It appears the unscripted format continues gaining popularity with South African television viewers. Just look at how successful Kwa Mamkhize and Zodwa Uncensored have been.

In 2019, a record number of viewers tuned in to watch Living The Dream With Somizi, Being Bonang, Survivor SA and amongst others the premiere season of locally adapted international reality franchise, The Bachelor SA.

It’s clear channels and streaming platforms have invested further into the commissioning of reality shows, which means local audiences will have more to look forward to in the first quarter of 2020.

We’ve rounded up five most anticipated South African celebrity reality shows;

KELLY KHUMALO

While the tea on Kelly Khumalo’s looming reality show has been scant at best, QuenchSA has reliably learned that the reality show will in fact premiere exclusively on Showmax. With this, the show will be joining Somizi’s wedding special as one of the unscripted celebrity shows that have been confirmed to be Showmax original premieres.

Kelly’s upcoming reality show will lift the veil on her personal life. Photo Credit: Instagram/Kelly Khumalo. Picture by Kwezi Khumalo

That alone suggests that the folk over at DStv and Multichoice are shifting their focus on linear television and paying more attention to their digital property. Along with the changing objectives, reality is at the centre of moving audience across platforms.

Khumalo is already one of the most talked about South African celebrities, so a visual document of the pop singer’s life is exactly what has been ordered.

Kelly Khumalo has been a fixture in the tabloids for the last decade for her burgeoning career in music, her impressive vocal range, her string of celebrity relationships with high profile entertainment figures, and other highly publicised scandals.

Most notably, however, viewers might also be tuning in to see whether or not she will be engaging openly with the much talked tragic death of her late boyfriend, former Banana Bafana captain Senzo Meyiwa.

KHANYI MBAU

Mbau often prides herself on being one of the first South African celebrities to push the envelope. And honestly, she’s not reaching!

Fans will be keen to see the fascinating going-ons in the life of Khanyi Mbau (left), pictured with his social media sensation brother Lasizwe (right) Photo Credit: Gallo Images/Oupa Bopape

At just 22 years old, the media personality was already a viral sensation thanks to her publicised opulent lifestyle.

She became a fascinating figure over her open book policy, which found her indulging in public displays of her expensive whips, twin Lamborghinis with her wealthy ex-husband Mandla Mthembu.

Though, we were all shocked last year to find out she once shared him with Zodwa!

Her rise to the crest of pop culture predated the advent of social media, which means she gained a huge following even before the world came to know the Kardashians.

As her life was being frequently splashed all over mainstream media, with that one iconic interview she did with Deborah Patta bolstering the frenzy around her, she began crafting a career in media. She first took on the popular character of Doobsie on SABC 2 soapie, Muvhango. Then more roles, book and endorsement deals.

And much like Kim Kardashian, she’s been able to sustain her fame with her continued presence in pop culture.

Though, following her explosive divorce from Mandla, that attention was primarily fuelled by her work, her impeccable fashion sense, her flirtations with the music industry, as well as constant rumours of skin lightening. The rise of her viral social media sensation brother, Lasizwe, has also ensured that she remains a mainstream culture fixture.

On the show, yet to have a confirmed title, we expect all these elements to be part of the magic. Her talk show on e.tv was a great success because she’d always been fearlessly honest about who she is, even if it makes some a bit uncomfortable.

Fans would want to see the growth that has led her to finding love outside the transactional relationships she’s openly had in the past, how she’s sustained longevity in a game so fleeting, her interactions with her family (including, of course, Lasizwe!), and her glamorous lifestyle.

EVODIA MOGASE

Known to her fans as Madame, the alter ego that propelled her popularity during the first season of the Real Housewives of Johannesburg, Evodia was the undisputed breakout star after the franchise had aired a successful season in South Africa.

Evodia and her daughter Mercy Mogase, a.k.a ‘The Versaces’, looking glamorous at the Real Housewives of Johannesburg S1 Reunion taping in Randburg, Johannesburg. Photo: Instagram/Evodia Mogase

Her famous quotables saw her become not only a fan favourite on the show, but also a meme that kept on giving on social media. And along with the fascinating relationship with her daughter, lifestyle and health fanatic Mercy Mogase, it was clear from the get go that Evodia had what it takes to carry her own spin off show.

RELATED: EVODIA MOGASE AND BRINNETTE’S TEA-PARTY SCREAMFEST ON RHOJ

Slated to premiere on Mzansi Magic, DStv channel 161 sometime around April, the show offers viewers a deeper drill into Evodia’s life. We are are being promised glimpses into her personal and professional lives — such as her friendships (it’s quite a high profile network of friends, including Somizi and Athania “who’s the real own of the Porsche SUV Brinnette was accused of faking as her on season 1 of RHOJ).

SOMIZI

In as much as we are amped for the fifth season of Living The Dream with Somizi, it’s the four part wedding special that we are even crazier about! Dubbed the “wedding of the decade”, Somizi’s nuptial to Mohale, to whom he got engaged by the Eiffel Tower in Paris, had every South African A-lister in attendance.

Entitled Somizi & Mohale: The Union, QuenchSA has revealed here that the highly anticipated show is a four-part special distilling the celebrity couple’s journey to marital bliss. The reality special will showcase the newlyweds uniting their families and in a spectacular blending of their respective Zulu and Sotho cultures!

RELATED: WHAT TO EXPECT ON ‘SOMIZI & MOHALE: THE UNION’!

From their traditional wedding in Kibler Park in Johannesburg in September 2019 to their white wedding in Muldersdrift today, Somhale’s four-part wedding special is a front-row seat to one of the most historic, heartfelt and not forgetting fabulous weddings in South African celebrity history.

Expect romance, gorgeous decor, dazzling chandelier cakes, premium champagne and multiple costume changes. Somizi & Mohale: The Union premieres on Showmax today on Monday, February 24th!

PENNY PENNY

We didn’t know how much we needed access into Papa Penny Penny’s life until the show was commissioned and premiered on Mzansi Magic in 2016. The show documents the colourful life of legendary Tsonga disco king Penny Penny as he navigates life as a musician, polygamist, a father of 17, community leader and son to his 90-year-old mother.

The show, which trends every time its on air thanks to its never ending supplies of pleasant surprises, meme worthy moments, topical points that trigger debates and conversations, as well as Penny Penny’s vibrant life.

The show also departs from the Nguni-centred landscape of local interest programmes, especially in the unscripted format, to give us sightings of other cultures. In many ways, this is a reflection of the Shaka Bundu hitmaker’s legacy.

His XiTsonga sounds echoed throughout the country, in a manner that paved the way for the likes of Sho Madjozi, King Monada and Makhadzi, who are all representing Limpompo in contemporary culture.

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