The story unfolds in the sequel of one of Africa’s biggest TV show franchises, MTV Shuga.

Season 2 of MTV Shuga: Down South made its debut on local screens in February 2019.

This season touches on topics such as HIV, self-testing, PrEP, toxic masculinity, sexual identity, and physical abuse.

Shuga partnered with Unitaid, the MTV Staying Alive Foundation (MTV SAF) and the London School of Hy-giene & Tropical Medicine for this one.

In the new season, viewers will discover that characters from the first season have grown up in addition to meeting the brand new characters that will be introduced to bring a new dynamic to the show.

The new characters will comprise of familiar faces and some new faces who were discovered during the MTV Shuga open auditions which were held in Durban, Johannesburg and across digital platforms earlier this year.

The auditions produced nine new faces including Ayanda Mkhize, Rosemary Zimu, Cwenga Ndaba, Lebohang Msiza and Malibongwe Mdwabe who has told the media how important the MTV Shuga storyline is.

“I think for me I understood what MTV Shuga’s mandate is, I understood what it stands for and that it’s not just a show, it’s more of a movement. And those things are very important when you go into an audition, you need to know why you’re going there,” he said.

The show is directed by the multi-award-winning, Thishiwe Ziqubu who has been tasked with the creative direction of this impactful new season.

“In this season the characters have grown up. They are not in high school anymore and they’ve led us to the city where the hustle is real. It’s not a pretty or idealized version of what Joburg looks like, but it’s the truth of the grungy difficult Joburg,” she commented.

“The brand-new season opens after the tragic death of Tsholo, with Sol returning to Zenzele after a short stint in prison. His return to the township triggers a series of events as Khensani campaigns the community to boycott his taxi business, and he wrestles with the abuse his father inflicts on his mother,” said MTV.

Viewers will also follow Ipeleng, Q, Zamo, and Reggie as they leave school and head to university, start businesses or find jobs in the real world.

Old favorites make new friends and fall in love with new people as characters like Daniel, Dineo, Kwanele, Masego, and Andile enter the MTV Shuga universe.

Having begun 10 years ago in Nigeria, the MTV Shuga movement has sought to tackle hard-hitting, pertinent issues without shying away from the difficulty of so doing.

All of the different iterations of the show around the continent deal with real-life topics that affect the modern-day youth.

“The MTV Shuga directive is to educate young audiences on sexual health and engage with them on real issues that they face in their daily lives. We’re grateful to bring audiences MTV Shuga: Down South 2 together with Unitaid where these tough conversations are brought to the fore,” said Executive Director for the MTV Staying Alive Foundation and MTV Shuga Executive Producer, Georgia Arnold.

Meanwhile, Executive Vice-President and Managing Director for Viacom International Media Networks Africa (VIMN Africa) and BET International, Alex Okosi has called this project a “powerful catalyst”.

“The movement, led by the MTV Staying Alive Foundation together with MTV Base, has proven to impact youth across the continent by informing and ultimately changing their behavior so they can live safer and better lives. This edutainment installment of MTV Shuga: Down South together with the upcoming series from Nigeria and Cote D’Ivoire continues our effort together with our partners to empower the youth of Africa,” he said.