IMAGE – Bravo/ The Real Housewives of Atlanta
The popular Real Housewives reality television franchise is continuing to expand across the world.
NBCUniversal Formats has partnered with African entertainment company Multichoice for several more African versions of The Real Housewives shows according to Variety.
The new versions will include Nairobi (Kenya) and Pretoria (South Africa), with several others in the making. Independent production company Provoco is filming the 14-part series in Pretoria, while the filming in Nairobi will begin in September.
The shows focus on the personal and professional lives of a group of affluent women residing in a particular city.
Ana Langenberg, senior VP at NBCUniversal Formats said-
We are so proud to build on the continued success of The Real Housewives franchises across Africa. The way each version faithfully embodies the spirit of the city, people and rich cultures it showcases connects with audiences across the region and the diaspora, It was such a magical moment to bring our production partners together with Multichoice for our summit in Cape Town to connect, collaborate and map out more versions we can add to the family”
Meanwhile Nomsa Philiso – executive head of content at Mnet Channels – said that the franchise is ‘proving to be very popular with our diverse audiences’ and that though it is a global franchise their spin on it is ‘authentically African.’
Among the most popular of the versions are The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, The Real Housewives of New Jersey, The Real Housewives of New York, and The Real Housewives of Atlanta.