New year, new telenovela – 2023 will kick off on a high note when Mzansi Magic premieres the telenovela Gqeberha: The Empire on the 16th of January. With an impressive cast, gripping storylines and mouth-watering plot twists, it’s bound to be a favourite with Mzansi viewers.
Produced by the multi-award-winning Tshedza Pictures (The River, The Republic, Legacy), this is the first Mzansi Magic telenovela filmed entirely in the Eastern Cape.
Gqeberha: The Empire’s star-studded cast includes Zikhona Sodlaka (The Wife, Blood Psalms); Zandile Msutwana (Grootboom & Sons, The Queen); Mbulelo Grootboom (Wounds, Suidooster); Kay Bikitsha (The Queen); Phila Madlingozi (Isikizi, The Queen); Anele Matoti (Recipes for Love and Murder, Wounds); and Akhenime Mfenyana.
A stylish telenovela set in the Friendly City, Gqeberha: The Empire is about a man who seemingly has it all: family, love, money, power, glory and respect.
Luzuko Mxenge (played by Grootboom) is a successful businessman who is husband to three very different, very strong wives: Bulelwa (played by Sodlaka), Zimkhita (played by Msutwana) and Nozuko (played by Bikitsha). What more could he want? Another wife, for starters.
His decision to expand the family soon threatens to bring out the bitterness his wives have long-suppressed – but also comes with complications no one could have predicted, endangering his relationship with his heir-apparent.
Will the Mxenge empire continue to thrive, or will in-fighting make it easier for enemies to infiltrate, bringing about the family’s downfall?
Gqeberha: The Empire follows themes of dynasty, family, love, betrayal, polygamy and jealousy, through the lens of characters viewers will be able to relate to – there will be those you root for, and those you love to hate.
The telenovela will be replacing The Queen, which will come to an end after its seventh season.
Don’t miss Gqeberha: The Empire on Mzansi Magic (DStv Channel 161), Monday 16 January at 21h00.
