This month, e.tv launched a new local drama, “Smoke & Mirrors”, in its late-night prime time viewing slot and while viewers were excited for the new TV show, it's arrival has been surrounded by drama.
"Diamond and Dolls" reality TV star Tebogo Ramokgadi has accused the series producer at e.tv, Khanyi Nxumalo, of stealing his show idea for "Smoke & Mirrors".
Speaking to ZiMoja, Ramokgadi said he had the show idea in 2019 and that version was a 13-part series in a mining town.
"It tells the story of a royal family and their celebrity couple friends. Some of the cast members on Tebogo’s version include Pastor Chichi, Keabetswe Mashugane, Lasizwe Dambuza, and Motshabi Tyelele to name a few," reported the publication.
The storyline for "Smoke & Mirrors" is set in the landscape of a small mining town, called Emnyameni, and introduces the character of Thandiswa, a hairdresser by day and an escort by night.
She is on a mission to rid the town of “The Unholy Trinity”, a group of morally corrupt men who run Emnyameni, in an effort to avenge her sister’s untimely and suspicious death.
In a statement issued to the media, the channel confirmed receiving an unsolicited proposal from Ramokgadi’s then series producer in September 2021.
“The idea was for a completely different show ‘about a royal family and their celebrity couple friends grappling with their own sexual identities in the midst of change and a shifting power scale’.
“The show and concept, like many other pitches, was not accepted. The title, ‘Smoke & Mirrors’ is not a unique name, and is a general phrase used in everyday language and by many other producers for album and song titles, and also across many industries.
“Any alleged similarity to this, or many other dramas, is purely coincidental.”