Season 1
Single Guys is a South African television sitcom created by Ryan Metcalfe and Thomas Gumede and produced by Quizzical Pictures which follows three best friends looking for love in the age of Facebook, navigating the world of dating whilst dealing with idiotic advice and failed attempts at being macho.
Khaya, petrified of women, is the uptight owner of a failing African themed DVD store. Taps is a smooth-as-silk playa while their over emotional roommate Zanele can't stop falling in and out of love on a daily basis.
You'd think it would be easier to be a Single Guy when there are three of you but it's harder to get a girlfriend when there's always two others peering over your shoulder.
Idiotic advice, failed attempts at being macho, trying too hard to be cool... it's not easy being young and looking for love in the age of Facebook.
Single Guys, produced by Quizzical Pictures, was written by Ryan Metcalfe with staff writers Gilli Apter, Mongi Mthombeni and Zee Ntuli. Directed by Amanda Lane, the series was executive produced by Harriet Gavshon, Mariki van der Walt and Nimrod Geva. The title track is by Mo & the Dark Knights.
Key Characters
Khaya (Thabo Malema)
Khaya is nerdy, opinionated, stuck up, afraid of change and even more afraid of women. But he is also innocent, sweet and an idealistic dreamer.
He's sunk his entire inheritance into a DVD store with African-themed DVDs that no one wants to rent. If it wasn't for his friends Khaya would become a hermit, hiding in his room and only coming out to feed the plants (why should they suffer?).
It is through his friends (Taps and Zanele) that Khaya discovers his "voice" and confidence in himself.
Zanele (Thomas Gumede)
Zanele is a guy with a girl's name and maybe that's why he's so over-emotional, wildly romantic and highly neurotic. He idolises Taps for his mad skills with women and pities Khaya for his failures.
With Zanele there are no half measures: if he is with a girl, he is in love. If he is without a girl, he is heartbroken. There is no in between. Life is a soap opera for him and he's the leading man.
Taps (Motlatsi Mafatshe)
Taps is a smooth-as-silk playa who relies on his charm to get out of trouble – which is often. He's lazy, opinionated and usually wrong. He's incredibly loyal and has a good heart.
But there's only one thing he's interested in: girls, which makes him the group's source of misinformation and ridiculous theories about the fairer sex.
Lerato (Zola Nombona)
Lerato uses her extraordinary beauty to lure and control adoring men. She is vain, narcissistic and utterly controlling.
Kwezi (Nolwazi Shange)
Kwezi is the tough, down-to-earth next door neighbour. She sees right through the boys' nonsense. But she also loves to hang with them, and often tries too hard to be one of the guys. But she is still a woman and slowly develops a crush on one of them...
Anthony (Warren Masemola)
Anthony is a strange person who is lonely, socially clueless and very needy. He hangs around people hoping they won't ask him to go away but they invariably do. All he wants is to have friends but he's so creepy that he never does.
Broadcast Notes
The series premiered on SABC1 on Monday 12 August 2013, at 19h00. It went on hiatus after Episode 6 (which aired on 16 September) to accommodate the results show of So You Think You Can Dance 3 and resumed with Episode 7 on Monday 11 November 2013, at 19h00.