4 BINGEWORTHY SHOWS WITH AWARD-BAITING LOCAL ACTING

Grab the popcorn and a cosy blanket – it's binge-watching time! From their captivating performances to their unwavering resolve, these talented actors from Mzansi are making waves in Tinseltown. We shine a spotlight on five must-see series with award-worthy local acting.

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Raised by Wolves
Fans of sci-fi and dystopian themes will enjoy this series, which follows the story of two androids, Mother and Father, who are tasked with raising human children on a mysterious and desolate fictionalised version of the exoplanet Kepler-22b. In season two, Cape Town-born actress Kim Engelbrecht appears as Decima, a brilliant quantum engineer with a dark past and an android daughter. Kim is no stranger to the small screen, having starred in numerous Hollywood-made series and films, including Dominion and The Flash.

Lucifer
If you like your action scenes peppered with well-paced dialogue and humour, look no further than Lucifer. Lesley-Ann Brandt, who hails from the Mother City, shot to stardom when she was cast as the fallen angel Lucifer's ball-busting demon sidekick Mazikeen. The show is based on the DC Comics character Lucifer Morningstar, who is commonly associated with the comic The Sandman. In the show, Lucifer abandons his throne and moves to Los Angeles, where he opens a nightclub called Lux. He crosses paths with Detective Chloe Decker, and the two of them work together to solve crimes. Lucifer discovers that he has the power to compel people to reveal their deepest desires and secrets, which proves to be handy during investigations.

Sweet Tooth
Another dystopian series, Sweet Tooth is set in a world where an apocalyptic event known as 'The Great Crumble' has occurred, leading to the emergence of hybrid human-animal children. A hybrid boy named Gus (Sweet Tooth), embarks on a dangerous journey across what is left of America to find his mother. On his journey, he comes across various people, both friend and foe, who have their own motivations and agendas. One of these characters is General Abbot, a ruthless self-appointed warlord. It takes a keen eye to recognise that General Abbot is portrayed by actor Neil Sandilands, who you might remember from the Afrikaans soapie 7de Laan. Known for his role in The Flash, Neil is fast becoming a Hollywood favourite.

Warrior
Based on an original concept and treatment by Bruce Lee (and executive produced by his daughter Shannon Lee) this character-driven series delves into the lived experiences of Chinese immigrants, covering culture clashes and power dynamicsAh Sahm is a skilled Chinese martial artist who is desperately looking for his missing sister. After arriving in San Francisco, he soon becomes entangled in the Tong Wars, brutal conflicts between rival Chinese crime families vying for dominance. The series was filmed in Cape Town and stars a host of local actors, most notably Invictus star Langley Kirkwood, who delivers a superb performance as Walter Franklin Buckley, a former Confederate soldier and Deputy Mayor of San Francisco who secretly conspires with the wife of a gang leader to start a gang war.

Quantico
Queen Sono star Pearl Thusi makes an appearance alongside heavyweights such as Piyanka Chopra in the second season of this thriller/drama series. The series revolves around a group of FBI recruits who undergo training at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia. The plot follows their personal and professional lives, as well as the intense and challenging training they must endure. Pearl plays the character of Dayana Mampasi, a driven, disciplined, type-A lawyer who struggles to fit into the dynamics of the group and realises it is not a world she thought she’d be in.