Fashioning Modern Africanism

Season 2 of the Showmax Original  The Real Housewives of Durban  launches on 28 January 2022, with new episodes following every Friday.  Londie London is one of three new wives featured this season: she’s a  musician, actress and jewellery designer who recently returned to Durban with her husband, businessman Hlubi Nkosi, and baby boy,  Uminathi .  We chatted to her to find out more:  Why did you decide to be part of this franchise? Since I've become a wife and a mother, I thought it would be a great idea for the public to see how I’m rebranding myself.  People know me as this sexy singer, but they don't really know my personality and what I'm about outside of the entertainment industry. So when I got the opportunity to be one of the housewives, I thought it was a great way for me to connect with a new audience. When you told your husband and your family that you were joining  The Real Housewives of Durban , what was their reaction? My husband is not a person that likes to

Season 2 of the Showmax Original  The Real Housewives of Durban  launches on 28 January 2022, with new episodes following every Friday.  Showmax has just released a first look at the three new wives featured this season, who will be bringing all the  class, glamour, sass, and drama we’ve come to expect from the franchise. Londie London Londie London’s decision to join  The Real Housewives of Durban  was sparked by her return to Durban and her becoming a wife to businessman Hlubi Nkosi and mom to a ten-month-old baby boy, Uminathi.    “Since I've become a wife, and a mother, I thought it would be a great idea for the public to see how I’m rebranding myself,” says the  musician, actress and jewellery designer . “People know me as this sexy singer and I feel like they don't really know my personality and what I'm about outside of the entertainment industry."   “Londiwe oozes class and confidence,” says Season 2 director Thumeka Hlotshana from Let It Rain Films. “She is re

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

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

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

Estelle Langa and Justin  Fritz , Musa  Qubinkomo  and  Sifiso Ndlazi ,  Nthabiseng Maphago  and  MJ Maponya, and Precious Khumalo  and Grant Manuel  may have all arrived in paradise (aka Knysna) together, but, now that they’re in separate villas, living with sexy singles, will they leave with each other, or with someone better?  The first episode’s big talking point is going to be the introductions from the 20 single men and women who are looking for love. The couples sat together for their first glimpses of temptation, but the singles didn’t hold back.  Rap queen Gigi Lamayne told the guys, “I’m a musician and I can’t wait to sing on your mic and rap circles around you,” while Nicole Kaas said, “You can call me Coco. I own an upholstery company, so I’m used to seeing things get taken apart and put back together the way I want it done.”  And the men were just as direct. “Good evening, ladies,” said  Dainamiaro ‘Dain’ Ogulu. “I’m a sexy model from Nigeria. I might be standing on two le

Showmax has released first-look images and a new   Temptation Island South Africa  video introducing all 10 single women. Showmax has lined up a temptation for every taste, from actresses to rap queens to yoga instructors.   Premiering on 26 August 2021,   Temptation Island South Africa   is the ultimate relationship test. Based on the Banijay-owned hit reality format, the show follows four couples at a crossroads in their relationship, where they must mutually decide if they are ready to commit to one another for the rest of their lives, or go their separate ways.    Together, the couples experience a luxurious holiday in paradise (aka Knysna), where they live separately - with 20 sexy single men and women who are looking for love. This last taste of the single life is meant to help answer their most difficult questions about their relationship, like, “Are we meant to be?” and “Is there someone better out there for me?” Watch and embed the trailer:  Here are the 10 potential upgrades