The South African telenovela vanished from television when BET Africa went off DStv but has reemerged on Netflix, where it’s currently number one in South Africa.
Black Gold, the South African telenovela that vanished from television when BET Africa went off DStv, has found a second life on Netflix, where it’s currently the number one most watched show for the platform in South Africa.
Five episodes are now streaming, with more to come. The drama originally ran for 103 episodes on BET Africa between August and December 2025. Its broadcast home then disappeared when Paramount Africa closed its South African offices after 20 years in the country, and BET Africa and MTV Base were discontinued on DStv from 1 January 2026.
Set against the sugarcane fields and illegal mining world of KwaZulu-Natal, Black Gold is a family saga about betrayal, legacy and the fight for power. At its centre is Amandla Zungu, a principled woman falsely accused of her father’s murder and cast out by her scheming stepmother, Florence. Looming over the family is mining magnate Tom Motsepe, whose company, Umnotho Wethu, needs the Zungu land to expand, land rumoured to sit on a rich deposit. Lead actress Nomalanga Shozi has said the role let her explore how a woman might navigate, and survive, the dangerous world of illegal mining.
Shozi, a presenter who has been the face of BET Africa since 2018 and who came to acting through Rhythm City, takes her first lead role as Amandla. Opposite her, SAFTA-winning actress Dawn Thandeka King plays the calculating Florence, while veteran Sello Maake kaNcube is Tom Motsepe.
The ensemble also includes Zamani Mbatha, Warren Masemola, Nomsa Buthelezi, Ernest Ndlovu and Siphesihle Vazi. Mbali Ngiba, known for Umkhokha: The Curse, and Thulani Mtsweni, of Isidingo, joined the line-up. So did Big Brother Mzansi season five winner Sweet Guluva, who made his acting debut on the show.
Black Gold is a co-production between BET Africa and Black Brain Pictures, the company co-founded in 2004 by Mandla N, who created the series with Mpumelelo Nhlapo. The company has also built a relationship with Netflix, which streams its film Mr Easy Loo as well as the series Umthetho, formerly titled Brotherhood SA.
The show’s end came amid upheaval. Reports at the time said the closure had left the cast and crew unhappy, while BET Africa insisted filming was complete and the series would conclude as planned, with double-bill episodes from 22 December. With five episodes live on Netflix and more promised, viewers who lost access when the channel closed can catch up, and new audiences can discover it.