ELOUISE KELLY | Why great storytelling matters more than where a series comes from

For a long time, the entertainment industry believed viewers were most interested in stories either from their own backyard or fromHollywoodsuperstars. Anything with subtitles was seen as niche, “arthouse” fare. But today there are growing signs that audiences are becoming increasingly open to discovering compelling stories from beyond their own borders.

While local content continues to form the foundation of viewing on Viu, we’ve seen rising engagement with international genres — particularly Turkish dramas and dubbed content (in Afrikaans and English) — suggesting a growing receptiveness among audiences to exploring compelling stories from different parts of the world. Viewers are searching for the stories that share what makes us all human — the heart-fluttering thrill of romance, the tragedy of love lost, the pulse-quickening excitement of a race against time. One of the clearest lessons we’ve learnt is that viewers rarely choose a show simply because of where it comes from.

They choose it because the story resonates. Romance, family conflict, revenge, humour and suspense translate remarkably well across cultures — especially when supported by quality localisation. Local viewers have become remarkably good at looking beyond language and geography to focus on what really matters: the story itself While audiences have long enjoyed stories from beyond their own borders, streaming has made discovering international content easier than ever before.

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Today people can explore a new cuisine, follow creators from another continent or immerse themselves in a different culture without ever leaving home. They can scroll through assorted languages and ways of life on their phones, and by the time they switch to their streaming app to watch a show or a movie, the world feels far less distant than it once did. Local viewers have become remarkably good at looking beyond language and geography to focus on what really matters: the story itself.

This rising interest may not come as a surprise. South Africans have long embraced the kind of rich, character-driven, long-form storytelling that defined beloved soap operas such asIsidingo, Generationsand other television favourites.

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