15 September 2023
Producer Ngwenya says series shows growth in his country’s TV production capability
Botswana-born TV producer Samuel Ngwenya, whose show on surviving in the capital city Gaborone made its debut on SA’s biggest platform on Sunday, regards the shift as an elevation of his profile.
Ngwenya’s 26-episode drama series titled Colours premiered on SABC1 on Sunday with 20-million viewers. With Botswana people have been consuming South African content for years, Ngwenya is proud to make history. The 49-year-old has been receiving positive reviews.
“Coming from a small population country to a large population country, we are hoping to make an impact. Colours was commissioned for Botswana TV in 2018. Botswana has been overshadowed by SA in terms of TV production.
We have been consuming SA content, and this time we have done something that is unconventional, which means we are growing.”
Colours is a story set in the capital Gaborone, and Ngwenya believes the show will expose local viewers to the beauty and challenges of Botswana.
“The first thing that people in SA will learn is that Botswana is not an SA province. Through Colours, they (South Africans) will get to see the beauty of Botswana.
The challenges that our youth have are similar to those of SA. The youths here have drug and delinquency problems. The show tackles issues such as peer-pressure, greed, dysfunctional families and HIV/Aids.”
Ngwenya further said of the show:
“Colours centres around a young man whose problems become his greatest strength, spiralling him onto a journey of self-discovery and change.
After the sad passing of his mother, who happens to be the breadwinner in the family, he must quickly find ways to assume parenthood and save his teenage brother and sister from a myriad of challenges.”
South African filmmaker, Bonginhlanhla Ncube, said:
“We are proud to bring such a brilliant series to our shores. It has performed well in Botswana, and we believe the support from SABC 1’s viewers will be even higher because the idea of control is totally relatable to South Africans and possibly the entire African continent.”
