Once regarded as a punchline, Reality TV is now an entertainment force with which to be reckoned. Four out of 10 South Africa adults say it is their favourite genre (according to a 2019 futurefact survey) and the genre is largely popular with middle-class women under the age of 35. Here’s the latest news in the land of all things drama:
🔹Being isolated in a house for months may have seemed like an adventure years ago when reality show Big Brother first launched. But, post Covid, it’s bewildering that some people would choose to be locked down again! 😶 This past week Mzansi Magic launched the fifth season of Big Brother Mzansi after a seven-year hiatus. The show follows contestants living in a house fitted with cameras as audiences watch their every move – sleeping, cooking and even showering on national TV. Sounds like our personal idea of hell.
🔹Idols SA has run for nearly 20 years and has produced some of the country’s hottest musicians, including Amanda Black, Shekinah and Khaya Mthethwa. 🕺🏽 But the show shocked fans this week with the confirmation that longrunning judges Unathi Msengana and Randal Abrahams’s contracts had not been renewed. Abrahams was the only original remaining judge and is, in some ways, synonymous with the hit show. Sources alleged in City Press that the departure of the duo was tied to the return of judge Somizi Mhlongo, who abruptly went on a break after allegations that he abused his husband, Mohale Motaung, surfaced last year. Prior to Mhlongo’s departure, the show averaged 1 million viewers but took a dip to just under 700 000 while he was away.
🔹The wildly popular Real Housewives of Durban and Johannesburg franchises also make a comeback this year. The series features wealthy housewives who go about their business, navigating friendship, business and shopping. Viewers might get the inside scoop of how former President Jacob Zuma’s family reacted to his imprisonment as his former fiancée and mother of his child, Nonkanyiso “LaConco” Conco, returns to the show for its second season. 💅🏽
This article appeared as part of The Wrap, 27 January 2022. Sign up to receive our weekly updates.
