Just a week after The Wife premiered on Showmax, the South African telenovela is breaking streaming records.
The Wife surpassed Uthando Lodumo’s previous record for the most first-day views of all time on Showmax.
The telenovela also broke Devilsdorp’s record for most hours watched in four days, outperforming the launch of any film or series on Showmax, including Game of Thrones, The Real Housewives of Durban, and The River.
Dudu Busani-Dube’s best seller Hlomu The Wife was the inspiration for the telenovela, which premiered a week ago, on 11 November 2021.
The first season has 40-episodes and tells the story of Hlomu, a journalist portrayed by Mbalenhle Mavimbela of Skeem Saam fame, who falls in love with Mqhele, a taxi driver played by Bonko Khoza.
Hlomu soon finds out that when you marry a man, you marry his secrets.
The story line seems to have resonated with a lot of viewers, given the conversations around the telenovela that were trending on social media.
Before the launch, Dudu warned fans that the book-to-TV show adaptation wouldn’t be exactly what they read.
“It’s going to be a whole different experience,” she said.
“There will be new things and new people presented by the film portion, and things left out from the books.
“The Wife is a telenovela based on the books; therefore, it will change. It fluctuates a lot. So, look, ja, it’ll be different, but people will enjoy it.”
