'The Wife'

‘The Wife’, a reminder that we need to move away from the soapie genre

BUHLE MBONAMBI

WHEN the news that Dudu Busani Dube’s cult favourite books, the Hlomu series, were being adapted for screen as The Wife, there was excitement.

So when the cast of the Zulu Brothers, the heroes (and villains) of the series, were announced and pictures shared, there was an uproar across all social media platforms. From WhatsApp and Instagram to tweets and Facebook posts, the people were outraged.

Comments ranged from “They can keep the show” to “They have ruined my fantasy”, with many others questioning why the casting directors “betrayed” the fans.

It was fascinating to watch. No other South African series garnered that much attention over the cast before.

Hlomu: The Wife is a romantic drama with comedic moments about a journalist, Hlomu, who meets a taxi driver, Mqhele, falls in love and they quickly get married. But she doesn’t realise that he is not just a driver – he co-owns a taxi empire with his brothers and they are secretly wealthy.

But she also soon realises that in order to be in the family, she has to turn a blind eye to many things the brothers need to do to stay ahead in the taxi industry.

Busani-Dube, a journalist, wrote and selfpublished the series, which has four follow-up books. Themed after each brother’s wife or lover, the books follow the lives of the eight Zulu brothers, a formidable crime family, through the eyes of the women they love.

The book series has become a cult classic, with follow-up books being quickly devoured by fans, and made Busani-Dube one of the most successful self-published authors in the country. The adaptation comes after years of fans asking the author to sell the rights to a production company, and producing a live action series or film. Finally it happened.

Showmax commissioned three seasons of 40 episodes each, inspired by Dudu’s books

Hlomu: the Wife, Zandile the Resolute, and Naledi His Love. In the lead up to the show’s adaptation, many fans wanted Muzi Mthabela, Siyabonga Twala, Nay Maps, Siyabonga Radebe and Thembinkosi Mthembu to play some of the brothers.

For months they have been doing their dream castings and going into detail about their choices and why the actors would be perfect for the roles. The cast and characters were discussed in great detail by many across social media and many sent their suggestions to Busani-Dube.

They had fantasized about Nkosana, Mqhele, Qhawe, Mqoqi and the rest of the brothers for years and had expectations. Fans were expecting tall, dark-skinned actors with bulging “bug eyes”. They expected actors who resembled each other. They expected the image Busani-Dube painted for them in the books. They didn’t get that.

Instead these actors have been cast in the series. Bonko Khoza (Necktie Youth) as Mqhele; Kwenzo Ngcobo (Imbewu) as Qhawe; Sipho Ndlovu (Isibaya, The Queen) as Sambulo; Safta winner Abdul Khoza (Isibaya, Kings of Joburg) as Nqoba; Mondli Makhoba (Umkhokha, Generations, Imbewu) as Nkosana; Safta nominee Thulane Nkululeko Shange (Is’thunzi, iNumber Number) as Mqoqi; Ishmauel Songo (Rhythm City, Tsotsi) as Mpande; and Swelihle Luthuli (eHostela) as Ntsika. The lead character, Hlomu, will be played by Mbalenhle Mavimbela, who has starred in Skeem Saam.

These casting decisions that did not even go close to what fans of the series were expecting, are a reminder of how our industry’s reliance on the soapie and telenovela genre of TV storytelling, is problematic. Maybe the backlash to the cast of The Wife is what will make the industry realise what it is missing out on – variety for their actors and viewers.