# The Polygamist: How the Netflix show is starting conversations in South Africa

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/what-in-the-world-6570991/the-polygamist-how-the-netflix-show-is-starting-conversations-in-south-africa
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/what-in-the-world-6570991/the-polygamist-how-the-netflix-show-is-starting-conversations-in-south-africa.md
Podcast: [What in the World](https://stenobird.com/podcast/what-in-the-world-6570991)
Published: 2026-07-13T14:06:00+00:00
Episode link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3ct98xp
Audio file: http://open.live.bbc.co.uk/mediaselector/6/redir/version/2.0/mediaset/audio-nondrm-download-rss/proto/http/vpid/p0nyjkz0.mp3
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Duration seconds: 705

## Resource

There’s a new Netflix show that has got lots of us talking: The Polygamist. It’s a drama based in South Africa about a wealthy businessman named Jonasi Gomora who has multiple wives and a mistress. It’s packed with betrayal, revenge… and cheating. It’s become the most-watched Netflix show in South Africa and Kenya, and it’s hit the top 10 in countries like Nigeria and Romania too. But it’s also got people talking about polygamous relationships - which are legal in South Africa and many other countries - and whether they work. BBC reporter Khanyisile Ngcobo joins us from Johannesburg to unpick how people in South Africa have been reacting to the show, how polygamy traditionally works, and how conversations around it are changing. And we hear from fans in Ghana, South Africa, the US and the UK, who share what their group chats have been saying about the hit show. Instagram: @bbcwhatintheworld Email: whatintheworld@bbc.co.uk WhatsApp: +44 330 12 33 22 6 Presenter: Hannah Gelbart Producers: William Lee Adams and Chelsea Coates Editor: Verity Wilde

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## Transcript

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