Meet the shebeen queens of Soweto in new Showmax reality series

Showmax has just dropped the first-look trailer for Shebeen Queens, a reality show about the indomitable women behind popular Soweto shebeens Alina’s Place, Big Mama’s Tavern, and Rams Tavern.

Produced by Barkers Media (How To Manifest A Man), Shebeen Queens premieres on 22 August 2024, with new episodes every Thursday until 14 November.

Starring larger-than-life entrepreneurs Alina Sishange, Emily Thabang Leeuw a.k.a Big Mama, and Xoliswa Shwayimba, the Showmax Original follows the shebeen queens as they try to balance parenting with keeping their businesses afloat in a cut-throat, all-hours industry that is filled with liquor and laughter – and has historically been male-dominated. 

“Shebeen Queens unpacks the myths we grew up being told and were made to believe about women who run shebeens,” says producer Mpho Lengane. “The audience is going to be entertained: Barkers Media and Showmax have created something magical. Never has there been on screen such raw, relatable stories that will speak to the women’s spirit of wanting to nurture their family, having to forego their soft feminine nature in order to take on masculine energy so that they can run businesses and households, and once in a while drop their guard so that they can allow the men in their lives to love them the way a woman should.” 

Meet the shebeen queens 

Alina Sishange

Alina’s world is an unconventional mix of faith and temptation: she is a shebeen owner, traditional healer and pastor. This means her life is a constant balancing act, faced with challenges and criticism from multiple sides. While her unorthodox lifestyle may not be understood by many, she is fearless in her quest to claim what’s rightfully hers.

Emily Thabang Leeuw a.k.a Big Mama

Big Mama does not shy away from confrontation: she will take on anyone that stands between her and the success of her shebeen. Big Mama has a tumultuous relationship with her older children, who resent the shebeen and the environment it created for them to grow up in. Big Mama and her daughters are in court, defending themselves against a client who opened a case of physical violence against them. They stand to lose their trading licence if they are found guilty. 

Xoliswa Shwayimba

Xoliswa is the life of the party: she loves dancing and having fun, so if you spot her, she’ll likely be on her feet grooving to amapiano. Xoliswa started off as a domestic worker but now runs Rama Tavern and provides for her four siblings. Although Xoliswa and her fiancé Joshua Mtshali don’t have children together, they have five children between them. Xoliswa wants Mtshali to set a date for their white wedding, give her a big gold ring, and divorce his first two wives so they do not interfere in her inheriting the shebeen.

Watch the trailer for Shebeen Queens