South Africans Shook As eTV Cancels ‘Scandal!’ After 20 Years: "I Blame the Ethembeni Concept"

• ETV surprised soapie fans on Friday, 26 September 2025, when it canned Scandal! after 20 years on television
• The SAFTA-award-winning soapie-turned-telenovela is currently led by actors Mapaseka Koetla and Seputla Sebogodi
• Fans of the TV show took to social media this week to share their views about the ending of the popular show

South Africa's long-running TV show Scandal! will come to an end after 2 decades of TV drama.

According to media reports, ETV has cancelled the multi-award-winning TV show after pulling the plug on Smoke & Mirrors earlier this year.

Scandal! also recently made headlines when it introduced actor Charles Phasha, who portrays the character of Tlhogi's uncle, Lebone, on the show.

Entertainment commentator Jabu McDonald confirmed on his X account on Friday, 26 September 2025, that the long-running soapie has been canned.

"ETV’s long-running soapie Scandal! will not be renewed for another season. The current season will be the final one, ending in June 2026, marking the end of its 20-year run on TV," said McDonald.

Entertainment blogger and social media user @TVwithThinus shared on his X account on Friday, 26 September 2025, that a month ago, eMedia told its investors that it was cancelling one of its weekday dramas.

Soapie fans are heartbroken by soapie's cancellation

@Morokane1 reacted:

"I blame the current storylines. Especially the Ethembeni setup, Dintle stealing Nhloso from Madlomo, etc 😳😭."

@ngawoz commented:

"They lost it when they came up with the Ethembeni concept."

@Mngqusho_ wrote:

"Aah man, David Nyathi, Maletsatsi, Donna, Thembeka, Dika, Morongwe, Mangi, Tino, Mthunzi, etc. This was a show. I was hooked from day one. Ethembeni ruined everything."

@_TumiMS replied:

"Yeah, for the first time since the days of Bra Eddie, Thembeka and Daniel Nyathi, I removed Scandal from my continue watching list and stopped watching it altogether since they started this Ethembeni nonsense since the fire. Did the writers change or what?"

@ah_yabora_shame said:

"In the age of smart TVs and TV boxes, who exactly still watches soapies, really. People stream now. This is how it is now, SABC shows and DSTV shows are living on borrowed time, it's definitely about to be lights off for all of them."

@Its_Phermy responded:

"I guess they were trying to save costs when they demolished the big mansion, only for the Mores to live at Bechafela and Ethembeni. Dintle with millions in her account but lives in a 2-room. Also, that wedding was screaming low budget. Everything nje. Maybe we saw it coming."

Actor Mathews Rantsoma discusses unemployment after ‘Scandal!’

In more entertainment news, Briefly News previously reported that talented actor Mathews Rantsoma called out the entertainment industry after not being able to secure a job in a year.

Rantsoma, who recently bagged a small role in Adulting, is famously known for playing the character of Nhlamulo on Scandal!

South Africans recently took to social media to advise the actor, while others criticised him for not being proactive.

Source: Briefly News