Society  is back on SABC1. 27 October 2009 marked the return of Akua (Zandile Msutwana), Beth (Sibulele Gcilitshana), Inno (Lele Ledwaba) and Lois (Samela Tyelbooi), the four friends who were initially re-united by their friend’s suicide in the first season of the acclaimed drama.

Viva Liles-Wilkin, public relations officer at Puo Pha Productions, says, “Fans of season 1, which was well received in 2006, will catch up with the four lead characters a year later. This time around the fabulous friends are once again drawn together by their renewed commitment to the monthly society meetings. Their friendships have strengthened as they face the challenges affecting young black women living in urban Johannesburg.”

The new season takes on a lighter side of the characters’ lives and focuses more on the humorous aspects of finding love, managing a family, career and coming out as a lesbian. “The mini series was a lot more somber. Maybe it spoke volumes about what we were going through at the time personally in our lives. This season is a little more hopeful, brighter and lighter,” says Viva.

Viewers can look forward to some well-known faces. Bubu Mazibuko, of Yizo Yizo 2 and fame will be playing the sexy huntress Mantoa Makgoba. Stokvel’s Manaka Ranaka returns as the lovable lesbian Ayanda and other names include Scandal’s Luthuli Dlamini, Isidingo’s Thapelo Mokoena and Stoan Seate from music group Bongo Muffin.

The writing and acting this season was geared towards a new look and feel of the show, which is trying to tap into the Sex and the City market. Vukile Madlala, SABC1 publicity manager, says: “We worked at making the series a little more glamorous, from the styling of the four leads, to the final look of the production. We think we’ve done exceptionally well, considering the circumstances, and we look forward to the response from Mzanzi fo-sho viewers.” Viva adds, “We always use Sex and the City as a reference because of the four women but Society has a very different, very local tone. This time we wanted to keep it light-hearted but never shying away from the taboo issues of women. We were inspired by the people around us.”

Viva says that the even though they do not have concrete ratings of the show, they could judge the shows popularity from the number of hits and fans on Facebook and Twitter. These have indicated that the first season was a huge success. The series was featured in a number of film festivals across the country, including the Out in Africa Gay and Lesbian Film Festival that took place in September 2009.

Part of the hype surrounding the show was its authentic portrayal of the lesbian character, Beth Mazibuko played by Sibulele Gcilitshana. Although this season will take up a lot of viewing time, the production company is hopeful for a fourth season. “This is a second and third season already, so it’s going to take up to six months to flight the 26 episodes. If the stories of the four women lend themselves to becoming another season, there’s always room for more if the creative and tedious process of writing is given the right amount of attention,” says Viva.

The series is directed by AFDA graduate Adze Ugah, who has directed and produced several hit shows such as Home Affairs, City Ses’la, Jacob’s Cross and Heartlines. Lodi Matsetela and Makgano Mamabolo are the brains behind the operation, having produced and scripted the show since its inception. As co-owners of Puo Pha Productions, they are now executive producers and head writers for the show. They also worked on the currently screening fourth season of the International Emmy Award nominated drama series, Home Affairs, for Penguin Films.

The series airs every Tuesday at 8:30pm on SABC 1.
Siyamukelwa Ngcobo