The trailer starts, like The Lion King, with Lebo M’s distinctive voice singing, “Nants’ Ingonyama,” from The Circle Of Life, off Hans Zimmer’s Oscar-winning soundtrack to the animated classic.
“I’ve worked with some of the biggest and greatest, most talented people in the world,” says Lebo M, who’s won a Grammy, been nominated for a Tony for his work on the highest-grossing Broadway production of all time, and executive produced the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
But now, Lebo M says, “I’m re-entering a phase in my life as a family man… Family has always been the basis under which I function better.”
In the trailer, we see him throw a housewarming at his equestrian estate in Blair Athol, which he calls “our final home.” He shares the mansion with his 90-something mother; four of his children; and Angela Ngani-Casara, his third wife, who talks in the trailer of “a new era, a new dawn.”
But
Lebo M also admits “the dysfunctionality of my family history,” which
has seen him married three times, helping to raise nine children along
the way, one of whom tragically passed away.
The
tension with Tshepiso, his only surviving son, is particularly evident
in the trailer. Tshepiso lives in Midrand and has just become a father
himself, but Lebo admits in the trailer, “I’m in the worst relationship
with my son that I’ve ever been, since he was born.”
But, as Lebo M says at the end of the trailer, “I’m ready to face the music.”
Lebo M – Coming Home is the debut reality series from Dopezuluboi Productions, founded by Teddy Geldart, who directed two seasons of Being Bonang and was executive
producer of the SAFTA-winning Living The Dream With Somizi S4 and this year’s other hit reality show, Kwa Mam’Mkhize.
Lebo M – Coming Home is the third Original reality series this year from Showmax, after Somizi & Mohale: The Union broke the overall first-day viewing record on
Showmax and Life With Kelly Khumalo became the fastest Showmax Original to top one million views.
Other upcoming Showmax Originals include Babes Wodumo and Mampintha’s reality series, Uthando Lodumo; the long-awaited second season of the SAFTA-winning comedy, Tali’s Wedding Diary; the nightclub-set
murder mystery Skemerdans; and the small town psychological thriller Dam, all expected in early 2021.
The Showmax Original Lebo M – Coming Home is launching first on Showmax on 2 December 2020. Nants’ Ingonyama. Here comes a lion.