As far as Alfons Adetuyi is concerned, Jozi-H stood little chance of ratings success on CBC.

The South Africa-set series ended its first season on Feb. 2, managing a season average of only 194,000 viewers in its Friday 9 p.m. timeslot. The project was commissioned by former CBC programmer Slawko Klymkiw, and Adetuyi, who produces through Toronto’s Inner City Films, believes that CBC TV head Richard Stursberg and chief programmer Kirstine Layfield wanted the medical drama to die on the table.

‘The new regime was going to let Jozi-H go away silently on a Friday night, which is very sad,’ he says, but adds, ‘We managed to survive.’

Adetuyi thinks that the net did too little to promote the series, a complaint heard from indie producers of other shows airing on CBC season. Inner City paid for its own ads to raise awareness about the show, which follows daily life at a Johannesburg hospital.

‘We purchased a billboard on the QEW highway in Toronto and bought some print ads in Vancouver, Toronto, Calgary and Halifax… The only advertising done was done by us,’ he says.

CBC had no response to Adetuyi’s complaints, but has defended its promo efforts before and questioned the usefulness of print and billboard ads.

Adetuyi suspects that Jozi‘s sizeable budget of $1.4 million per episode did not sit well with Stursberg and Layfield, even though the project is a minority copro with South Africa. Adetuyi produces with his brother Amos Adetuyi and Mfundi Vundla and Adeelah Carrim of Morula Pictures.

‘[CBC has] never done anything of this size before as a series,’ he claims. And yet, he is confident the Ceeb will give the show a second season. ‘They also realized that it’s a good show with well-developed characters, strong stories and great production values.’

The series also saw a surge in audience from 130,000 to 461,000 during its season ender.

A CBC spokesperson says the net won’t make a decision on renewal for Jozi-H until sometime in March.

Meanwhile, Jozi is set to debut on South Africa’s SABC 3 in April, amid a heavy promotional push. ‘It will be huge there — they’re promoting it like crazy,’ Adetuyi says. The show is being sold through distributor Plus Three Entertainment to European territories and the Middle East, while Adetuyi says a sale in the U.S. is pending.

Meanwhile, Inner City has two additional projects in development: a one-hour drama called Cul de Sac and half-hour comedy series The Movie I’m Making with producer Ngozi Paul. The prodco is also in talks with The Movie Network for a show called The Spot, about the nightlife in Toronto’s entertainment district.