Moferefere Lenyalong is a South African television sitcom created and produced by Moja Movie Factory which centres around the dysfunctional characters living in or visiting the fictitious Cherry Blossom guest house, which doubles as a wedding chapel.
It is broadcast in Sotho, Tswana and Afrikaans, with English subtitles.
Cherry Blossom farm and guesthouse is the home of true love, but it resembles more of a relationship war zone.
Run by Kgosi and Lesego Matlakala and a motley bunch of staff and relatives, the Ficksburg farm not only produces a dubious cherry liqueur, it is also home to a wedding chapel. Weird and wonderful couples come and go, hoping, and sometimes succeeding, to tie the knot.
Meanwhile the staff struggle riotously to cope – mainly with each other.
The show's tagline is: "A slice of hell right in the middle of heaven..."
Moferefere Lenyalong was executive produced by Stephanie Pickover for Moja Movie Factory. The head writer was Charl Blignaut and the music was composed by Tongogara Ntlokoa.
Characters
Character: Kgosi Matlakala
Actor: Patrick Shai
Former magistrate Kgosi Matlakala has bought back his ancestral land. He’s moved from Jozi to Ficksburg to reclaim his roots. And he’s brought with him his gorgeous and stylish trophy wife, Lesego.
Kgosi thinks he is a wise man and the king of his castle. In truth, though, he’s a bit more like the naked emperor.
His greatest desire is to instil in his son Nthato a passion for the land and his cultural heritage.
Character: Lesego Matlakala
Actress: Liopelo Maphathe
Kgosi’s second wife, Lesego Matlakala, is a stylista, a fashionista and a Sugel. Her first husband turned gay, and many would say it’s not surprising.
Lesego is feckless and selfish, and goes to great lengths to get her own way, which she usually does. Being a city girl Lesego finds the country grubby and tradition unnecessary, but she can be exceedingly charming and that - combined with her beauty - makes Kgosi adore her.
Lesego firmly believes that Kgosi’s money can buy him her love. She can’t stand the idea of being Nthato’s mother – mothers are old.
Character: Mapaseka Montsho
Actress: Elizabeth Serunye
Mapaseka Montsho is a childhood friend of Kgosi’s and now the tyrannical Queen of the Kitchen at Cherry Blossom. Impatient with Lesego’s city ways, Mapaseka is the cultural ambassador of all things Sotho.
Honest and blunt, she rules the kitchen with a large wooden spoon and an even larger voice.
Character: DK
Actress: Tshireletso Nkoane
DK is also called by her full name Dikenkeng Magdalena Montsho, usually when things are going badly wrong.
Perpetually afraid that her Auntie Mapaseka will send her back to Botswana, DK spends most of her time trying to get out of chores, thinking up schemes, and practising her moves for the day when she takes up her rightful place as beloved pop Diva.
She secretly admires Lesego’s style and sometimes can’t help borrowing an item or two (or three) from Lesego’s wardrobe.
Her friend and accomplice at the guesthouse is Nthato.
Character: Nthato Matlakala
Actor: Rantsatsi Rantsatsi
Nthato Matlakala is Kgosi’s son – by his first wife, as Lesego is always keen to point out.
Impressionable and vulnerable, Nthato tries hard to make his father proud of him and be a useful pair of hands on the farm, but he usually ends up being bullied by Tsireletso, and dragged into her doomed escapades.
He’s on a mission to save the planet, but his attempts usually have disastrous results. Mothered by Mapaseka, Nthato waits hopefully for just a little attention from his father.
Character: Phineas
Actor: Babes Mphatseng
Phineas is Cherry Blossom’s handyman/gardener/bell hop whose silence speaks volumes. Kgosi and Mapaseka use Phineas as a captive audience, delighting in the fact that he won’t talk back.
Lesego finds his lurking creepy, and DK and Nthato try to co-opt him into their schemes – usually when they desperately need help to fix some mess they’ve made.
Phineas’ feelings about all of them are captured in his only spoken word: "Khile!"