TV REVIEW. Put the light on bright for M-Net’s shaky Reyka local crime drama series.

by Thinus Ferreira

 6 TVs

With perhaps too many shaky-cam close-up shots, Reyka as M-Net's latest broody, hunt-the-killer local drama series tells a greyish-and-blue tinted story within a sugarcane field setting that's fine enough, although not excellent, for 8 weeks of Sunday night whodunnit?-entertainment.

In short, Reyka is like Prodigal Son and Silence of the Lambs (if done as a TV series), set among the lush yet ominous sugarcane plantations of KwaZulu-Natal where a woman with issues of her own, works to catch a serial killer by mining the mind of the man who abducted her as a child.

Done with a muted palette and a sombering grey-blue tint, Kim Engelbrecht is the current-time, older Reyka, a crime profiler hunting a serial killer. Gabrielle de Gama nimbly portrays the young Reyka.

Reyka strongly reminds of Kate Winslet in the recent Mare of Easttown, tracking down an elusive murderer (that will surely come with the obligatory surprise twist-reveal) whilst battling her own demons, trauma and internal insecurities.

The script, from screenwriter and creator Rohan Dickson also responsible for e.tv's Scandal! and SABC3's High Rollers, is likely inspired by the gruesome real-life story of Thozamile Taki, known as the Sugarcane Killer who was convicted in 2011 of the murder of 13 young women he buried in the sugarcane fields around Umzinto in 2007.

Produced by Quizzical Pictures and Serena Cullen Productions together with Fremantle UK as an M-Net Original crime drama, Reyka is perhaps peppered with too many shaky-cam close-up shots to help craft a claustrophobic, character-in-uncertainty-and-stress atmosphere that never lets up.

Especially Ian Roberts, Anna-Mart van der Merwe and Kenneth Nkosi are disciplined in their understated portrayals of respectively John Tyrone, mom Elsa and Msomi.

The Scottish Iain Glen, cast thanks to Fremantle, is an absolute star as banana farmer Angus Speelman now in an orange jumper who abducted girls with the help of his wife Portia (Nokuthula Mavuso).

Kim Engelbrecht's progression from former Isidingo starlet to meatier roles and gaining valuable experience in international series like the SA-filmed Dominion and recently in The Flash, is very convincing as the emotionally overwrought, obsessive, and filled-with-secrets, Reyka.  

Thando Thabethe imbues her role as Constable Nandi Cele with a resolute earnestness and Gerald Steyn pops up after Trackers, Lioness and his recent doctor-turn in kykNET's Binnelanders. 

Desmond Dube is also back in another dramatic role as if he has to again prove that he can do so much more than Clientele infomercials in his latest role of Zik, the community's spiritual leader.

Broken relationships, difficulty communicating, uncovering hidden secrets under the surface (in sugar cane fields), light and darkness, as well as a "new South Africa" that moved but that never truly did and that remains scared, terrorised, collectively wondering and captured, are all thematic elements and metaphors woven into the story of Reyka.

Be forewarned: Some on-screen gruesomeness are par for the cause in a catch-the-killer crime drama, with Reyka that is possibly best watched with the lights on, and on bright, on a Sunday night.

Reyka is on M-Net (DStv 101) on Sundays at 20:00, and starts on Sunday 25 July

M-Net unveils the first character teaser for its new serial killer crime drama series Reyka starting 25 July in the Sunday night 8pm timeslot.

by Thinus Ferreira

On Sunday night M-Net (DStv 101) released the first character teaser for its upcoming new locally-filmed crime drama series Reyka that will start on Sunday 25 July at 20:00 on the channel.

For the second time, M-Net is once again delaying and pushing its Sunday night 20:00 movie timeslot for a locally-produced drama series - something it did first for Trackers in October 2019 that was a co-production with WarnerMedia's HBO.

The 8-episode Reyka, produced by Quizzical Pictures and Serena Cullen Productions as a co-production between M-Net and Fremantle and that is set in the KwaZulu-Natal sugarfields, stars Kim Engelbrecht in the title role as the brilliant-but-flawed criminal profiler Reyka.

In the drama series, Reyka investigates a string of brutal murders committed by a serial killer but viewers will first meet Reyka on voting day in South Africa in 1994 - the day of her abduction.

The Reyka cast is rounded out by the British actor Iain Glen as farmer Speelman, as well as Thando Thabethe as the by-the-book detective Nandi Cele.

Leeanda Reddy plays the forensic detective Alia Sewsunker, Hamilton Dhlamini is the policeman Hector Zwane, with Mavuso Simelane as his son Samuel Zwane.

Anna-Mart van der Merwe is seen as Reyka's mother Elsa Meyer, Nokuthula Mavuso is Portia, and Rashaan Stackling as Thuli Gama plays Reyka's daughter.

Gabrielle De Gama portrays the young version of Reyka in flashbacks who was abducted as a child by Speelman who, 20 years later, still has a mysteriously manipulative and charming hold on her as part of the backbone of the story - as does Reyka's relationship wth her mother Elsa.

Reyka is traumatised by her abduction experience but this also helps her to enter the minds of Africa's most notorious criminals.

ALSO READ: M-Net and Fremantle partner up with new 8-episode KZN sugarfields set crime drama thriller, Reyka, produced by Quizzical Pictures and Serena Cullen Productions.

INTERVIEW. Kim Engelbrecht on her new role in The Flash reveals: 'The Mechanic does have a South African background' - and is a woman.

