LET’S be honest, there are a few good reality shows out there bit none of them come close to Dineo Ranaka’s (pictured) Dineo’s Diary.
At first she appeared to be an unlikely choice to have a reality TV show, but from episode one it became clear that the producers of the show knew the potential she had and how her professional and private life would generate so much public interest. With season 3 now upon us, there is no question that there is a serious demand for the mogul in the making.
We caught up with the executive producer, Solly Moeng, who has been with the show from the onset and he was not surprised that it had been successful.
“With Dineo it is always an exciting journey. Her life is always exciting. There is a lot of drama and good times in this season. She becomes very confident in who she wants to be.
“There is a fashion label that she is now pushing and that is among the many other things that she is interested in,” he said.
For Moeng, the general reason why Ranaka’s show is among the best in local reality, is that it is as honest as can be. While Nonhle Thema’s Nonhle Goes to Hollywood was the first official South African reality show, it was often criticised for being fake and inconsistent.
There were a lot of things that did not make sense in the show, especially because outside of it, Thema lived a different life. For instance, in one of her episodes she auditioned for an acting job and got a part to star next to US actor Ving Rhames. That was years ago and we haven’t heard anything again.
On the other hand, if Ranaka says she is going to record a song, we actually get to hear the song outside of Dineo’s Diary. In the first season she had her then boyfriend, whom she always fought with, and the media covered their split as if it was a real, newsworthy item. In keeping it real on this new season, Moeng says we will see a lot more of the Ranaka family.
“We are not only focusing on Dineo anymore but also on what Mommy is doing, what Manaka is doing. We are looking closely at her brother too. Dineo is going to become very confident in who she is and what she wants. The Ranakas are really great people to have on TV,” said Moeng.
With the Ranakas being individually zoomed in on, it was interesting to find out how much access the production team had to get all the good footage that they wanted to get the show running.
“The family is very open. As long as we chat about what we want to do and how we want to do it, we are good to go. The family, including Dineo, is quite an open book,” he explained.
Moeng has had a relationship with the reality show from the onset and he feels that what separates this product from the rest is that the Ranakas are naturally open people.
“If they have a problem among themselves they do not tell us to shut the cameras so that they can talk about it. They just address it there and then and the viewers can relate with the authentic communication,” he said.
“They give us 100 percent of who they are. They are a typical South African family who even get me thinking, ‘Wow, my mom says that to me’, or ‘Funny how Dineo’s reacting, that’s how I would handle it too’. I think they are relatable and that’s why they are the only South African family that’s on TV that is in its third season.”
• Dineo’s Diary airs at 7pm every Friday on Vuzu (DStv channel 116).