Maqhele and Nkosana were given time to transform because they played such big roles in Hlomu's story, the others were not given an opportunity to grow, therefore not memorable to me. I found that because the cast was plentiful, some characters were not given time to evolve.

I found myself going back and forth trying to keep up with who's who. Filled with unnecessary dialogue, in my opinion. A legendary love story peppered with ghetto-fabulousness. Sigh, the stuff that has made Mzansi Magic famous. From her first encounter with Maqhele, the-taxi-driver-turned-taxi-owner-turned-business-mogul, the all encompassing thug, at the Bree taxi rank ending with them celebrating 10 years of marriage serenaded by John Legend. The story spans over 11 years of Hlomu's life. I found myself chastising and reprimanding Hlomu at every opportunity. I think that I was reading it from my 'Parent-like' ego. I wouldn't have picked it had it been up to me. Wiseman Mncube takes over from Bonko Khoza as Mqhele, whose love story with Hlomu remains complicated.It took me two months to read this. The season kicks off with Naledi, played by Gaisang K Noge, Qhawe’s love, having been kidnapped and the Zulu brothers’ crimes making front-page news. Three new episodes will land every Thursday into 2023. The Wife Season 3, based on Naledi His Love, dropped on Showmax on 10 November 2022, with the first three episodes landing at 5am. The Wife is being produced by Stained Glass, the company behind SAFTA-winning shows like eHostela and Uzalo, South Africa’s most-watched soap opera.

The role of Zandile, the fierce matriarch of the Zulu family, is played by Khanyi Mbau (Happiness is a Four-Letter Word) and Mondli Makhoba (Umkhokha) reprises his role as Nkosana, the eldest Zulu brother in The Wife.

The second season is inspired by the follow-up novel, Zandile the Resolute. Her love interest, Mqhele, is played by Bonko Khoza, who burst onto the acting scene as Jabz in the multi-award-winning film Necktie Youth and has since appeared in the likes of Professionals and the Emmy-nominated Roots. Rising star Mbalenhle Mavimbela (Skeem Saam, Isipho) plays “Hlomu the wife”, the journalist who falls in love with a taxi driver, not realising that when you marry a man, you marry his secrets. The first season is inspired by the novel Hlomu the Wife, a bestseller by Dudu Busani-Dube. The Wife series is a Showmax Original telenovela that follows the lives of the eight Zulu brothers, a formidable crime family, through the eyes of the women they marry.

Hlomu the wife book 1