Fashioning Modern Africanism

After a one-week break,  The Wife  is back this Thursday, 17 February 2022, as Season 2 kicks off on Showmax, with Khanyi Mbau ( Unmarried ,  Happiness Is A Four-Letter Word )  and Mondli Makhoba ( Umkhokha ) stepping up into the lead roles as Zandile and Nkosana.   Zandile had already served 10 years in jail for the murder of her mother when the love of her life, Nkosana, finally broke her out of jail at the end of Season 1. Being on the outside is a big adjustment, but not as big a challenge as winning back her children’s love, rebuilding her marriage, and establishing herself as matriarch in a crime family where another woman, Hlomu (Mbalenhle Mavimbela ) , has been calling the shots in her absence. Today’s trailer also gives us a first glimpse of International Emmy nominee Lerato Mvelase ( Home Affairs , the Oscar-shortlisted  Life, Above All ), who joins the cast this season, in good company with Bonko Khoza as South Africa’s disgraced national husband, Mqhele; Abdul Khoza and Zik

Khanyi Mbau ( Unmarried ,   Happiness Ever After ) has landed the biggest role of her career: she’s joining the record-breaking Showmax Original telenovela,   The Wife,  in the Season 2 lead role of Zandile The Resolute, playing the wife of Nkosana (fan-favourite Mondli Makhoba), the leader of the Zulu brothers’ crime family.   Eagle-eyed fans of the hit show, which has topped Twitter every Thursday since its launch, will get their first glimpse of Khanyi as Zandile in Thursday’s episodes.    While she does feature again - and more prominently - in Season 1, she’ll take centre stage in Season 2, which premieres on Showmax in February 2022, and will be inspired by Dudu Busani-Dube’s bestselling novel  Zandile The Resolute .  "Season 2 is told through the eyes of uZandile,” says Stained Glass showrunner Gugu Ncube-Zuma ( eHostela ,  Ifalakhe ). “We'll be exploring Nkosana and Zandile's love story and finding out more about their history. We'll get to know Zandile as the