If you’re into shows like “The Sex Lives Of College Girls” or “Grown-ish”, then “Wyfie” will be up your alley.
Showmax recently released the trailer for the upcoming Afrikaans university drama, which follows the lives of four mismatched first-year room-mates at Pantera res at the fictional Eike university.
“Arendsvlei” star Beata Bena Green steps in as Shay, alongside “Trompoppie” actress, Celeste Loots as Amanda, “7de Laan’s” Kristen Raath as Kyla and “Dinge van ’n Kind’s” Mienke Ehlers as Mia.
The supporting cast includes Adrian Steyn, Marguerite van Eeden, Elzet Nel and Chelsea Thomas.
Narrated by Shay, the trailer details each girls’ personality.
She labels Mia as “the ultimate sneak” and Kayla a shy and awkward “goody two shoes”.
Amanda comes across as impulsive, reckless and spontaneous. Shay is quiet and peaceful until she’s engulfed in Amanda’s orbit.
The rest of the trailer is filled with fraternity parties, cussing and sex scenes, a typical university experience but with 10 times the drama.
Series director Johan Cronje said: “University is a very interesting time in your life, during which you discover a lot about yourself and the world you are trying to tackle as an adult.
“It’s a period of growing up where you begin to reconsider your own identity. This creates a beautiful space to explore stories of renewal and discovering life.”
Attesting to why viewers should tune in, he said the cast and production team where not shy when telling the story.
“I referred to it in pre-production as a story that should not be ashamed; it’s a very honest story and it’s not afraid to show university life the way it really is.
“I believe people want to recognise themselves on screen, and a lot of that comes down to you (as a TV creator) not hiding what life is really like. Anyone who has experienced res life will be able to relate to the story and characters of ‘Wyfie’,” said Cronje.
First-time director Eva du Preez and rising star Emilie Badenhorst will join Cronje’s team.
Head writer Marcel Spaumer confessed to using many of his own university experiences as part of the story, described university as a celebration of the friendships formed.
“When you get to university, you make friends with people from all walks of life, and people you never thought you would meet,” he said. “And then these weird, amazing friendships develop.”
Watch trailer below:
“Many of the members of our writing team lived in the university koshuise like I did, so this is 100% where the inspiration for ‘Wyfie’ comes from.
“It’s obviously fictional, but many of my experiences form part of the story, and many of the traditions we had in the dormitory, just transformed by bringing in just a little bit of the ‘Wyfie’ culture.”
Another interesting fact is that the production team has dedicated “Wyfie” to 24-year-old “Sex in Afrikaans” rapper, Angie Oeh, who died from cancer in 2023.
Her last recorded songs feature on the show.
“Angie was the inspiration for the series’s title. Having her as part of the soundtrack is incredibly valuable to me, sad and beautiful at the same time, because the music she and Peach created for ‘Wyfie’ is haunting.
“It’s some of her last work ever, so I just feel very, very lucky that we can use her music in this series.”
∎ “Wyfie” premieres on Showmax on February 12, with two episodes dropping every Tuesday.