Thuso Mbedu’s new job elicits harsh reaction

It has been quite a whirlwind weekend for Thuso Mbedu. Shortly after she won the golden horn for Best Actress in a TV Drama at the 12th annual South African Film and television awards, it was announced that she will be joining the cast of one of Mzansi’s most popular and longest running soapies, Generations. 

But… instead of congratulating her, the public had a rather harsh reaction to the news masked as concern for the affect the move is going to have on her skill and overall career. 

Following the Generations 16 drama, the soapie suffered a knock to its viewership (especially amongst millennials) which has been able to regain to some extent. Those who no longer watch the soapie however, assume that they speak for the masses as evidenced by the exchange below. 

According to TVSA, as of February 2018, Generations had a 66% audience share with over 8.7 million viewers, coming in after Uzalo which topped the ratings with over 9.4 million viewers. 

Many seem to be of the opinion that Mbedu should only work on shows that air on the pay TV channels. 

When we last spoke to Mbedu, not so long ago, she was reluctant to reveal what roles she had coming up (which, we now assume was the aforementioned role) but she did share that she didn’t have offers piling up. 

Despite the overall negative sentiment, existing Generations viewers are excited about her appointment and some have even expressed an interest in watching the show again once she joins. Congratulations on your new appointment Thuso. We have faith that you will show the same professionalism and passion you always have. 

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Main image credit: instagram.com/thuso.mbedu by @city_desire

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