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The series premiered on 18, June 2023, recording 3.6 million viewers in its first week, the best ratings ever for a Multichoice-produced drama series.[7]
In September 2024, Shaka Ilembe became the most nominated drama series in SAFTA history, with 17 nominations.[8][9] At the 18th SAFTA ceremony held in October 2024, the series won 12 awards, including Best TV drama, the most of any nominee, and garnering Multichoice a total of 46 awards.[10][11]
Season 2 of the series premiered on June 15th, 2025[12] and picks up with Shaka and Nandi arriving at KwaNobamba, where he begins his reign as the new Zulu king.[13]
M-Net and Multichoice had officially announced the series in May 2018, with four years of planning prior to the announcement. Production took six years to complete,[4][15] with the consultation of historians, academics and family descendants, including the late King Goodwill Zwelithini and Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi. During this time American network Showtime, which had planned to film their version with a backing of $90 million,[16][17] suddenly scrapped their production which was towards completion.[18]
Location scouting for the series commenced in 2019,[19][20][21] with principal filming of the series taking place in 2022 at the Greater Cradle Nature Reserve, and in the towns of Eshowe, Nkandla Forest, Port Edward, Drakensburg, Mooi River and Zulu Falls in KwaZulu-Natal,[22] with more than 120 builders and thatchers from KwaZulu-Natal engaged in building the sets.[23] Filmmakers had to stick to a rigid building schedule to abide by the prescribed on-site protocols in keeping with the strict rules of the nature reserve. According to crew, the sets in Johannesburg took over nine months to build.
Episodes of the series were immediately aired after their Mzansi Magic debut across the African continent through M-Net's other local interest channels. The series was shown on Maisha Magic Plus in Kenya,[27]Akwaaba Magic in Ghana, Africa Magic Showcase and Africa Magic Urban in Nigeria and the rest of Africa,[28]Pearl Magic Prime in Uganda,[29] and Zambezi Magic in Zambia. The series was later added on the relaunched streaming service Showmax.[30]
The series is also shown in French-speaking territories, through Canal+.[31]
