The rise and rise of Rita Paulsen

Rita Paulsen

What you need to know:

Though she admits that to get to that point hasn’t been easy, Rita Paulsen says it is a journey that started almost 10 years ago and has been waiting for the right platform and time for it to showcase its powerful potential.


 Dar es Salaam. There are several reality and talk shows on local TV in Tanzania, something that makes ordinary folks believe that it is a saturated market place with no room for new entrants.

Most of these shows have been labeled in the also runs category with critics accusing the architects as attention seekers who are detached from realities of the day.

The lack of quality content has in the process forced TV stations to look elsewhere for content such the now very famous Mexican Tele novella that are hit on almost every TV station.

But this has not deterred Rita Paulsen from launching her own show named after her in fact, to her these shortcomings have been part of the inspiration behind the new show which was launched on Sunday. 

The 45-minute show has three segments which include the Changing lives, Celebrity Corner and Make Over with the first season consisting 13 episodes.

Though she admits that to get to that point hasn’t been easy, Rita Paulsen says it is a journey that started almost 10 years ago and has been waiting for the right platform and time for it to showcase its powerful potential.

“This show is a unique one and inspiring as it targets a family audience packaged to international standards featuring well researched content that is creatively and meticulously presented to engage the viewer from the beginning to the end,” says Rita.

Though it was a dream that was conceived almost around the same time as her other show Bongo Star Search, Rita Paulsen says it had to take a careful building including that of her own personality.

She admits that by 2007, she wasn’t the same character she is today and that what she has done in the past 10 years now allows her to confidently say the time is right for the ‘Rita Paulsen Show’.

“We had to make some careful choices along the way to see what suited us better at that time and that is why BSS came to the forefront,” she says.

She adds that for a TV show to stand the test of time, it should tackle real life stories and real people within the community.

“The stories that we tackle could be sad, moving, inspirational, motivating or even entertaining. It puts the viewer into the shoes of people who have had to make very tough choices and how they finally came to reach their final decisions. As you will see there some people who are on the brink of a social collapse and have neglected themselves find purpose for life again,” she says.

With the research and the partnerships which she has entered she has all the belief and confidence that this is not just another show meant to add up the spaces but something that is coming to change people’s lives.

“The overall objective of the show is to enlighten, entertain, inspire and enhance people’s quality of life. It is a feel-good show that that offers the platform to celebrate humanity. The show delves into the lives of ordinary and extraordinary people giving the invited guests the avenue to share and educate the audience about their struggles and successes,” says Rita.

According to her the show brings to light some of the core issues that she has always believed throughout her life.

“It has always been my desire to see people’s lives transformed economically physically, intellectually and emotionally. These together with my love for fashion and style play in giving the show its unique branding,” she says with a chuckle. 

The response towards the debut episode on Sunday night was overwhelming as viewers expressed their desire to see more of the shows in the coming weeks.

“I watched the first show as it had been widely advertised and having known Rita through her other show the Bongo Star search,” says Aisha Abdullah a resident of Sinza.

But even as the opening show might cast a bright future in the one year contract that she has signed with Azam, it seems she will have to struggle against her own past success. The size of the partners that she has chosen to bring on board in the  new venture in the picture of Azam TV perhaps represents the levels  of her  team’s ambition .

“It took us quite a while to get these guys and it had to be them because they satnd for the same values,” she says.

Doubters have drawn the dagger, they are skeptical given the fact that many talk shows in the country that have come with such promises have failed.

Some say it is set to cast a shadow over her other brand BSS which to them is what she stands for.

But even then Rita has been categorical saying she has always been multi-tasked and she doesn’t she how one show will stand in the way of the other. 

“It is easy to draw these comparisons but as I have always said as a woman I have always had to do so many things at ago. I mean I can still walk and chew at the same time,” she says.

But why has it taken the 9th edition of the BSS long to get going?  She answers this with some self assurance of a true BSS judge.

“We are working on the finer details of the ninth season of BSS and there is no way we are going to just drop the show given where we have come from and the sacrifices we have made to get here,” she says.

These smooth assurances could be comforting but what the ordinary viewer out there is waiting for the show to deliver continuity in delivery and relevance something that many in the past have lacked.