Two years ago, Africans were united as they ran and not walked to stream the first season of Netflix’s Young, Famous & African. It felt that finally, we had a multicultural show that we could all enjoy, as we watched some of the most famous stars from Africa share a screen in a way that had not been seen before. However, the show failed to meet expectations as it felt more like a highly glamourised soap opera than a reality television show featuring an inside look at the highly coveted lives of the cast of celebrities.
From unsolicited baby mama drama, surrogacy miscommunication, fanning the flames of preexisting conflicts, new romances and trial proposals, season two of Young Famous & African was messy, to say the least. While the Netflix production did a good job of showcasing the beautiful landscape of South Africa, the cast members did not showcase the best of Africa.
The cast expanded to include new faces in the highly awaited season two. More personalities meant more differing opinions and chances of clashes and in an unexpected twist, best friends Swanky and Annie were caught in a fight that was just a display of miscommunication.
Viewers forgave the orchestrated meet-ups and false dramatic conflicts between characters last season because it was the pilot season. However, season two was very similar in plot structure to season one, instead of treating this show as an opportunity to showcase African talent, by taking the audience into the daily lives of these business and entertainment moguls, the audience received a washed-down, messy version of what felt like the “Housewives of Africa”.
Ghanaian musician Francine Koffie popularly known as Fantana, South African Television personality Bonang Matheba, and Namibian businessman Luis Munana all joined the season two cast and brought with them the unexpected and fueled bouts of conflict. The new personalities that joined the cast, added more flair, fashion and drama to the mix, but only served to showcase how the reality television series failed to bring honesty and authenticity to the audience.
The creators of the show had an opportunity to take Africa and its famous superstars to the world but failed to hit the mark. Every episode revolved around petty rumours and gossip passed from each member of the so-called “family”, and going out to restaurants. No insight was given to what these people are actually famous for, or what it takes to be young, famous and African.
In a continent that is so often ignored by the rest of the world and considered third world, being part of honest wealth and fame is something to be celebrated. The show did not allow the audience a chance to celebrate the hard work of the cast members. Every part of the nine episodes felt scripted, heavily produced (all those opulent cars, planes and booked-out venues) and failed dismally to feel like a true depiction of wealth and success amongst Africans.
Every production that comes from Africa, especially high-quality production that aims to break stereotypes and break boundaries for all Africas, is essential to our continent’s entertainment industry. Young, Famous & African, breaks boundaries and displays Africa in a newly glamorous way. However, looking at the bigger picture, the cast failed to inspire and correctly illustrate what it truly takes and means to be famous and African.
