He is devastated! He has always heard of horror stories where upcoming writers and creatives have their work stolen by big companies. But he never imagined it would ever happen to him. Diamond and Dolls Reality TV star Tebogo Ramokgadi is accusing Series Producer at e-TV Khanyi Nxumalo of stealing his show idea for the new drama Smoke &Mirrors.

SIMILARITIES BETWEEN THE TWO STORIES

The reality TV star and producer tells ZiMoja that he had the idea in 2019 and even registered the IP. The current e-TV story premiered on 17 April and is produced by The Final Chapter Production, replacing Imbewu. The show introduces Thandiswa, a hairdresser by day, an escort by night, and a girl on a mission to rid the town of "The Unholy Trinity', the group of morally corrupt men who run Emnyameni, a mining town. The area is controlled by powerful men. A determined mother-of-one sets out on a journey to unearth the evil done by 'The Unholy Trinity.' Tebogo's version is a 13-part series set 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. 

SENT TO THE CHANNEL?

In an email seen by ZiMoja, Leo Phiri who pitched the idea to Khanyi from e-TV, he enquires about what happened to their show.

Tebogo says he spent a lot of money on putting together the pilot. "We spent R 1 million on the pilot alone. This is probably the most expensive pilot to come out of SA. We wanted the show to be ready and perfect. This hurts me so much to think that I trusted people.' Tebogo adds that he will not take it lying down. "I'm looking into suing them. They are undermining me and think I'm stupid. This depresses me. I'm being bullied here. Like, they took the name even why?

COLLEAGUE SPEAK

Actress and TV personality who was one of the actors cast for the pilot says she fears using her name in case the channel blacklists her from their shows. "Tebogo cast me in 2019,' she says. "I was told I got the role and I signed the contract. We were paid for a script reading. We went for a photoshoot, but I got into an accident that same year before I could shoot the pilot and my role was played by Motshabi Tjyelele.' The actress says that she was going to play the leading role of the queen mother. "I saw the show trailer of the e-TV show, I thought they commissioned Tebogo's show, or he sold it to them. I haven't watched the e-TV version, but I just saw the name.' The seasoned actress says the story she read in the 2019 script is based on the royal house and my role was of the matriarch who was supposed to keep the home together.' 

BEHIND THE SCENES

Owen Ndlovu, who was meant to sell the show to different channels, says that he had no role in the current production. "I had no role in the current work. I was a project manager for Tebogo's Smoke & Mirrors. My responsibility was to source the people that would work on the show including artists and get a deal with the channels like the SABC,' Owen says. "I did not approach e-TV but I approached someone from SABC, who now works at Multichoice. She is the only person I approached.' Owen says he has not watched the new show but has spotted similarities from the trailer. "That is without a shadow of a doubt Tebogo's show. It happens that you might be working somewhere and have friends on other channels who you share scripts with. This might be the case, I don't know,' he adds. "I was just sad to see it being advertised and of course. I was the first suspect because I was the one who went shopping for a channel. People are so evil. I heard stories like this before. It's painful to see it happen in real life. Tebogo spent a lot of money on that project. Smoke & Mirrors is Tebogo's intellectual property.' Another actress who does not wish to be named says, "The coincidence is very awkward. It's uncomfortable. I don't want to say too much and be blacklisted. I still want to work, but the show has too many similarities to the script I was part of. Of course, when you take something, you have to change here and there oskajumpisa. But it looks too similar to the one I watched on Monday. But then again, the name Smoke &Mirrors is not exclusive to Tebogo.' ZiMoja went the extra mile to contact e-TV but received no response regarding the matter. 

e-TV has since released a statement regarding the matter.