One of Netflix’s hottest and sassiest new dramas has not only South Africa but the world talking about marriage, betrayal, revenge, and the contentious issue of polygamy – the practice of having more than one spouse at the same time.
The Polygamist, a 22-episode Zulu-language series, is about the tangled love life of wealthy Johannesburg businessman Jonasi Gomora.
It begins at the fictional tycoon’s funeral, where we learn that his widow Joyce, a social media influencer wearing a striking white outfit, is not his only partner. In fact, he has two other wives and a mistress, all of whom are there, dressed in black.
Emotions explode as secrets are laid bare – and in a dramatic rollercoaster, the plot spirals back over five years to explain their relationships and toxic family dynamics.
Released by the streaming giant on 12 June, the show topped trend lists within hours, and social media has been lit up since with reactions to the controversial plot twists – some people sharing memes and their own experiences about polygamy and faithless marriages.
Some minibus “matatu” taxis in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, have been redecorated with Jonasi’s face or name, such is the show’s popularity there and the debate around his behaviour.
Even Nigerian Afrobeats star Davido tweeted: “Yo JONASI is WILD” – and Hollywood celebrities have chipped in too.
“I thought Crazy Rich Asians was something, but crazy rich Africans is a whole ‘nother level,” Emmy-award-winning talk-show host and actress Sherri Shepherd said on Instagram.
In reply to the post, Taraji P. Henson – star of hits including Hidden Figures and Empire – said the show had her in a “chokehold” and that she had binged it in one day.
Based on the 2012 novel by Zimbabwean author Sue Nyathi, The Polygamist has been adapted for the screen by Netflix in collaboration with South African production company Stained Glass TV.
The executive producers include two daughters of Jacob Zuma, South Africa’s former president and a proud polygamist who is greatly respected by his supporters for upholding his cultural and traditional Zulu beliefs. The 84-year-old currently has four wives, has been married six times, and is estimated to have 20 children.
Gugu Zuma-Ncube and Thuli Zuma’s parents divorced in 1998 after 16 years of marriage, and another of their half-siblings is also credited as a writer on the series.
Zuma-Ncube says their upbringing and other issues she and others in the team experienced influenced how they told the story.
“A lot of the scenes that you see in the show are taken directly out of our lives. I famously come from a very polygamist family… [so] I brought that in,” she told the BBC.
The 41-year-old producer said her team at Stained Glass TV had been “floored” by the show’s reception not just locally, but across the continent.
It was the most-watched show on Netflix in South Africa and Kenya, and made it to the top 10 in Nigeria and Mauritius within the first week of its release. It attracted 2 million views and ranked number 4 on Netflix’s top 10 list for non-English series globally in its first week.
“The fact that Africa has embraced the show means a lot to us, especially considering the climate,” Zuma-Ncube said, in reference to the wave of anti-migrant protests that has sprung up across South Africa and sparked a massive backlash on the continent.
Beyond Africa, it was among the most-watched shows in Trinidad and Tobago, Romania, and the Dominican Republic, among others, the streaming giant told the BBC.
Zuma-Ncube said that while the producers had been convinced the show would entertain viewers, they had been pleasantly surprised by the “emotional chord it struck with women in relationships [and] children who’ve come from particular fathers or… households”.
It is the character of Jonasi, the patriarch of the Gomora family, that has stirred up the most feelings.
As avid viewer Ziya M, posting on X just two days after the show’s premiere, put it: “Jonasi has the whole nation riled up.”
Letlhogonolo Mogale, who binged the show days after its release, described Jonasi as a “serial cheater” and “opportunist who would do anything to satisfy himself”.
The 35-year-old is not from a polygamist family herself; nonetheless, The Polygamist’s storyline resonated and highlighted “social ills that happen and [are] normalized in South Africa”.
“What stuck out for me personally was how broken families are and how broken society is,” she told the BBC.
Polygamy is legally recognized in South Africa, and within Zulu, Xhosa, Ndebele, and Venda cultures, among others, it is not uncommon for a man to have multiple wives, as happens in some other African and Muslim societies.
The women tend to be set up in their own households, though there is usually co-operation between co-wives in terms of child-rearing – something that can be less realistic in urban settings.
For Mogale, the polygamy in the show is duplicitous, secretive, and “forced”.
It is “not supposed to be that way”, she said, adding that the scene that best illustrated this was between Jonasi and his eldest daughter, Mpume.
Jonasi has six children altogether, with three women, and is closest to Mpume who is known as “Daddy’s Girl”.
But as a teenager, broken by her father’s deceit, neglect and unfaithfulness, Mpume tries to express her feelings in a letter that she starts to read out loud to him.
His reaction – turning up the volume on the TV and ignoring her – stunned many, including Mogale.
The show does not shy away from tackling other issues such as sexually transmitted diseases, gender-based violence and the trauma these often inflict on African families.
There is also a controversial plotline about HIV.
With 13% of South Africa’s population living with the virus – polygamous unions have divided opinion in the country with many pointing to the dangers plural families face.
But the show does have its detractors. Kenyan civil servant Geoffrey Mosiria, who has a big following on social media, has called for the Netflix show to be banned in Kenya as it is gives polygamy a bad name.
“Kenya is a polygamous nation – and polygamy is the best way to find love,” the Nairobi County official told the BBC.
He explained that he was the product of a happy polygamous family – his father had three wives and he was the last born of 22 children.
“Polygamy builds a community,” he said, criticising how the series would fuel distrust in marriage.
South African film and TV critic Phil Mphela said The Polygamist was less about cultural polygamy and more about “the outrageous behaviour of this husband” – someone he sees as a narcissist.
He told the BBC the show marked a “pivotal moment” for the country’s film and TV industry.
While South Africa was known for its world-class productions, “being able to have our stories shared globally and being appreciated for their authenticity and impact in the social discourse” was important, he said.
“It’s doing exactly what it’s supposed to be doing because these stories are supposed to evoke something within our society.”
In an interview with the BBC, she praised the “amazing” cast and crew for their interpretation of Nyathi’s novel, which has also had a boost in demand for her book.
The 48-year-old author even took to Instagram this week to warn her fans that counterfeited copies of The Polygamist were being sold in a bookshop in Nairobi.
“Please don’t buy pirated copies. I am working day and night (like Michael Jackson) to make sure the book becomes available in the East African region. Copyright infringement is a crime and a violation of my rights,” she said.
While Netflix and the producers bask in the show’s reception, viewers are already asking if there will be more seasons.
“I think ultimately what we’ll be guided by is serving the story and serving the audience… [but] who knows where we end up,” a coy Zuma-Ncube said.
