A woman’s career collides with her love life as she falls for a taxi boss with a dangerous, hidden life.
South African VOD service Showmax recently released its first original telenovela, The Wife. The series is inspired by Dudu Busani-Dube’s bestselling novel Hlomu the Wife as well as the follow-ups Zandile the Resolute and Naledi His Love. Showmax has commissioned three seasons of the show which will consist of 40 episodes each and follow the lives of eight brothers that are part of a major crime family from the perspective of the women they marry.
The story follows Hlomu, an ambitious investigative journalist from KZN who falls in love with a charming taxi driver, Mqhele. The kicker is that he is a member of Johannesburg’s most dangerous crime family and is the man she is investigating.
When Hlomu and Mqhele meet for the first time, sparks fly, much to the chagrin of his brother Qhawe, who actually saw Hlomu first. Just when we think the biggest obstacle to this love is the fact that Hlomu is already engaged to a doctor called Sandile, we discover that Hlomu is actually investigating the Zulu brothers, who are not just taxi drivers, but cash-in-transit heisters too.
Even though Hlomu hasn’t yet broken off her engagement yet, she shares her first explosive kiss with Mqhele which throws her firmly into a complicated journey of danger and love.
“This is a telenovela that is inspired by the books, so it changes,” says author Busani-Dube. “It changes a lot. So look, ja, it’s going to be different, but people are going to love it. I’m just a book person; that’s what I do. So I’m just going to let the film people do what they do. I’m excited to see how it goes, how they do it. I’m trusting the process.”
The Wife became an instant hit with viewers upon its release, breaking the streaming record for the most first-day views of all-time on the platform, outperforming major international shows like Game of Thrones as well as the previous local hits such as The River and Devilsdorp.
The new telenovela features an impressive cast full of familiar faces as well as a few rising stars. Bonko Khoza (who was nominated for Best Actor at the 2015 Tribeca Film Festival for his role in the film Necktie Youth) and Mbalenhle Mavimbela (Isibaya, Isipho, Skeem Saam) lead the cast which also includes Kwenzo Ngcobo (Imbewu: The Seed), Sipho Ndlovu (Isibaya, The Queen), Abdul Khoza (SAFTA winner for his role in Isibaya), Mondli Makhoba (Generations, Umkhokha), Thulane Nkululeko Shange (Durban Gen, iNumber Number) and many more!
The Wife is produced by Stained Glass, the production company behind the multiple SAFTA-winning shows like Uzalo (Best TV Soap 2019), eHostela (Best Actor in a TV Drama for Wiseman Mncube in 2020) and Ifalakhe (Best Achievement in Wardrobe/Costume Design - TV Drama and Best Achievement in Make-Up and Hairstyling - TV Drama in 2020).
“It is an incredible privilege and responsibility to undertake a project with such loyal, dedicated and vocal fans,” says Stained Glass showrunner Gugu Ncube-Zuma. “We’ve tried to respect and honour them every step of the way. The beauty of the written word lies in the fact that every reader has their own idea of who the characters are and what they look like. Each reader, individually, has imagined the world and the spaces and no one person’s imagination will be the same as anyone else’s.”
“It's a beautiful and well-loved book series that explores the black experience and, more importantly, black love. It is so relatable and yet moves in different directions that one could never predict. It is no wonder these books enjoy the incredible following they have.”
Watch the first three episodes here.
