Local talent engaged for “Date My Family”

  • Local version of reality TV series to premiere on July 18
  • But Multichoice says response to its call for participants is low

GOSEGO MOTSUMI

Botswana’s version of South Africa’s reality TV show, “Date My Family,” will premiere on Zambezi Magic on July 18 featuring local talent from production to voice-over artists.

After established local production houses were invited to submit pitches for the production of first season of the show’s Botswana version, Corporate Affairs Manager at Multichoice Botswana, Thembile Legwaila-Ndzinge, said a company named Motion Blur was selected for the job and that the voice-over artist was a Motswana.

“Bringing “Date My Family” to Botswana was a landmark decision which will stimulate growth of local productions and talent,” she said. “At MultiChoice, we strive to be Africa’s most-loved storyteller.

As such, we are continuously looking for opportunities to invest in authentic local content and to share the local Botswana story on the DStv platform. We recently watched Botswana’s own Koketso Mophuting and Mothusi Maxwell as they played roles on Mzansi Magic’s “The Throne” and we continue to look for more ways we can see Batswana on our screens.”

“Date My Family” helps singletons find love by sending them on dates with their potential partner’s family and the show is already a hit on Msanzi Magic’s Channel 161. In the reality show, the “Date My Family” crew takes their bachelors or bachelorettes to share a meal with three different families with hopes of finding love through the family’s representation. The bachelors or bachelorettes later choose which family they would like to take on an official date, depending on how well their families represented them.

The announcement of the local version earlier this year generated massive interest among Batswana because the show has a massive following in the country. Moreover, Zambezi Magic, which provides a mix of locally-produced content for six markets in southern Africa, including Botswana, also called in single people searching for love to participate in the show.

Even so, Legwaila-Ndzinge said response to the call for participants was relatively low. “In markets where the reality TV show concept is still new, initial response tends to be relatively low. We are optimistic that we will receive more entries as the show gains momentum and we begin production.”