The curtain to the second season of the epic TV series Shaka iLembe came down on the evening of August 31 2025 in an episode filled with blood, grit and fire – both literally and metaphorically.

Arguably the most high-budget television production on the continent in recent times, Shaka iLembe returned to the television screens in 2025 with Season 2, after a successful debut season the previous year. Rumours from the industry are that the third and final season of the historic epic is currently in production and will be ready for consumption by mid 2026, bringing an end to three consecutive years of breath-stopping television.

With a budget rumored to be running into over a billion Rands, the producers and creative wizards of the show had ample room to be overly ambitious on set. The succulent rustic aesthetics, the detailed textures, the tightly choreographed sequences; it was an output that pushed higher the bar of make-believe and gag critics who felt the world didn’t need anymore Shaka character after the immortal performance by Henry Cele in the groundbreaking mini series “Shaka Zulu” almost four decades ago.

Consequently, Lebogang Tsipa, who potrays King Shaka in Shaka iLembe, has successfully replaced Henry Cele’s steely face as the most recognized hero character in epic television in the region.

The second season of Shaka iLembe could have been the most expensive one in terms of production value. From electrifying night battle scenes featuring thousands of armed amabutho, King Shaka’s coronation which turned out to be a silent contest of regal couture amongst the matriarchs and maidens, construction of the new Zulu palace “kwaBulawayo” in the middle of the undulating Natal vistas, the razing down of the Ndwandwe kingdom by fire, the colourful unification ceremony of the Nguni tribes under the Zulu banner- the list will go on and on.

Season 2 also saw the fall of some key characters as the plots got heated up. Some of the familiar characters fans won’t be able to watch again in Season 3 include Dingiswayo (the revered Mthetwa strongman), Ntombazi (the Ndwandwe matriarch who made Kings rise and fall with her witching wand), Zwide (the Ndwandwe King potrayed by Wiseman Mncube) and the enigmatic seer Goloza (played by award-winning thespian Calvin Ratladi).

New storylines, new adversaries and some returning heroes will define the episode arcs in the season finale. Fans should expect to see more gutsy battle scenes between Zulu assegais and British munitions as fate writes itself to epic ends and beginnings we all read about in history textbooks.

The sun may have set for the second season of Africa’s best historical drama, and while all eyes are towards the final and climatic season, it is the final episode of season 2 that will forever remain etched in the memories of many fans for one simple reason: it was perfectly put together.

To say the production team at Bomb Productions outdid themselves on this episode will not be an overstatement.

The future of African cinema and television is not distant in some dark tunnel; it is here. Shaka iLembe is a compelling testament to that.