The much-awaited Season 3 of the popular Castle Milk Stout Black Conversations is back on Mzansi Magic on Thursday, October 12, 2023. Following the resounding success of the first two seasons, where renowned media personalities delved deep and unpacked topical and controversial topics such as black spirituality, black mental health, and black pride, Season 3 promises to be even more enlightening when it comes to issues related to Africans and their lived experiences.

As a brand that exists to inspire Africans to rediscover their African traditions and values in the modern world, Castle Milk Stout decided to launch Black Conversations in 2022 as a platform to encourage black South Africans to openly discuss topics that are generally held in hushed tones behind closed doors.

The Castle Milk Stout Black Conversations’ maiden series and its sequel featured stimulating and thought-provoking conversations headlined by various personalities, each carefully selected for each specific topic.

Season 2 included topics such as black spirituality and black pride, which interrogated how Africans embrace their blackness in a Westernized society by exploring intelligence and beauty standards. Celeste Ntuli, one of the episode’s panelists, has been vocal and intentional about black pride and the acceptance of blackness through her comedy and in her everyday life. Sophie Ndaba, a respected public figure who struggled with her own mental health issues, led the discussion on black mental health in African communities.

The “CastleCastleStout Black Conversations Maiden series and its sequel were well received in the market and helped to spark interesting and thought-provoking conversations on various issues. It helped to unpack and bring an authentic ‘black’ perspective on the topics that were covered. The discussions and the insights that were shared by the cast and our viewers gave us food for thought and ensured that the conversations lasted beyond the televised series.

Considering the overwhelmingly positive response that Castle Milk Stout Black Conversations has garnered, we are pleased to introduce the third season of this popular talk show, which we believe will be a conversation starter and will help us to retain our Africanness while deepening our understanding of the issues facing our communities and society in the modern age,” says Castle Milk Stout Marketing Manager Khwezi Vika.

Season 3 of the hit series will feature popular radio personalities Tbose and Mapaseka Mokwele, who have been married for over 20 years. The couple will anchor the topic of Black Love alongside renowned spiritual teacher and polyandrist Gogo Skhotheni, radio personality Felix Hlophe, and television personality Mablerh, who returns for another season.

On this topic, panelists will explore and try to define “Black Love” in its manifestations, how the black community shows and expresses love to one another, probe whether young African people have good references and role models in the conversation of love, investigate whether indigenous languages have “love languages”, explore how queer love and queer families are perceived in African communities, and probe the essence of lobola and dating outside your race.

In black storytelling, renowned actors Warren Masdemola, Desire Markgraaf, executive producer of uShaka Ilembe, actor, director, and playwright Sello Maake ka Ncube, as well as “Hlomu the Wife” author Dudu Busani, provided context as to why black stories are not represented accurately and are not told by actual Africans who hold the truth of the experiences faced by African people.

The panelists will dissect the topic by probing whether there has been progress or regress in African storytelling, stereotyping and typecasting of black storytelling, to what extent are we perpetuating the stereotype that African stories should fit a certain narrative, which is often violent, are we telling the broad spectrum of stories, and whether it is cultural appropriation when African stories are told by others?

Popular kwaito musician and actor Bonginkosi Dlamini, otherwise known as Zola 7, comedian and actor Eugene Khoza, award-winning businesswoman Sibu Mabena, and financial planner Gerald Mwandiambira will chair the first two episodes in a discussion on black success.

Over the two episodes, they will unpack various sub-topics under the theme, including defining what success looks like in African communities, why African products and services are perceived as inferior compared to those from their Eurocentric counterparts, investigating whether we celebrate and nurture ‘black success’, investigating the feasibility of collective community success, and the sense of expectation that comes with black excellence.

The much-anticipated Season 3 of Castle Milk Stout Black Conversations will comprise six episodes in which each topic will be discussed and aired over two episodes.

The airing dates for Season 3 are as follows:

EP 1: Black Success, October 12, 2023

EP 2: Black Success, October 19, 2023

EP 3: Black Storytelling, October 26, 2023

EP 4: Black Storytelling (November 2, 2023)

EP 5: Black Love, November 9, 2023

EP 6: Black Love, November 16, 2023

To watch and learn more about the upcoming Castle Milk Stout Black Conversations Season 3 episodes, viewers can click on this link: https://www.castlemilkstout.co.za/black-conversations-season-2.