The winning formula: Bobby and Karlien's new show speaks to the heart

Cult TV in South Africa has peaked with shows like Date My Family and Our Perfect Wedding on Mzansi Magic. Now the Afrikaans market is taking a stab at reality TV with VIA, an Afrikaans lifestyle channel, airing Bobby en Karlien: In Jou Skoene. The siblings are Afrikaans royalty and the show, probably for the first time, gives fans all access to the stars, cementing not just their celebrity status but also winning the hearts of people across South Africa.

In Jou Skoene began on 11 January and blasted to the number one show on the channel immediately. The concept is that the privileged pair give up their opulent lifestyles and spend 48 hours with people who have a very different existence.

In the first episode, Bobby and Karlien gathered their family members to announce that they would be taking part in the reality show with a twist and it was their nearest and dearest who each gave them a task to fulfill.

You'll often see the singers on the covers of magazines as their personal lives are fed to ravenous fans wanting to know everything about them. TV cameras give devotees brief glimpses into their homes and there is no doubt that their singing careers and sell-out albums have gifted them with plush lives.

Now they have to sleep on couches in the poor area of Danville, Pretoria, visit a children's home and meet people who have been abused, abandoned and chat to those, who like millions of South Africans, are jobless.

"We wanted to do a show that will not only change our lives but change the lives of the viewers. We knew that this kind of reality would not only mean a lot to us but also to those watching," Bobby and Karlien told us.

So they give up their extravagant lives for 48 hours and then go back to normal life? Nah! In the first episode, they visited the Abraham Kriel Children's Home in Modimolle. A crowd-funding initiative was launched on Candystick and within two weeks R65,390 was raised for the home.

Behind the success of the show is the simple formula of touching people's hearts. Strip away the hair extensions, make-up and fancy clothes and you've got a brother and a sister who have a talent and are trying to make a difference.

What's the one thing you've learnt about yourself during the filming of the show, we asked them.

"Never assume. You think you know what others go through in challenging times, but trust us, you have no idea."

Halala.

via GIPHY

The show airs every Wednesday at 8:30pm. Channel 147 is where it's at.