Season 4
Home Affairs is a South African television drama series created and produced by Roberta Durrant for Penguin Films which tells the story of nine very different women whose lives are interconnected by universal synchronicity and examines the connections people share with one another, unwittingly or not.
The series aired on SABC1 from 14 July, 2005 to 11 March, 2010. There are 65 hour-long episodes in four seasons. See "Seasons" below for seasonal broadcast dates and times.
Season 4
Now in its fourth season, the double International Emmy-nominated Home Affairs continues to focus on women's stories - stories which reflect the diversity of the millions of women in our country.
In the previous season viewers were introduced to a number of South African women whose lives were very different and yet were linked by the force of synchronicity.
Their journeys (and two new female character's journeys) continue in the new season as new twists and turns bring joy, tragedy, fear and hope to their lives.
In the last season Katlego (Lerato Moloisane) and her friend Katherine (Jessica Haines) experienced a terrifying ordeal ripped from today's headlines. They are hijacked and abused.
Like thousands of women in this country who have shared a similar experience, they are shaken to their cores and their sense of peace and security is shattered.
In Season 4 one of the hijackers - Themba (Ronnie Maphutha) - seeks forgiveness and reaches out to Katlego. But are his intentions real? Can Katherine be as forgiving as Katlego?
In Season 4 Thandeka (Baby Cele, replacing Nthati Moshesh) has to deal with the embezzlement of Young Blood's funds. Lesedi (Makgano Mamabolo) is implicated.
Thandeka struggles to keep Young Blood going and her life is threatened as she tries to uncover the criminals behind the event. Thandeka and Katlego are faced with a dilemma, which once again challenges their relationship when Nkosinathi (Anele Matoti), a fellow actor, enters their lives.
Vuyokazi (Brenda Ngxoli) returns triumphant from the Beijing Olympics, a celebrity. How does she cope with this newfound fame? When will she ever feel secure in her relationship with Thabani (Zizi Peteni), especially in the face of her new competitor Mpume (Busi Lurayi)?
Vuyokazi also starts a discus training outreach programme back home and stumbles across a horrific situation which threatens her life and challenges her to become the heroine she has always been.
Cherise (Therese Benade) has to come to terms with her mother Mrs van Tonder (Helene Truter, who replaces the late Trudie Taljaard) being in prison for the murder of Daniel (Stephen van Niekerk).
In prison we meet a new principal character Agnes (Phemelo Ngcobo), Mrs van Tonder's cellmate. Agnes is in prison because she stole baby food to feed her baby.
We follow Agnes's anguish at having to leave her child in foster care while in prison. We witness Agnes reclaiming her child in the midst of a family murder.
We also follow the story of Grace (Mbali Ntuli) who vacates the prison cell Mrs van Tonder will occupy. Grace has been in prison for putting a pedestrian in a wheelchair while driving home drunk one evening while at college.
Grace has to come to terms with the prejudice of her family and her community because she has been in jail. She has to try to build her life without any support structures. Nandi (Andrea Dondolo) comes to her rescue.
Home Affairs 4 continues to tell stories of struggle, but they are also stories of triumph - journeys towards self-discovery, love and empowerment.
They confront head-on the reality of women's lives and the unique challenges they face, as well as exploring what keeps them apart as well as what draws them together.
Home Affairs 4 illustrates a universal truth: women may come from different races, religions and backgrounds, be of different ages and speak different languages, but ultimately are not as different from each other as one may think.
They are all human beings searching for the same things: identity, love, happiness and acceptance. These are the things that the women of this series are searching for.
Season 4 Episodes
Episode 1
Vuyo finds it difficult to cope with all the attention when she returns from the Beijing Olympics with a bronze medal. Katlego is in a new theatre production and someone is stalking her. Two new characters are introduced, Grace and Agnes, when Mrs van Tonder transfers prisons.
Episode 2
Vuyo gets a promoter for photo shoots. Mrs van Tonder finds prison difficult and Grace is finding being out of prison a challenge.
Episode 3
Thandeka discovers that Youngblood is in grave financial trouble... and suspicion grows about who may be responsible. Vuyo struggles with her new teammate. Grace tries to find a new job, but discovers that it won't be easy.
Mrs van Tonder tries to find out more about Agnes. Katlego's paranoia about being watched increases.
Episode 4
Katlego is horrified to come face to face with one of the men who hijacked her. Mpume puts the pressure on Vuyo at practice. Off the field, Vuyo struggles with her relationship with Thabani. Thandeka's problems escalate while Nandi and Grace both experience job interview nightmares.
Episode 5
Katlego meets with her hijacker, Themba, she will not forgive easily unless Themba us prepared to tell the truth. Mpume continues to taunt Vuyo, which makes Vuyo's insecurities go deeper; even Yoli's help to turn her in to a vixen fails.
Thandeka is convinced that Senzo is the man behind the defrauding of Youngblood, but things get bleaker when the Board members pay her a surprise visit which leads to Lesedi resigning. Grace begins tracking down her victim as her sister organizes a party for her husband.
Episode 6
Cherise receives some news which forces her to return home and confront her past. Thandeka and Katlego try to share their troubles with each other. Meanwhile, Senzo's suspicions begin to grow. And during Bheki's birthday party, Grace comes to the rescue, but her triumph is short-lived.
