MORE TV TRASH. MultiChoice pits more African women against each other with M-Net West Africa that commissions The Real Housewives of Lagos.

by Thinus Ferreira

MultiChoice is moving to set up and bring subscribers more African women in conflict and clashing with each other and has commissioned another regionalised format season of The Real Housewives franchise for Nigeria, entitled The Real Housewives of Lagos.

Yolisa Phahle, the MultiChoice Group CEO for general entertainment and connected video, said on Thursday's MultiChoice Showcase held in various African countries, that MultiChoice is bringing subscribers The Real Housewives of Lagos in 2022 and that South Africa's The Real Housewives of Durban will be back for a second season.

The Real Housewives, a format from NBCUniversal Formats, a division of Universal Studio Group, is a reality show that selects groups of materialistic women with troubled lives who don't all get along with each other.

Often looking for external validation and showing off their conspicuous consumption as they flaunt their wealth and troubled lives, cameras follow them while they fight and their various dramatic confrontations with other people.

The Real Housewives of Lagos will go first to MultiChoice's video streaming service Showmax, after which it will likely make it way to M-Net West Africa's Africa Magic channel. 

The Real Housewives of Lagos is the third African format adaptation of the reality show and will be produced by Livespot 360. 

It follows after South Africa's The Real Housewives of Johannesburg and The Real Housewives of Durban that is produced by Let It Rain Films with Thumeka Hlotshana who will be directing the upcoming second season.

"We are so proud to build on the international success of The Real Housewives of Johannesburg and Durban with our partner Showmax," says Ana Langenberg, the senior vice president, format sales & production at NBCUniversal International Formats, in a statement from NBCUniversal.

"The vibrancy of Lagos and its rich culture, fashion and opulence makes for the perfect setting for the show. We also can't wait to see the second season of Durban come to life and deliver fans all over the world even more extravagance and entertainment."

Candice Fangueiro, Showmax head of content, says "We've seen audiences across Africa devour The Real Housewives of Johannesburg and The Real Housewives of Durban".

"The Real Housewives franchise lends itself to localisation and we know our audience is going to love seeing the show reinvented Naija-style. We can’t wait to show the continent - and the world - another side of Lagos, with all the drama, high fashion and luxury you’d expect from The Real Housewives franchise."

The Real Housewives of Johannesburg, produced by RHOSA Productions, will be starting on 3 August on 1Magic with 6 Jozi socialites who 'have the biggest handbag and stilettos collections in town'.

M-Net has announced the names of the 6 Johannesburg women who will be appearing in the official local South African version of The Real Housewives format, The Real Housewives of Johannesburg, with a first season set to start on 1Magic (DStv 103) on Friday 3 August at 19:00.

The Real Housewives of Johannesburg is produced by RHOSA Productions with 13 episodes in the first season, based on the format distributed internationally by NBCUniversal International Formats.

In January M-Net revealed that an official version of The Real Housewives will be coming to South African television on 1 Magic after several fake tries and flop namesake shows.

In 2013 TVwithThinus reported on the drama when Barbie Brazil (real name Thembi Ennie Tshabalala) claimed that she was producing a local South African version entitled The Real Housewives of South Africa although NBCUniversal told me that Barbs doesn't have the rights to the show.

A year later in 2014, The Real Housewives of Johannesburg, reportedly produced by Tigere Media, became a hot topic again with several local well-heeled glitterati whose names were mentioned as being part of yet another attempt at the show. Production started and footage filmed, however the show was abruptly canned after just 6 months - again over format licensing issues.

In 2016 Divas of Jozi made its debut on SABC3 during the reign of terror at the SABC of the famously matricless chief operating officer (COO) Hlaudi Motsoeneng that destroyed the ratings of the public broadcaster with his insane programming quotas and trash ideas.

Divas of Jozi was a ratings disaster for SABC3 and slammed by viewers and critics alike. It didn't use The Real Housewives name but was a "refilm" of sorts of the 2014 project, with the exact same cast plus an additional woman, and was done by Bravoplex Media.

The Real Housewives has already seen several legitimate format licensing adaptations internationally - including series set in Athens, Vancouver, Melbourne, Cheshire, Auckland, Sydney, Bangkok and last year two, with one set in Toronto, Canada as well as one just called The Real Housewives of Hungary using the country's name. 

Through research RHOSA Productions tracked down Johannesburg socialites - women considered prominent Johannesburg housewives on the social scene.

The women include Evodia Mogase, calling herself Madame, originally from Soweto, who started off as a teacher, then owning a catering business and who is now a "vegetation" expert, described as "warm and talkative".

Evodia's daughter, Mercy Mogase, is also part of The Real Housewives of Johannesburg, described as a "bubbly health fanatic" who studied mechanical engineering and is a motivational speaker.

Brinnette Seopela, described as "warm and charming" is a beauty entrepreneur who owns a spa and is apparently "the glue that holds the housewives together".

Naledi Willers is a former Miss Botswana 2nd princess and is a law student "with a strong presence" who also speaks her mind.

Then there's Christall Kay, originally from Durban, who is a former lawyer turned businesswoman "with ambitions of becoming a superstar".

Christall has walked the runways as a model and done commercials to prepare for "a career as a singer".

Busisiwe Ter Mors is also known as "Lendy", a golfer born in South Africa but raised in England.

Busisiwe is a mother of two "with enough time to enjoy the joys of being a housewife, from living an affluent lifestyle to enjoying simple get-togethers hosting her friends and family".

According to the show, DStv subscribers will get access to the lives of these "glamorous wealthy Johannesburg women and take a tour of their wardrobes and get VIP access to their lavish parties"who apparently have "the biggest handbag and stilettos collections in town".

Ana Langenberg, the senior vice president of format sales and production at NBCUniversal International Formats, says "The Real Housewives franchise is a global brand, which seamlessly lends itself to localisation".

"For years M-Net has brought other international versions of the show to audiences across South Africa, so it is the perfect partner to launch the first official South African version."

"Johannesburg also makes for the perfect setting, with its rich history and vibrant culture. We can't wait for what we hope will be another successful series full of entertainment, drama and extravagance."

Reneilwe Sema, the director of local entertainment channels at M-Net, says "We are excited to be able to bring our viewers a South African version of The Real Housewives, a great franchise that has done so well internationally. The Real Housewives of Johannesburg will be a great treat for 1Magic viewers".