For the past 12 weeks, South Africans have enjoyed a one-of-a-kind weekly news entertainment program, The Lite Show from the comfort of their homes.

Commissioned by Africa’s biggest premium beer brand, Castle Lite, the show is Mzansi’s first-ever digital satirical news show.

It is a fun and lite-hearted take on news and current events hosted by Comedian and TV personality, Donovan Goliath alongside the hilarious duo that is Mojak Lehoko and Lihle Msimang. And entertaining musical weekly rap ups by Rouge and violinist Davina.

But the questions on everybody’s mind as been who are the creative geniuses who are responsible for the production of the show.

The brand felt that for such a unique concept, there was only one production house that could bring their vision to life, Burnt Onion Productions.

Burnt Onion is a South African film and television production company whose belief that the combination of fresh creativity and a commitment to quality is a recipe for great work made them the perfect cooks for this show.

They have also produced some of Mzansi’s award winning comedies so it was an obvious choice to turn to them for The Lite Show.

The production company founded and run by 3 siblings is no stranger to South African TV fans.

The Ramaphakela siblings (Katleho, Tshepo and Rethabile) have produced many of Mzansi’s most loved shows including Castle Lite’s hugely popular and success reality competition show, Ultimate House Vibe (seasons 1 and 2) which aired on DSTV’s Mzansi Magic.

When asked why they chose to produce such a unique show, the production team said they wanted to bring some much-needed relief to viewers who have had a tough year.

“This year got a lot of people down so we partnered with Castle Lite so we could change that. We wanted to make people laugh and get people feeling good again and this is how The Lite Show was born. It is an alternative to all the bad news on the media. It was exciting to create this piece of Branded Entertainment,” said Retti.

Both Castle Lite and Burnt Onion wanted the show to live online because it was unchartered territory for local television, and they wanted fans to be able to enjoy the show as many times as they wanted to.

“Online is immediate. You can watch it at any time and at any place unlike scheduled TV viewing. That’s what makes it exciting but also a bit more difficult to reach your audience. There is so much content online that you have to find creative ways to rise above the clutter. We have managed to achieve this well and our growing viewership is proof of this,” Retti continued.

If anything, 2020 has taught Retti and her team to push the boundaries even further and be innovative in their approach to things.

“2020 was the year that all our lives changed, but it wasn’t all bad. It forced us to think out of the box. It allowed us to create and come up with different ways to get our content to audiences. We are beginning to see the fruits of that creative labour now. The first being our Netflix  Original Christmas Series, How to Ruin Christmas: The Wedding, which will be launched globally on Netflix in December, and the second one being The Lite Show. Working with a brand like Castle Lite to bring weekly fun and entertainment to YouTube viewers is a dream collaboration. We love Castle Lite because they are not afraid to try new things and break boundaries. The show has grown from strength to strength,” Retti concluded.

Catch The Lite Show dropping every Friday morning on Castle Lite’s official YouTube channel (CastleLiteSA).

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