Skeem Saam viewers have taken to social media to compare actor Hungani Ndlovu with Cornet Mamabolo, who plays Tbose Maputla.

It seems not all Skeem Saam viewers were impressed with actor Hungani Ndlovu’s debut as Thabo “Tbose” Maputla when he returned to Turfloop on Monday 3 July.

“Hello Big Brother”, these are some of the words that Tbose uttered when he saw his brother, Leeto.

Fans of educational soap, Skeem Saam took to social media to share comments about the show’s character, Tbose Maputla (previously played by Cornet Mamabolo). His first appearance was at Turfloop Hospital where he met his wife Mapitsi (Mogau Paulina Motlhatswi), mother Maki (Harriet Manamela), father John (Afrika Tsoai) and little brother Lito (Eric Macheru). He greeted his wife and mother, followed by a group hug.

Viewers also discovered some tension between Tbose and John, as he hadn’t seen his father in months and never said hello to him. They were also not impressed by his first interaction with his elder brother Leeto who greeted him in English and compared his interactions with ex Tbose who spoke Sepedi 90% of the time.

@kholoNdaba tweeted: “I was lost when he saw Leeto and said ‘hey bro’ bathong (wow)! What happened to ‘buti Leeto’ maybe ke overseas re tla reng (maybe it’s an overseas thing).”

Skeem Saam fans also realized that he confused Sepedi with English and concluded that it might have been done on purpose as the younger Tbose Maputla is from abroad and speaks more English than before.

@Jabu_Macdonald: “Meikie looks shocked that Tbose is back home with an American accent.”

@tsheko2020: “Tbose said “how is he” in English. Wow!

@XolaniNgcobo167: I’m not sure if that’s true or not, but I’m sure he speaks English more these days because he was overseas.

@Tbattisse: “Mara Tbose wa nou. this is unacceptable”.

Judging by the comments of Skeem Saam fans from social media, the new Tbose has high social status. Well, he has to be different than the previous Tbose because he was staying abroad and had been interacting with Americans more often.

The producers of the soapie/drama did a wonderful thing by looking for someone with an American accent to play the new Tbose. But the question is, are the fans happy?

If they are not delighted then some are probably going to stop watching Skeem Saam and that means viewership will drop.