SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
There's a new hit series out of South Africa on the Netflix Top 10 list in 62 countries, including the United States. "The Polygamist" tells the story of a cheating husband's double life, and it tells it in the Zulu language. Kate Bartlett reports from Johannesburg.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "THE POLYGAMIST")
GUGU GUMEDE: (As Joyce Gomora) Gomora? Jo?
KWANELE MTHETHWA: (As Matipa, speaking Zulu).
KATE BARTLETT, BYLINE: A soap opera sizzling with secrets, seduction and scandal, Zulu style.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "THE POLYGAMIST")
GUMEDE: (As Joyce Gomora, speaking Zulu).
BARTLETT: "The Polygamist," set in Johannesburg, centers on a wealthy Black family, the Gomoras, and shows the matriarch, Joyce, as she tries to keep up appearances while her businessman husband, Jonasi, sets up house with another woman.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "THE POLYGAMIST")
GUMEDE: (As Joyce Gomora) Jo?
MTHETHWA: (As Matipa) Jonasi.
GUMEDE: (As Joyce Gomora) Jo?
MTHETHWA: (As Matipa) Jonasi.
BARTLETT: Without giving away spoilers, the 22 episodes deliver vicious catfights, fiery showdowns, homes going up in flames and enough twists to leave viewers with whiplash. And people are loving it.
SUE NYATHI: It also showcases a different kind of African lifestyle that viewers are not familiar with - the rich African.
BARTLETT: Sue Nyathi, the Zimbabwean writer who wrote the book the show is based on, says she thinks this is one of the reasons foreign viewers are amazed by the show.
NYATHI: Oftentimes in media, we have one lens in which Africans are viewed. It's always the poor, struggling Africans, right?
BARTLETT: Nyathi says her book struggled to gain attention when it was first published, making the Netflix adaptation a game-changer.
NYATHI: So in the book, the story is told from the women's POV. The men never speak because we've heard men speak all our lives.
BARTLETT: She was inspired to write it after seeing a shift from traditional open polygamy to secret second families.
NYATHI: Men will always justify why they want to have more than one wife. But I wanted to give the women a voice as to say, why would they choose this kind of setup?
BARTLETT: In South Africa, polygamy is allowed under traditional law, but not civil law. It's something the Netflix series producers know all about. It's made by two of the daughters of former President Jacob Zuma.
GUGU ZUMA-NCUBE: My father is a polygamist. He had several wives. It's definitely formed part of my experience. It's formed a big chunk of my childhood, is just understanding the dynamics, being frustrated sometimes by a lot of it, but also trying to appreciate it for what it is and for the choices that people make.
BARTLETT: Gugu Zuma-Ncube says her dad hasn't watched the show yet, but she thinks he will eventually. She also says she hopes the show's popularity abroad will have a knock-on effect.
ZUMA-NCUBE: We were completely surprised by, completely blown away, still kind of pinching ourselves at the moment as to how well it's done abroad. The attention that it's gotten, the welcome and reception that it's gotten, I think, will help the entire industry and will benefit all African storytellers.
BARTLETT: The show is in the Zulu language, though it switches seamlessly between English and other languages, too, which mirrors South Africa's multilingual reality.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "THE POLYGAMIST")
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #1: (As character) Two decades later, you still have this effect on each other? What's your secret?
GUMEDE: (As Joyce Gomora, speaking Zulu).
BARTLETT: But it also has a dubbed version into English, which is voiced by South Africans and keeps some of the local vernacular. Foreign viewers will be introduced to common words like haibo, an exclamation meaning wow, and the South African-wide weekend institution of braaiing - or barbecuing.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "THE POLYGAMIST")
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #2: (As character) Haibo (laughter).
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #3: (As character, speaking Zulu).
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #2: (As character, speaking Zulu).
BARTLETT: And it's sparking debate in South Africa, too, not just about polygamy but women's rights, safe sex and HIV. UNAIDS has even used the show's title character in ads, urging people, don't be a Jonasi. Keep yourself and your partner safe. And in Limpopo province here, a government campaign against gender-based violence uses the tagline, "The Polygamist" shows fiction. Gender-based violence and femicide shows consequences. Break the cycle.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "FUNERAL")
ZETHU MASHIKA: (Singing in Zulu).
BARTLETT: "The Polygamist" mixes scandal with a sharp portrait of modern South Africa. And a show built on sex and secrets is now driving some very real-life conversations.
Kate Bartlett, NPR News, Johannesburg.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "FUNERAL")
MASHIKA: (Singing in Zulu). Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.