Showmax recently announced that it will increase its African originals content by 150%, or 1,300 hours, as part of its relaunch on the 12 February. This is great news for the SA entertainment industry and for AFDA alumni who have been and are, in on the act, creating Showmax Originals series and films for the platform.
AFDA alumnus, Etienne Fourie created, wrote and directed the popular Afrikaans language drama series “Trompoppie”, a current Showmax Original, which premiered on 7 December 2023 on the African streamer.
The series follows Luna, a talented gymnast, who is awarded a bursary to a prestigious private school she could never afford, and thrust into the cut-throat world of an elite group of drum majorettes, aka ‘trompoppies.’ After a hazing ritual goes badly wrong, cheerleaders start turning up dead and the seemingly perfect facade of the community begins to crumble.
In an article in Deadline, Etienne says he wanted to make “Trompoppie” for a much wider audience. “Trompoppie is a love letter to audiences,” he says. “It’s a wild ride but it’s entertainment, pure and simple, a whodunnit made to keep you on the edge of your seat, to get you excited to be the first to know what’s going to happen next before your friends and colleagues. I wanted my mother to be able to watch it, my sisters, my friends: anyone should be able to watch it and be surprised and entertained.”
AFDA alumni Sunel Haasbroek is the cinematographer on the show and Marne van der Burgh is responsible for the 10-part series Costume Design.
Showmax have also announced that the Showmax Original series “Catch Me A Killer”, directed by AFDA alumni Rene van Rooyen (4 episodes) and Brett Michael Innes (2 episodes) about South Africa’s most famous serial killer profiler starring Game of Thrones’ Charlotte Hope.
Co-produced with Germany’s Night Train Media, the series launches on 12 February and sees Charlotte Hope play Micki Pistorius.
The 10-part series is adapted from Pistorius’ memoir of the same name, the show follows the newly-qualified forensic psychologist as she tracks down South Africa’s most feared killers. Each episode looks at another of her cases, from the Cleveland Killer to Stewart ‘Boetie Boer’ Wilken, taking viewers across the country.
Previous Showmax Originals that have featured AFDA alumni in key positions include “Outlaws”, “Shaka Ilemba” and “Dam”.
AFDA alumni Dino Benedetti (8 episodes) and Fahema Hendriks (2 episodes) picking up the cinematography credits on the much anticipated series.