Episode 7
Cherise visits her mother in jail and is the bearer of bad news, but later she is torn when her mother makes a challenging requests. Thandeka misses Lesedi, she also offends Senzo when he tries to help her solve the fraud mystery.
Vuyo is shocked to discover Yoli prostitutes herself to pay for her university fees. Grace gets herself a job with Nandi and Lesley, but it's still not enough for her brother in-law. Katlego is unsettled as Themba reveals all about his past. She decides it's time Katherine faced her fears head-on.
Episode 8
Katherine freaks out when Katlego brings a surprise visitor home. Thandeka is thwarted in her attempts to open a case against Gloria but refuses to give up. Grace has to leave and find her own place in the world. She is perhaps too honest for her own good.
Cherise, filled with trepidation, makes her pilgrimage home to her father. Miriam reaches out to Vuyo in a new way. Vuyo confides in her mother about her emotional turmoil. Katherine confronts her fears. Gloria plays very dirty.
Episode 9
Bitchy Mpume knows exactly how to get to Vuyo. Thandeka is scared about how far Gloria will go. Lesley and Nandi are paranoid about Grace's jailbird past. Katlego and Thandeka open up to one another. Grace gets to the truth about her sister's issues with her.
Mrs van Tonder takes on her tormentors. Grace reaches her darkest hour. Katherine and Katlego wrestle with their dilemma.
Episode 10
Cherise finally confronts her father, while Vuyo opens up her heart to Sonia. Agnes discovers that her child is being seriously neglected. Katlego and Katherine are called in to see the local police, and Grace gets her job back.
Episode 11
At the awards ceremony, Grace confronts her past and the mistakes she has made. Meanwhile, there is a break in Thandeka's case, and Vuyo begins to deal with her feelings.
Cherise takes action to help Agnes and her child. Katlego meets Themba's mother and gains a new insight into his life.
Episode 12
Vuyo takes part in a discus competition while Miriam discovers some shocking news about Buli. Cherise takes her terminally ill father on a road trip to visit her mother.
Thandeka reacts to an explosive showdown between Senzo and Gloria. Grace must face up to her past when she is visited by Malcolm.
Episode 13
After Vuyo attempts to rescue Yoli, she and Thabani must decide whether to take their relationship to the next level. Cherise must deal with the ramifications of her father's death. Thandeka fights for Youngblood's survival. Katlego's play wraps.
About the Show
Home Affairs is a drama by women for women.
It tells the story of nine very different women whose lives are interconnected by universal synchronicity and is about the connections people share with one another, unwittingly or not.
The women's stories reflect the wide cultural range of South African women. The women each undertake a journey of self-discovery, connecting with each other in various and random ways.
Katlego is a drama student at university who has to reconcile the emerging sense of her African identity with her Eurocentric upbringing.
Her journey collides with that of Thandeka - a highly driven NGO executive who dedicates her life to causes, but discovers that no cause can fill the void in her personal life - a void that began with her abandoning an infant child.
Vuyokazi is one of the lives touched by Thandeka's organisation. She uses sport as a way of elevating herself and escaping the misery of her home existence. Vuyo is not alone in her journey. She takes responsibility for the welfare of her younger sister, Buli.
Ntombi is a flight attendant whose job reflects her life - she is never grounded, always on the go and only experiencing life and love in fleeting moments.
Shanti is a doctor who has to balance the expectations of her family with listening to her own inner voice and being true to her heart.
Shanti's work brings her into contact with Cherise. Cherise is in an abusive relationship. Her challenge is to find the strength within herself to save her own life - and the life of her unborn child.
Katherine is Katlego's oldest friend who undertakes a journey of self-discovery to determine her identity as a white woman in post-apartheid South Africa - a country she still wants to call her home.
Finally there is Nandi, who works in the Home Affairs office and has always lived vicariously through observing other people's activities ... until now.
The show struggled for ratings in 2005 as it was competing in the hottest Thursday night timeslot - its competitors were the first season of The Apprentice: SA on SABC 3 and the first season of Desperate Housewives on M-Net.
The title of the show - Home Affairs - was supposed to have a duel meaning: affairs close to home and the more literal meaning of South Africa's Department of Home Affairs, where identities are found and lost, and where one of the characters works.
Unfortunately most South Africans view the Home Affairs office in a very negative light, and the season was almost over before viewers started realising that the dreary title did not match the surprisingly good quality of the show.
Home Affairs was created by Roberta Durrant with Portia Gumede, Makgano Mamabolo, Lodi Matsetela, Rosalind Butler, Catherine Stewart, Minky Schlesinger, Dennis Venter and Thomas Hall. The theme music was by Murray Anderson and Warrick Sony and the series was produced for SABC1 by Penguin Films.
Seasons
Series exclusive to SABC1
Season 1 (13 episodes)
Premiere: 14 July 2005 | Finale: 6 October 2005 | Thursdays, 21h00
Season 2 (13 episodes)
Premiere: 10 January 2006 | Finale: 4 April 2006 | Tuesdays, 22h00
Season 3 (13 episodes)
Premiere: 31 May 2007 | Finale: 23 August 2007 | Thursdays, 21h00
Season 4 (26 episodes)
Premiere: 3 September 2009 | Finale: 11 March 2010 | Thursdays, 20h30