The South African actress Kim Engelbrecht is making her appearance as The Mechanic in the new upcoming 4th season of The Flash shown on M-Net (DStv 101) and speaking to TVwithThinus she revealed that the male comic book character is definitely turning female and that she likes learning the technobabble.

Kim Engelbrecht reveals that she won't be doing an American accent since The Mechanic (gasp!) has a South African background, and has advice for South Africans who have dreams of making it big in Hollywood, saying "It is possible. It's not an out of reach dream".


How is it to film and be part of this American superhero show? We last spoke on the set when you were filming the American science fiction series Dominion that was also on M-Net and filmed in Cape Town, and now you're in an American show filmed in Canada.
Kim: The Flash is already in its 4th season so it's already got a huge fan base. Not only is it a TV show, it is also a comic book, so I think the pressure is on.
It's a really big deal for me, it's a really big deal for me. It's really exciting, it's a really cool show to be part of.

How did getting the role come about?
Kim: My manager and I went to the United States a year ago to get get an American management team on my career and a lawyer and all of those things so you can get actually work abroad.
So it's been me auditioning for the last few months and doing tapes and sending them to America, and also going to America and seeing directors.
So for me this has been a process of just trying to find the right fit and then landing this job.

And then in terms of an American accent, you've got lots of experience with it, having dome Dominion but I suppose it takes constant practice. Did The Flash want something different?
Kim: I've worked with an American accent before, I can do it, it's something that I work on all the time. This character of The Mechanic does have a South African background. So the accent was not a problem.

Then speaking of the character, The Mechanic I think is actually a man. But I'm not sure. And there's very little backstory and history available.
Kim: I tried to do as much research on the character as possible. There's not a lot that I could find. I was not familiar with the character. I do however know The Thinker, and I'm familiar with villain villain Clifford Devoe. And only very recently, me doing an interview with another American company did they let me know that The Mechanic was a man.
So to me its surreal, it's actually kudos to the writing team that sees this as a female role. I'm up for the challenge and I really excited for The Mechanic to be a female.

Is your character good or bad, or is she - I get the sense that it's going to be a case of she follows and helps a bad guy but from a point of believing what she is doing is right. What motivates The Mechanic?
Kim: That is actually exactly what it is. I think there's a theme that carries through all of the seasons of The Flash where it's always good versus evil. This is very much not different. So The Thinker is this 4th season's "big bad", he is the villain of the show.
And she's his first lieutenant, she's his loyal ally; whatever he thinks up, she builds. And she will do anything to keep him happy. She tries everything to make what he thinks up a reality.
I think there's a constant line where people do bad things, and bad people think that what they're doing is good.

Is there a lot of technobabble for you in The Flash as a creator of things?
Kim: There is. She's a highly intelligent engineer. But not only does she plan and design things as engineers do, she's also a technician,so she maintains and fixes and also builds.
I'm slowly getting the hang of it, or finally it's really interesting, actually. It's a whole different realm that I've never explored before and I'm now learning about. Physics terms I've never heard before and I find it interesting.

And in terms of getting the script, how is that different from other shows you've been in? Do you get more time, or is it less time, or is it more difficult to learn and memorise?
Kim: It's like I've said it's not a field that I'm very familiar with engineery speak but I think what helps me is I'm very interested in the character, I'm very interested in that "world", I'm very interested in the relationship stuff.
I do a lot for research. Whatever terms I don't understand I google and I try and familiarise myself with it. It's a bit of a challenge and a bit of an engineering lesson for me. In terms of the lines ... it's my job to learn lines, so I enjoy that.

And my last question is what advice do you have for South African actors who also maybe have dreams of making it big in Hollywood. It's obviously takes a lot of hard work and perseverance and a lot of hurdles and strategic career planning.
Kim: It's very simple. It is possible. It is possible. It's not an out of reach dream. It's not.
More and more the world is not only casting South Africans but making shows and movies in South Africa, which gave me an opportunity to try my hand at this. Also get a good support structure.
Get an agent on board; a manager that has the same vision as you. It's possible is what I can say. You can do it.

■ The 4th season of The Flash starts in America on the CW network on 10 October.
M-Net (DStv 101) says it will start showing the 4th season of The Flash from January 2018 in South Africa and Africa because it's moving away from showing a lot of titles "Express from the US".
"To give our viewers the best, uninterrupted viewing experience, M-Net has decided not to broadcast some of the series Express from the US so as to avoid the series' numerous production breaks."

American science fiction series The Flash casts former South African soap stars Neil Sandilands and Kim Engelbrecht in roles for upcoming 4th season.

The American science fiction series, The Flash, seen in South Africa and across Africa on M-Net's VUZU AMP (DStv 103), has cast the former South African soap stars, Neil Sandilands and Kim Engelbrecht in key roles in its upcoming 4th season.

Neil Sandilands who appeared in SABC2's 7de Laan before moving to America will portray The Thinker, and Kim Engelbrecht who appeared in SABC3's Isidingo and appeared in the South African filmed American science fiction series, Dominion recently, will appear in The Flash as The Mechanic.

The casting was announced on Saturday at The Flash' Comic-Con panel of the series that is shown on America's CW channel.

Neil Sandilands will portray the DC Comics villain Clifford Devoe, known as The Thinker, a metahuman with a mega mind who starts a battle over the course of the 4th season with The Flash.

The premise pits the "fastest mind alive" against "the fastest man alive" as The Thinker tries to "fix" what he feels is wrong with humanity.

Kim Engelbrecht will portray The Thinker's helper, the DC Comics character, The Mechanic, who helps him as an intelligent engineer designing devices for The Thinker.