Sabelo “Subz” Mgidi is one of the brains behind Netflix originals Kings of Joburg and Silverton Siege storylines that had fans glued to their screens.
The screenwriter is not your typical TV producer. The first sign of this is his bottom teeth grills and the general air in which he carries himself.
Speaking to TRUELOVE, the self-proclaimed "King of TV" talks about the pressure he felt after the death of his mentor, Shona Ferguson, his career journey as a writer and more.
Having started his screen-writing career in 2019, Subz has rubbed shoulders with industry giants and he says he is about to up the game to a completely different level.
“I think it was kind of meant to be because of who I am. So, I was moulded and lucky, as well, because when I started writing screenplays, I think a couple of months later I got connected to Shona Ferguson who mentored me,” Subz says.
“I knew what I wanted to be, which is to be a producer, and he saw that in me and when I saw that at face value, with Shona Ferguson being the blueprint for everyone, I was like this is exactly what I want.”
With a sombre change in mood, he recalls moments with his mentor and describes Shona as a blueprint to being a successful producer because of how he produced shows consistently at a high level.
The two worked on Kings of Joburg, which Shona gave him an opportunity to write for the last two episodes of season one and, later - because of the stellar outcome - Sabelo got to write for season two. He says it only took him six to seven weeks to write the entire season two.
“So, I wrote season two, which is now the biggest viewed Netflix African original. But I had to rewrite it twice with Shona, obviously, guiding me then sadly he passed away just before we started shooting and a month or two went by then Connie Ferguson called me up. She told me that everything is still on track and I must continue [writing], which was hard at first because Shona was the lead character in Kings of Joburg.”
He says, not only did that add pressure on him but he felt “lost and naked, in a sense” because once Shona passed on, in 2021, he realised that he had been “flying under his wing and protection so much and now he's gone people are literally waiting for me to fail”.
READ MORE | 'Making TV is expensive' - Meet the man behind The River and the best of Mzansi's other TV stories
Subz says, “As sad as it is, if Shona had not passed away, I wouldn't be where I am today. If he was still here, I would have been complacent, protected and so relaxed, and I counted on him so much. There were times when I had gone to Shona with ideas for shows and he would [tell] me to relax and things were really slow on that end, and when he left, I really picked up the pace and I started to get really aggressive because I had nobody now and had to do things on my own,”
With Silverton Siege, he says he wrote close to 30 drafts not even knowing it will be picked up by Netflix.
“I think it was probably after close to two years having written and worked so hard on it [then] next thing Netflix is interested in. I just got a call from the producers that Netflix loved it and wanted to sign us.”
Initially kick-starting his career as an author, with three novels in his bag, Subz found his niche in screenwriting. Donning many hats as an author, screenwriter and producer, tells us that he got lured into screenwriting through an interview for a project, though taking chances despite not knowing anything about at first.
He eventually got “addicted” to it, describing his journey as “unique and blessed” as he didn't come up as an ordinary writer. That drive inspired the establishment of his company, Pen Game Films, which he started with his wife Katlego Mgidi in 2022.
“It was something I always wanted to do individually, and she wanted to do it too so when we came together it made sense. For me, [it's] owning what you do and having control of what you do instead of having people tell you what to create and how to create it,” says Sabelo.
He has a lot of exciting projects under his belt and prides himself as a producer who, he believes is going to change the game for good.
Sabelo has a new series deal in the works with Netflix, which he says will be "insane", and his working on a reality show soon called Married 2 Movies - where viewers go behind the scenes of the lifestyle of writers, producers and directors. On top of all of that, he is also working with Nasty C on his new album and dropping a short film that his writing and directing.
