Africa’s first LGBT TV-show

Proud is a docuseries that will give 11 diverse members of the LGBT community a platform to share their stories and experiences while exploring some of the issues raised.

“After my good friend came out to me as gay he told me about the difficulties he was facing and I knew that people like him needed a place to tell their stories,” says Thulani Maseko, the show’s creator and head of content for StarSat.

Maseko was surprised to find out that there hasn’t been a South African show made that revolves around members of the LGBT community. “I found it interesting that no one in Africa had created a show that focuses on the lives of the gay community so I am happy that we could be the first.”

Proud attempts to shed a light on multiple perspectives around its subject matters. “We wanted a true reflection of what it’s like in South Africa for members of the LGBT community and to hear what other South Africans had to say,” says Tracey Martin, producer of Proud. “We didn’t want to ‘take a side’ so we found as many voices to speak to on the issues as we could.”

Speaking of different voices, the 11 subjects of the show are very diverse. “We wanted to avoid having 11 versions of the same person telling the same story. We found men and women from different walks of life each with their own unique story to tell. Some of these stories are happy and will put a smile on your face whereas others are tragic and will shock you to the core.”

The show also aims to serve as an educational platform. “Our aim is not to create a trashy reality show but an educational show that treats subject matters with respect and honesty. We want to get beyond the narrative and get to how things really are. We also talk to various experts and organizations so that we can get the facts straight.”

Jan-Hendrik Harmse, a marketer for Proud and also a participant, hopes that the show will encourage more genuine conversations. “I’m hoping that the way we tell these stories will encourage people to have more person-to-person conversations that will lead to a little more understanding and a little less demonization.”

Wednesdays at 7 p.m. on ST Rise (ch 120) from December 4^th