Kgomotso Matsunyane is returning to television talk with a new local, weekly TV talk show entitled Rise which will start on SABC1 on Tuesday 12 May at 18:00 and which will join an intensely crowded line-up of talk shows all trying to lure the same viewers.
Rise, originally titled Rise Up and produced by One Man And His Dog Films, takes the original format of Barbara Walters' American talk show The View with Kgomotso Matsunyane who, like Barbara Walters, is not only the executive producer of the talk show but also one of the panelists comprising women of different age brackets talking about various issues affecting women.
Kgomotso Matsunyane is joined on the couch by Lebo Ramafoko and Khanyisile Mazibuko (19) and Nyiko Shikwambane (23).
It marks Kgomotso Matsunyane's return to TV talk who previously tried her hand at late night talk with Late Night with Kgomotso on SABC2 as well as Pillow Talk on SABC3. She was a commissioning editor at SABC1 before embarking on her TV talk show tries.
Kgomotso Matsunyane was a surprise guest during the final live episode of Three Talk with Noeleen on SABC3 two weeks ago, telling Noeleen Maholwana-Sangqu during her TV farewell that "you know how difficult and fickle this industry can be".
Rise will take place in conjunction with the roll-out of The Rise Young Women's Clubs across South Africa to try and help specifically young women with relevant information about health and lifestyle issues.
Rise will discuss topics like unplanned pregnancy, abuse, alcohol abuse and its consequences, sex and body image.
Rise forms part of a rapid television talk show change on South African television with the addition of several new shows just the past two months to the already over-subscribed talk show genre, making it difficult for viewers to keep up and to stay loyal to any given programme.
SABC1 just added the American TV talk show The Talk on weekdays at 16:30 which will now compete with sister-channel SABC3's Afternoon Express at 16:00 which starts today.
Afternoon Express will be broadcast on weekdays with Bonang Matheba, Jeannie D, Bonnie Mbuli and one of the final three winners of SABC3's Presenter Search on 3 reality competition show.
The American talk show The Meredith Vieira Show started in March at 14:00 on SABC3, and e.tv took over The Steve Harvey Show on weekdays at 16:30 since the beginning of March which used to be on SABC1.
The recent addition of the new BET (DStv 129) channel with a better aligned schedule for South Africa viewers, means that The Wendy Williams Show, now at 16:35, is directly competing with The Talk, The Steve Harvey Show, Ellen on M-Net (DStv 101), and SABC3's Afternoon Express - in addition to the same-day-as-in-the-USA episode of Wendy being shown on BET International (StarSat 167) on StarSat at 19:00 in primetime.
The Real, yet another panel talk show with various women - Tamar Braxton, Loni Love, Adrienne Bailon, Jeannie Mai and Tamera Mowry-Housley - started at the beginning of April on weekdays on BET (DStv 129) at 17:25.
SABC3 plans to add The Real to its own schedule as well from later in the year.
