Programming foreign television soap operas on free to air TV stations in East Africa is a common feature. However, an interesting phenomenon is developing where regionally produced serial dramas are increasingly consumed across borders; drawing good audience share. A case in point is „The Hostel‟- a Ugandan soap opera aired weekly on both NTV Uganda and NTV Kenya. What could be the cross cutting attraction of this programme on the Kenyan audience where similar genres have not performed as well? Using the audience reception theory, the study conducted 8 FGDs in two university campuses. An in-depth interview was also conducted with the NTV station programme coordinator. The findings revealed a favourable reception towards the programme but with character identity, accent and story realism as strong indicators for its attraction. Though the findings cannot be generalized, it is an insight for those who intend to produce such drama across the East African region.