or just to tell us how brilliant it all is:
instagram.com/africancouchpotato
twitter.com/africancouchpot
gino.arlechino@gmail.com

WhatsApp Channel: Mzansi Film News, Views and Reviews 

YouTube; African Couch Potato - YouTube 

https://www.patreon.com/c/AfricanCouchPotato 

Gino Shelile’s profile • Letterboxd
Member of the Film Critics Association of South Africa (FCASA)

Produced by Ted Loukes and A10 Consulting
ted@aten.co.za

Music by The_Mountain from Pixabay

© SANTE MEDIA 2026


Gino Shelile’s African Couch Potato offers a distinctly South African lens on the world of screens, big and small. As an award-winning TV producer himself, Gino brings a seasoned insider’s view that goes beyond simple reviews. Each episode feels like a relaxed, insightful conversation, blending a deep-dive review of a current film or series with curated recommendations for what’s worth your time in the coming week. The podcast truly shines in its interviews, where Gino chats with a variety of industry professionals right from the studio, uncovering the stories behind the stories we watch. There’s also a fond look back at older movies that deserve a fresh viewing, all discussed with a local flavour you won’t find elsewhere. It’s a comprehensive, engaging listen for anyone who loves to think and talk about television and film, delivered with the warmth and knowledge of a friend who really knows his stuff. Tune into this podcast for a regular, thoughtful fix of screen culture that feels both personal and professional.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 144

African Couch Potato
Podcast Episodes
S2 52 Bella Alexandras on Hollywood [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 16:11
Bella Alexandras, a 15 -year-old South African actress, singer, and model, is rapidly carving out an undeniable presence across the global entertainment landscape. Gino managed to get a quick half hour out of her busy sc…
S2 51 News, Views and Reviews [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 11:00
Welcome to African Couch Potato, the #1 spot for the latest from the world of film and TV and African excellence. Kickin' off with acclaimed actor Idris Elba, who at a recent event in London noted the lack of cinemas acr…
S2 50 Roye Okupe on “Iyanu” [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 25:56
There's a new superhero coming to Showmax! Iyanu. Iyanu is a teenage orphan girl who discovers she has divine powers and a destiny far greater than she ever imagined, one that involves saving the ancient kingdom of Yorub…
S2 49 Mpho Nkoana on Developing Stories for the Screen [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 25:06
Here we are in June, so what better time of the year to talk about Christmas? But not just presents, tinsel and partying, this is about a Christmas slasher, coming from the pen of one Mpho Nkoana. Mpho is a passionate wr…
S2 48 News, Views and Reviews [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 10:46
A mixed bag, this episode, as we mourn the passing of a local star, take a look at what is happening with cinemas, drop a couple of reviews and celebrate the arrival of an award.ACP was saddened to hear of the passing of…
S2 47 Lethabo Kekana (The Catch, Showmax) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 28:47
Yes? No? Send us a textLet us know what you think, what movie or series you would like to see featured, or just to tell us how brilliant it all is:instagram.com/africancouchpotatotwitter.com/africancouchpotgino.arlechino…
S2 46 Brandon Auret on Funding The Local Film Industry [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 29:57
A lot of us came across Brandon Auret's LinkedIN video where he spoke about foreign films, the importance of co-productions and how Donald Trump is throwing his toys when it comes to the American film industry. Award-win…
S2 45  News, Views and Reviews [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 13:41
Donald Trump’s policy of slapping tariffs on anything that he thinks is threatening the American job market is possibly about to hit our industry as his latest rant threatens a 100% tariff on all foreign (to America) fil…
S2 44 The Roast of Helen Zille [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 11:15
It's always good to see that our politicians are up for a laugh and none more so than one-time DA leader Helen Zille. Showmax and Laugh Africa lined up a host of celebrities for the Roast of Helen Zille who arrived in a…
S2 43 Jordy Sank and Gabriella Blumberg on “Die Kwiksilwers” [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 26:27
In this week's ACP, we were lucky enough to get both the director and the producer of the acclaimed road trip movie Die Kwiksilvers. Gino sits down with director Jordy Sank and producer Gabriella Blumberg from Sanktuary…