The Sunday Mail
Takudzwa Chihambakwe
Leisure Correspondent
AFTER rebranding from P.O. BOX TV to Bustop TV early this year, Comic Pastor and crew have begun exploring avenues to create content that appeals to wider audiences.
This expansion is centered on Bustop TV collaborating with other comedians and players in the creative arts sector.
Their most recent collaboration is with 2016 Nama winner for Best Comedian, Doc Vikela, on a couple of skits that have gone viral on social media platforms. On May 11, 2016 Bustop TV launched a new weekly show titled “Dear Africa”, which focuses on topical issues in the country, similar to Trevor Noah’s “Daily Show”. Doc Vikela is the face of the show.
“The partnership we have with Doc Vikela is just one of many we have started establishing in the creative sector in order for us to maintain and increase our visibility,” said Bustop TV co-founder, Luckie Aaron.
“We have been known to do funny video clips only but by engaging Doc Vikela on a new show titled ‘Dear Africa’, we want to bring in satire into our domain and we believe Doc has what it takes to carry the messages we will be pushing to our audiences.
“We have also collaborated with Fyi Africa for working on documentaries and we have also kicked off a comedy series in animation format through engaging with Totally2d Studio.
“The next phase is to venture into short film production and we have engaged with Mufakose Film Society to get the work going. We are also packaging our skits into a series format that we would want to sell to various broadcasting houses both local and international,” revealed Aaron.
Aaron added that their partnership with Doc Vikela would also take to the stage for stand-up shows. Two weeks back, Comic Pastor from Bustop TV held a show with Doc Vikela at Simuka Comedy.
“We are currently developing content for the different platforms we interact with our audiences. To those who will come to stand-up comedy shows, they can be assured that they will not be getting the same material they would have watched on our video skits. There is also a plan to have all the comedians we have featuring in one production on the big stage as opposed to having them perform as individual stand-up comedians,” revealed Aaron.
From the birth of P.O. Box TV in November 2014, both the general public and companies were hooked. With video a dominant force in advertising, companies invested in comedians who could market their products and services on short clips designed for social media.
