The Wife, a series on Showmax is trending on social media following an episode with an x rated intimate scene by Khanyi Mbau (playing Zandile on the show) and Mondli Makhoba (playing Nkosana).
The explicit scene comes a few days after viewers took to social media to complain about the show calling it boring. Well, the producers of the show responded with what people probably love the most based on the views….s_ex.
There isn’t much to say about the scene beside the fact that is the most explicit scene so far in South African television. Some people are wondering how The Wife managed to get itself ranked next to Fifty Shades of Grey?
The Wife is an adaptation of the book Hlomu The Wife by Dudu Busani-Dube. Although the original story is a romance story, the focus is more about crime, culture and wealth. It follows the love story of Hlomu a journalist and Mqhele a taxi (commuter omnibus) owner who also commits crimes in a bit to protect himself and his brothers.
When it was announced that The Wife would be playing on Showmax, many people (including myself) anticipated the book coming to life on their screens. Sure one expects a few changes when it comes to movies/series versus the book. Some details are different like we saw in movies like Harry Potter. Some viewers were however disappointed when they discovered that the storyline is very different compared to the book.
Some people are calling Khanyi and Mondli the best actors in Mzansi. This is weird given that a few days ago they were calling the show boring. Are they the best because they simply are or because of the explicit scene? Another issue of note is how the shower hour on Big Brother Mzansi rakes in more views than any other hour of the day. People are generally more interested in the content with more explicit scenes.
Some people argue that if the scene was in an American movie people wouldn’t have reacted like they are. They would have considered it normal. Because of our culture, people expect different standards from local African content compared to international content.
There are comments that the scene would not have been aired on SABC and they are probably true because of the BCCSA restrictions. But Showmax is a streaming platform that is accessible internationaly. It competes with other streaming platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime. When you put The Wife next to other international shows like Fifty Shades of Grey, you realize that there isn’t much of a difference. It’s shocking to some because we are in Africa.
Working Wives was the first Zimbabwean show to make it on Showmax in 2021. As our entertainment industry grows we are bound to see more and more shows like itself making it on international streaming platforms. Will they also have to tweak their content to satisfy the viewers? Will we also be watching a steamy scene in shock one day? That would be interesting because Zimbabwean film is yet to reach a point where couples can be shown on the screen with no clothes on like Khanyi and Mondli did.