IN SOUTH Africa, when a new entertainment TV show is announced, it is likely to be one of two things; a magazine show about what’s hot in the industry, or a reality show. It is just the nature of the business right now, so it is refreshing to get something a little different every now and then.
Coming to you on SABC3 on Wednesday is Man Cave, a programme that will focus on all the things that the average guy enjoys. The show is to hosted by former Top Billing presenter, Janez Vermeiren, and Selimathunzi’s Lunga Shabalala (both pictured).
Coming off as Vermeiren’s idea, the show dares guys to try something at least once in life.
“It’s the alpha male type of show which seeks to challenge guys to get out there and live a little,” he said.
Vermeiren had had the idea for the show for a long time, but as with any TV show of this magnitude, there was a need for careful planning and to find sponsorship.
“It was a struggle to get to this point, but I am happy that there are a lot of people who took the leap of faith with me, from our sponsors to SABC3. The idea came from realising when I was on Top Billing that most of the reactions I got were when I was being myself.
“By this I mean there are several aspects to a show like Top Billing where at one time you can find yourself doing the serious presenter thing and in another you are screaming off the rope of a bungee jump. It’s the moments like the jump that people enjoyed, perhaps because they could relate. I also realised that there are few-to-no shows for men on TV, if you remove sport, so there was a need to cater for the guys’ guy and Man Cave is just that,” he explained.
While many people speculated that Man Cave would be just like Top Billing, after seeing a snippet of the show, it turned out that this was not the case.
Man Cave is about egotistical men, (which is almost all of them) who compete at almost everything they come across. From that you pick up that they are reviewing productions and showcasing places without being obvious about it. There will also be fashion and health tips included.
“I met Lunga at several events and the more we got to know each other the more I realised that he is very competitive. This is exactly what I was looking for in the person who joins me on the show.
“He has the gift of the gab, a great personality and it helps that women love him. We are placing two males who represent several things like youthfulness and maturity. I am old- school and Lunga is still very young so this will come across in all the activities we do. I am more cautious and he is a free spirit.
“We did this to hopefully have a wider age range as far our audiences are concerned.”
Man Cave will air at 8pm, a slot most broadcasters are worried about thanks to the fact that it has been occupied by the much loved Generations for “generations”. That said, Vermeiren is not bothered in the least.
“We have a different target audience so I think we will be fine. The thing is, 8pm is prime time and we are happy SABC3 took that chance with us,” he said.
• Man Cave is set to premiere on Wednesday at 8pm on SABC3.