TV REVIEW. Tali’s Baby Diary on Showmax delivers a magnificent momcumentary.

by Thinus Ferreira

Tali's Baby Diary on Showmax delivers as the best South African television of 2021 so far - meticulously crafted "super-television" that shines with incredible quality stitching visible in even the smallest production details.

As a second or follow-up season to the multiple award-winning Tali's Wedding Diary, the very DNA of Julia Anastasopoulos and Ari Kruger's TV baby brilliantly shines through in their latest TV stroller that they created and wrote, are executive producing, and with Julia also once again starring as the self-obsessed and deliciously borderline-delusional Tali.

With a set of familiar and some hilarious new characters added into the mix, Tali and everyone in her hapless orbit are sucked into a veritable baby shower hurricane in the next chapter of her vanity fair story.

Tali is once again more than ably supported by her long-suffering husband and wannabe-property mogul Darren (Anton Taylor) and his jack-in-the-box helper Rael (Glen Biderman-Pam) who are confronting a new set of rivals this season and who can very likely fully carry their own Showmax spin-off series with their blunders in Cape Town's property market. 

A muted Ashley (Lucienne Bestall) is hilarious as Tali's "Dame Edna's Madge"-inspired assistant; even asked to go pee on a pregnancy kit to test it and for whom nothing is too much or too far serving as the help fluttering around the aspiring "mom-fluencer".

For superbly adorable low-EQ characters - captured so distinctly and vividly - all of the very deserved SAFTA wins from the first season of this show are proof that Tali's show wasn't and isn't a one-season wonder.

While the wait was longer than 9 months, Tali's Baby Diary, produced by Sketchbook, once again delivers incredibly well-done and incredibly funny television.

With its fine attention to detail in absolutely every aspect of the new season's production values, Tali's Baby Diary is a joy to behold.

The new episodes, the first two of which Showmax made available to critics to preview, have a high rewatch value. 

You can go back and watch it over and over to find even more terrific awkwardness all created in Cape Town from carefully crafted cinematography, wonderful comedic timing from a comfortable-in-cringe cast with masterful editing.

Make a plan if you have a baby because Tali's Baby Diary is the best South African TV show of 2021 so far and 100% guaranteed to make you literally laugh out loudly.

Tali's Baby Diary brilliantly continues the local TV industry's investment in South African mockumentary making with a local show that can travel globally.

With its universally-relatable theme of having a baby, infused with neurotic-hilarious Jewish joy, Cape Town snobbery and its distinct ambient sunlight, and the Karen-nesque title character's crazy demands only a singular question remains: How long the wait until Showmax brings viewers Tali's Toddler Diary?

Tali's Baby Diary is now available on Showmax.

Showmax renews Julia Anastasopoulos comedy for a second season entitled Tali's Baby Diary, rolls out Kelly Khumalo reality show and commissions two new drama series.

by Thinus Ferreira

MultiChoice's Showmax has renewed Julia Anastasopoulos' Tali's Wedding Diary for a second season entitled Tali's Baby Diary, will launch a new reality series with Kelly Khumalo and has commissioned two new local drama series to be released in 2021 as the video streaming service ramps up local productions to add to its content carousel. 

"We’ve deliberately ramped up emphasis on local content," says Candice Fangueiro, Showmax’s head of content.

"If you look at something like the first view metric, which asks what’s the first show someone watches after signing up for Showmax under the assumption this is probably what convinced them to join, three out of the top 5 first view pieces of content are now local."

As expected, the award-winning Tali's Wedding Diary has been renewed for a second season, Tali's Baby Diary, produced by Sketchbook Studios.

The second season of this first-ever Showmax Original when it launched in December 2017, will be released in 2021.

In Tali’s Baby Diary an unexpected pregnancy forces Tali into a desperate pivot from Insta-influencer to "momfluencer", as Darren (Anton Taylor) and Rael (Glen Biderman-Pam) navigate the choppy waters of the Cape Town property game. 

As the 9-month clock ticks down, Tali and the boys are forced to face the bigger questions about life, love and parenthood.

Showmax will release the reality series Life With Kelly Khumalo, on 6 August that will revolve around the South Africa singer. It's produced by BarLeader.

Showmax says Life with Kelly Khumalo will offer viewers "an intimate glimpse at the woman behind the headlines: a single mother of two who is juggling parenting with the build-up to the release of not just her new album, Undithatha Kancinci, but also her first gin".

Showmax also commissioned two new drama series that will be released in 2021.

Skemerdans, from Nagvlug Films is described as "a Cape Flats neo-noir set at The Oasis, a jazz club and after-dark entertainment venue that becomes the centre of a power struggle between two brothers, a scorned widow and an organised crime syndicate".

"As opposing forces fight to gain control of Glenn Fortune’s legacy, an ongoing murder investigation gets closer to the inconvenient truth." Amy Jephta serves as executive producer and showrunner on the 13-episode Skemerdans, co-directing alongside Ephraim Gordon.

In Dam, a prodigal daughter returns home to the Eastern Cape to bury her father, only to be tormented by spirits in the house as she wonders whether they are real or imaginary. 

Dam is being written and directed by Alex Yazbek, with Picture Tree producing.

MultiChoice's Showmax releases first concrete viewership number, says Tali's Wedding Diary just topped 1 million views as a possible second season is hinted at.

MultiChoice's subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) streaming service, Showmax, has released its first concrete viewership number and says Tali's Wedding Diary just topped 1 million views hinting at a second season for the South African mockumentary series.

Showmax has previously made several viewership claims without citing numbers and without willing to provide ratings information and viewership numbers when asked after making those claims.

This leaves the South African and wider TV industry, as with rival Netflix South Africa who Showmax is copying in not providing viewing statistics, unable to gauge what is popular under South African viewers, what they're watching, and how many.

At Saturday's 13th South African Film and Television Awards of the National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) at Sun City Tali's Wedding Diary, produced by Sketchbook Studios won 5 Golden Horn trophies, the first for Showmax and the first for any streaming service at the Saftas.

Tali’s Wedding Diary won Best comedy, Best actress (Julia Anastasopoulos as Tali Shapiro), Best directing (Ari Kruger), Best cinematography (James Adey) and for Best editing (Richard Starkey) and got the most awards in the 13th Saftas' comedy category.

The mockumentary follows Tali, a self-obsessed Johannesburg princess who's moved to Cape Town and is planning her wedding to property-agent fiance Darren (Anton Taylor). The series was inspired by Julia's own wedding to Ari, her SuzelleDIY and Tali's Wedding Diary co-creator.

Showmax says that the week before the 13th Saftas Talis’ Wedding Diary reached the milestone of passing 1 million views on Showmax.

Showmax released Tali's Wedding Diary in December 2017, which means it took a year and two months for the show to reach 1 million views.

It's not yet clear whether or if Tali's Wedding Diary has or will be renewed for a second season (Tali's Baby Diary?) but Ari Kruger, after the 13th Saftas win, said: "Let's hope this recognition allows us to make the next chapter."