'Young, Famous, & African' Review
On March 18th, Netflix released its first original African reality series, Young, Famous, & African. The series follows nine successful Africans from different countries: Kyanyi Mabu (South Africa), Annie Macaulay-Idibia (Nigeria), Nadia Nakai (South Africa), Diamond Platnumz (Tanzania), Quinton Masina (South Africa), Kayleigh Schwark (South Africa), Swanky Jerry (Nigeria), Andile Ncube (South Africa), and Zari Hassan (South Africa).
Mabu, who is often referred to as a “gold digger” online, moved on from her previous status as a sugar baby and is now a cougar, currently dating a 28-year-old man. Macaulay-Idibia is an actress with unresolved issues with her husband, of which come up over the series. Nakai is a famous South-African rapper, and Platmunz is a musician and self-proclaimed hunter. Masina, AKA the Naked DJ, is a sugar daddy and “unromantic disc jockey.” Schwark is a fitness enthusiast, and Swanky Jerry is a stylist. Finally, Ncube is an African TV personality and producer, and Hassan is a professional business woman known for being Diamond’s ex-wife.
The series has seven parts. Within those parts, it explores the cast’s personal lives and relationships, as well as the ensuing betrayals and challenges they face over their time together. The episodes are packed with drama, from Zari and Diamond’s complicated relationship to 2baba and Annie’s vow renewal. Viewers watched as the whole gang experienced a large fallout when a fun getaway organized by Zari only resulted in high tensions and bitter feelings. They were also shocked by Annie’s decision to disinvite Zari from her wedding. Although the renewal of Annie and 2baba’s wedding vows made for a beautiful scene, the series dropped a cliffhanger on viewers when Andile unexpectedly finds Diamond and Zari together.
Young, Famous, & African has many positive attributes, including the new perspective of Africa it brings to television: one of riches, luxury, and glamour. The cinematography is gorgeous and sucks the audience in right away. Through these insights we get into the lifestyles of the highly rich and fancy in Johannesburg, for the first time, Africa is portrayed as a wealthy, vibrant, and thriving continent. As coined by Decider, the “wealth porn” of this show is addictive; there’s something incredibly seductive about getting to escape into the lives of people who throw extravagant balls on a whim and engage in a well of drama. Additionally, the honest conversations that the celebrities engaged in added to the series’ effectiveness as a reality drama; they were unafraid to be vulnerable or to display their opinions and beliefs. The fashion on the show was also highly impressive, especially Jerry’s outfits. In regards to the cast itself, we see plenty of growth from them, another aspect to this show that strengthens the dynamic between the cast and enhances the viewership experience. For example, Annie and Khanyi’s first-episode fallout turns into a best-friendship at the end of the series. An important theme in this reality series is surrounding yourself with people who love and support you.
However, Young, Famous, & African lacks in certain respects. For one, the producers of the show do not provide a logical explanation for the cast’s friendship: thus, it seems disingenuous, suggesting that they only came together for the purposes of the show. Further, the audience doesn’t learn much about the cast’s backgrounds, aside from Annie. This would help give an authentic representation of these people’s lives, but instead, we are limited to the slice of life we receive in the series. The dramatic “fight” scenes come off as fake, almost as if the cast is engaging in the drama only for the sake of being entertaining.
Most importantly, although the series does a great job at presenting a beautiful aesthetic of Africa, it only gives the audience a very narrow view of the continent: that of Sandton, Johannesburg. This area is Africa’s richest square mile: thus, while it makes for a captivating view, it does not capture the spirit of the whole continent. This may not be something that can be captured in a short, seven-part series, but there at least could have been more steps to provide a more wholistic representation. The only distinct part about the show is the fact that it is filmed in Africa: however, it could have separated itself further from classic American reality TV dramas if it had placed more emphasis on the culture of Africa. Instead, it came off as just another Netflix reality TV drama that happened to be filmed in Africa.
Peace Hyde, Young, Famous, & African’s co-creator and executive producer, talked about working on the project with AfricaNews: “Young, Famous, & African presents an Africa that is vibrant, beautiful, glossy, and sexy to the world.” Further, on her Instagram, she shared this about the series’ approach: “I am truly proud to utilise (sic) the genre of Unscripted Reality TV to not only bring entertainment to global audiences but also change the perspective of Africa being a land of struggle and hustle that has been portrayed for years in the media…” While the show did do this to an extent, it did it on a limited scale, focusing on a tiny corner of Africa instead of incorporating a wealth of African culture and locations into the series.
Hyde also talked about the process of casting the show, a job she took very seriously, as she shared with AfricaNews. She said the cast was a “group of connected high profile friends who are Pan African and building their brands in South Africa. Our casts come from West Africa, East Africa, and South Africa.” It’s wonderful that the cast comes from such a wide range of the continent: however, an opportunity was lost here. To give a wider representation of Africa, the series could have shown more of the locations in which the cast comes from.
Despite the series’ flaws, Young, Famous, & African is a fun, seductive, and glamourous watch for audience members. Although it could have given a more extensive representation of locations in Africa besides Johannesburg, the fact that the show was filmed in Africa is still worth celebrating.