Edward Tsumele

Edward Tsumele

The moment of reckoning for young comedic talent has just arrived for those that took place in the TV comedy show The Fanta So You Think You're Funny, which runs on SABC1.

A champion will be crowned on Sunday, February 3.

Reality Television has become a feature of programming the world over, from Survivor to The Apprentice to Strictly Come Dancing and the Last Comic Standing, for example.

South Africa's newest reality show, The Fanta - So You Think You're Funny talent search aims to unearth budding comic talent. With David Kau, Moshidi Motshegwa and Ntosh Madlingozi as judges, the show has traversed main cities in South Africa to gauge the ability of South Africans to laugh at ourselves while unearthing the talent.

Five months and 10 auditions later the show will have its crowning moment on February 3.

This initiative is groundbreaking in trying to provide a platform to nurture comic talent and provide stimulus for the art form. However, there are questions that still need to be answered. Will this show help budding comedians make a career out of the art form? Is the notion of comedy universally understood in SA? Or is it regional with traditional and ethnic influences? Does comedy in South have sacred cows or is anyone "fair game" And, finally, are we seeing the emergence of a robust and sustainable comedy scene? It is probably not the duty of The Fanta - So You Think You're Funny to give answers. But what the show will deliver is to give us their verdict on who is the funniest young person in SA.