Showmax has just released the first trailer for their debut original series, Tali’s Wedding Diary, a mockumentary starring Julia Anastasopoulos (aka SuzelleDIY).
Premiering on 14 December 2017, Tali’s Wedding Diary follows a self-obsessed Sandton princess (Julia) who’s moved to Cape Town and is filming the build-up to her wedding to her property-agent fiance Darren (Anton Taylor, star of the popular web series Jozi Shore and the award-winning short Money, Keys, Phone).
“Tali and Suzelle are very different characters,” says Julia. “Everyone loves Suzelle but audiences are going to love to hate Tali – she’s definitely a bridezilla, who’s determined to have the perfect wedding, with or without her husband-to-be.” She says while Suzelle would love Tali, Tali would find Suzelle irritating.
Tali’s Wedding Diary was inspired by Julia’s own wedding to SuzelleDIY director Ari Kruger. Their shared sense of humour was part of what brought them together and they had lots to laugh at in the build-up to their wedding. “There’s so much comedic material in getting married,” says Julia. “You meet the funniest people and there’s so much stuff you can’t actually believe, but somehow we’d never seen a wedding parody in a South African context before.”
Since introducing SuzelleDIY to YouTube, Julia and Ari have created more than 80 Suzelle videos with over 23 million views. They’ve taught over 2.5 million people How To Make A Cinderblock Bench and another million How To Make A Braai Pie. Kruger has also directed two Vimeo Staff Pick short films, Jakkals13 and Focus.
For Tali’s Wedding Diary, they’ve surrounded themselves with an all-star cast, including Lara Lipschitz, who just won Best Actress at NYC Web Fest for her series Chin-Up; three-time Savannah Comics Choice nominee Glen Biderman-Pam; Fleur du Cap Best Actress winner and 2017 SAFTA nominee Kate Normington (Those Who Can’t); and two-time Fleur du Cap winner Guy De Lancey (The Pervert Laura). Look out for cameos from the likes of Top Billing host Lorna Maseko; Nic Smal from Derick Watts and the Sunday Blues; Nicci Saint Bruce (Push Push); members of Al Bairre; and, of course, Gina Collins (Marianne in SuzelleDIY).
Tali’s Wedding Diary is the debut Showmax Original, building on the success of this year’s acclaimed co-productions: iNumber Number with Mzansi Magic and Waterfront with kykNET.
“There’s no question that there’s a strong demand for local content and that it can be a key differentiator,” says Showmax Africa head Chris Savides.
“When Julia and Ari approached us, we loved that they weren’t pitching a Hollywood show cut and paste into South Africa, but rather characters straight from Sandton and Sea Point. We plan to keep giving our customers the best international shows out there but at the same time offer something nobody else has – truly local programming like Tali’s Wedding Diary, made just for them.”
“Working with Showmax has been almost like a dream come true,” says Ari. “They gave us creative control, which is unheard of here. I feel like we got everything we set out to get; we didn’t have to compromise on the things we really wanted. That’s a very fortunate place to be.”
Tali’s Wedding Diary will be available to binge-watch on Showmax from 14 December 2017.
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