Zikhona Sodlaka reveals what to expect from Mandisa in 'The Wife' season 2

Season one of Showmax's telenovela The Wife wrapped up last week and it was filled with twists and turns that left viewers stunned.

Zikhona Sodlaka's character brought turmoil in the Zulu clan and fans were left wondering if she will ever be in the Zulu brothers' good graces. 

Speaking to TshisaLIVE, the actress said fans of the character can expect to see the other side of Mandisa and her being finally welcomed into the fold. She said Mandisa will still speak the way she spoke in season one and hold a space that is rightfully hers in the family that she has been part of for more than a decade.

“In the coming season we get to see how much she becomes even more part of the family and her journey with Zandile — what her relationship is and what it’s based on and an exploration of that. I’m excited about that. I’m constantly excited about relationships with women on-screen and we bring another side to it — what she is like with another woman.”

Mandisa and Hlomu, played by Mbalenhle Mavimbela, were the only women who were consistently present in the Zulu homestead. Zikhona said the relationship between them and the new-edition Zandile (Khanyi Mbau) will take viewers on the journey of what it takes to be wives to the Zulu brothers. 

“We’ve seen her with this one woman (Hlomu) and then the dynamic gets explored more. What is the relationship between the wives, the show is called The Wife. So we get to see the women in their trajectory and a little bit more of course.  The story is so juicy, anything I say is going to be divulging a lot. We do see her grow, we see her other side, we see her definitely being sure of who she is and we see more of her life getting explored on screen.”

The Wife is based on Dudu Busani-Dube's best-selling novel Hlomu-The Wife and the bookworms were left shook and did not appreciate how the first season went, accusing the creators of sabotage for completely losing the plot of the book.

In a Q&A sent to TshisaLIVE last year, Dudu said because this was a TV show adaptation, fans should not expect to see exactly what they read in the book series.

“It's going to be very different ...  There are going to be new things and new people that are introduced by the film part of it and things that are going to be left out from the books. This is a telenovela that is inspired by the books, so it changes. It changes a lot. So look, ja, it's going to be different, but people are going to love it,” she said.