Fashioning Modern Africanism

Romance, rivalry and revenge – that’s what Mzansi Magic viewers can expect when the country’s most buzzed-about show,  The Wife , premieres on the channel on 12 September. The hit show, which is a Showmax Original, will air three nights a week – Compact subscribers can catch it every Monday to Wednesday at 21h30. Mzansi Magic viewers can also enjoy the omnibus on Saturdays from 21h30-23h00. The most-watched series in Showmax history,  The Wife  has broken several records on the platform. The premiere of the recently concluded season 2 enjoyed the most first-day views on the streaming service – beating its own previous record for the season 1 premiere. “Having seen its impressive and record-breaking performance on Showmax, we have decided to bring  The Wife  to our DStv Compact subscribers so that they can get in on the action. We know that our viewers will fall in love with the story and its characters. It’s a show that has resonated deeply with many, and we’re glad to bring all of our

Stained Glass, the production company behind  The Wife , has confirmed that Bonko Khoza, who played Mqhele in the first two seasons, isn’t returning in  Season 3 of the record-breaking, Twitter-topping Showmax Original telenovela . They’re currently casting for his replacement.  Inspired by Dudu Busani-Dube’s bestselling book  Naledi His Love , Season 3 of  The Wife  will return to South African screens in November 2022 with Gaisang K Noge in the lead role as doctor Naledi Montsho, who is in love with Qhawe Zulu (2022 DStv Mzansi Magic Viewers’ Choice Rising Star winner Kwenzo Ngcobo), dubbed “the Woolworths of amadoda” by  Twitter . Each season has focused on a different couple: Hlomu and Mqhele in S1, Zandile and Nkosana in S2, and now Naledi and Qhawe.    “We know fans are going to find it hard to let go of their picture of Mqhele as Bonko, just as they found it hard, when he was first cast, to let go of the bug-eyed Mqhele they had pictured from the book,” says series producer Kamo

The Johannesburg Review of Books  calls Dudu Busani-Dube “a publishing phenomenon.” She’s become the face of self-publishing in South Africa, having topped the Exclusive Books charts, and landed four books simultaneously in the Nielsen Bookscan SA bestseller list for July 2021. And that was before Showmax announced they were adapting the series of books that made her name -  Hlomu the Wife ,  Zandile the Resolute  and  Naledi His Love  - into their first Showmax Original telenovela, unleashing the most heated casting debate South Africa has ever seen.    As  IOL ’s Buhle Mbonambi put it, “No other South African series had garnered that much attention on who was cast in the roles before. In my years of reporting about the South African TV industry, I had never come across such heated debate. Even when Deon Meyer's  Trackers  book was adapted for screen by M-Net, there wasn't this much attention paid to the casting choices. But then there have been few characters as fascinating o

The teaser gives fans their first glimpse of the actors who landed the coveted roles. Rising star Mbalenhle Mavimbela ( Skeem Saam ,  Isipho ) will play Hlomu, the journalist who falls in love with a taxi driver, not realising that when you marry a man, you marry his secrets. Mqhele will be played by Bonko Khoza, who burst onto the acting scene as Jabz in the multi-award-winning film  Necktie Youth  and has since appeared in the likes of  Professionals  and the Emmy-nominated  Roots .    “I got to spend some time with Mbali and Bonko on set and they are great – new, fresh faces,” says Dudu. “They’ve already developed a chemistry and should do justice to the characters.” “Mbalenhle and Bonko are fairly fresh faces in the industry; there isn’t any one role or character that audiences can instinctively affix to them,” says showrunner Gugu Ncube-Zuma. “As a result, they will truly embody and be known intrinsically as Hlomu and Mqhele. What solidified this decision was their undeniable chem

When Showmax announced they were making a telenovela inspired by Dudu Busani-Dube’s bestselling novel  Hlomu the Wife,  overjoyed fans immediately took to social media to offer their casting suggestions for the lead roles of Hlomu and Mqhele.   Now Showmax has confirmed that Mqhele will be played by Bonko Khoza, who burst onto the acting scene as Jabz in the multi-award-winning film  Necktie Youth  and has since appeared in the likes of  Professionals  and the Emmy-nominated  Roots .    “I read the book a couple of years ago and was a fan from the moment I put it down,” says Bonko. “Fast forward to 2021 when I got sent an audition for the series. I’m really excited to bring to life this incredible piece of writing. Dudu created a compelling work of art and now we get to breathe life into it, put faces to names and show it to the world.” Showmax has also confirmed the casting of  Mqhele’s family, the  Zulu brothers, with  Kwenzo Ngcobo ( Imbewu ) as Qhawe; Sipho Ndlovu ( Isibaya ,  The