Publications
- Season 3 of The Wife will premiere on 10 November 2022.
- The third season of the hit series was inspired by Dudu Busani-Dube’s book Naledi his Love.
- This season will see new additions to the cast, including Wiseman Mncube as Mqhele.
The anticipated third season of The Wife will hit the screens for its final season on 10 November 2022. The Showmax hit series was inspired by Dudu Busani-Dube’s book series Hlomu the Wife, Zandile the resolute and Naledi his Love, of which Season 3 is based on the latter.
While the themes and some cast members fans love will return this season, there are fresh faces and changes to expect.
1. Qhawe's love
The season begins with Qhawe (played by Kwenzokuhle Ngcobo) waking up from rose petals and a broken red vase. One can’t help but see this crimson opening scene as symbolic of what the season will cover: love, passion and bloodshed. After two seasons of unrequited love from his brother's wife, Qhawe fights tooth and nail to find his love - Naledi (played by Gaisang Noge).
2. The new Mqhele
Showmax recently announced Mqhele has been recast and that Wiseman Mncube would replace Bonko Khoza. The new Mqhele is slowly revealed to viewers in a romantic setting with his wife Hlomu (played by Mbalenhle Mavimbela).
She stares adoringly at her husband, and he is revealed bit by bit: first his arm and his voice – deep and robust, then his mouth and, finally, his new face. In case there was still any question that this is indeed Mqhele, he asks for ice cream as his dessert – this is known to be the characters guilty pleasure throughout the series.
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3. A more steamy sex scenes
If you thought that The Wife already has a lot of sex in it, there’s more to come. Director Fikile Mogodi shared that there are multiple steamy sex scenes in this season. From the first episode, sex is alluded to as Ngobe wakes up, barely dressed, between two women to answer a call from the Zulu brothers.
4. Mthaniya’s paternity
Hlomu’s child’s paternity is the elephant in the room. In a scene where Mqhele says Mthaniya is beautiful and takes after him, he is met with a moment of awkward silence from Hlomu. One can't help but wonder if this calls into question the baby's paternity following her one-night stand with Qhawe.
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5. Diversity
This season we meet a Tswana family through Naledi. For the first time, Zulu will not be the only language spoken.
Commenting on the diversity in language, the director Fikile says: “Tswana is not necessarily a minority but it’s not that popular, plus the show has built its brand around Zulu … Because we are inspired by the books, book three is Naledi’s story and those who love book three and those who love Naledi and Qhawe’s story would understand that a lot of it happens in Tswana. The book is written in English so it’s easier to accept it, with hearing the language with Tswana versus the Zulu – it becomes a very nice dynamic that we’ve been able to integrate well.”
6. Family drama
While the scuffles between the Zulu brothers are frequent, we are introduced to new family drama in Season 3. After Naledi was snatched from her date with Qhawe, she discovers her family was behind it and is not happy. Naledi meets her father with a slow dramatic head turn and teary eyes.
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