Carving a niche in the world of talk shows
AS FAR as blazing trails goes, Tumi Morake is no stranger to the phrase. The comedian, actress and businesswoman launched her new night-time talk show, #WTFTUMI on SABC3 last week.
Morake is not afraid to take a dip into uncharted waters. Yes, the late-night talk show format is not a new one to television. Even her style of having more than one guest isn’t new.
What’s new is that Morake is bringing an element of silly humour to the format. She is, essentially, bringing herself. We’ve already seen, through her stand-up comedy routines and even through shows like the dubiously titled Red Cake Not The Cooking Show, that Morake enjoys physical jesting.
Before the first episode aired, Morake did an interview on Metro FM in which she explained that her aim for the show was to reveal a side to her guests that the audience didn’t know about. And so I expected #WTFTUMI to be an in-depth discussion with the the rich and famous about their lives.
The first episode was a bit of a promo for the guests, awkward dancing and weird games. So I had to adjust my expectations. David Kau, who also has a new show coming up on SABC3, was the first guest. He and Morake had some sweet moments where it looked like they both couldn’t believe she was finally live on television.
Morake often turns the teasing to herself so it’s not merely jokes at other people’s expense. Morake side-noting that she can’t remember the last time she paid her TV licence was funny.
The next guest was Pearl Thusi. The first thing the Quantico actress said was: “Why is David here?” Valid question. I get that some talk shows prefer this style. But it can be awks for someone to be sitting on the couch listening to another talk endlessly about boyfriends and bonds.
I figured Kau didn’t leave the set because the pair had to square off in a dance match. Maybe it’s funny to watch Kau and Thusi dance to Beyonce’s Single Ladies when you are in studio. But at home, where the guests are squeezed into a tiny inset box while Bey is blown up on screen, it’s not so fun(ny).
They also played a game of tag in which they had to figure out which audience member owned a pilfered bag according to the contents of the bag. Why? That segment was not amusing. Morake is a good interviewer and I would have liked to see more of that. But the “bartender”, played by comedian Glen Biderman-Pam, and his land jokes are tired.
Also, the show is called #WTFTUMI so it will be nice to see how she grows into her on-screen persona. It’s great to see a woman owning the night on television.
#WTFTumi is on SABC3 every Wednesday and Thursday at 9.30pm.