South African series thrills at Series Mania in France

Captivating new British South African series Catch Me a Killer, based on real events from the mid-90s, was warmly received by an international audience at Series Mania in France. Although it didn’t win, the thrilling series left a lasting impact when it premiered this month at the TV festival in Lille. Catch Me a Killer, which is now available to watch on Showmax, was selected for the International Panorama Competition.

Catch Me a Killer is based on Micki Pistorius’s eponymous memoir as the country’s first-ever serial killer profiler, a job that required dealing with the reality of understaffed and underfunded police stations facing rising crime and murder rates in the 90s. As the first woman in her position, Micki – played by British actress Charlotte Hope, known for her roles as Myranda in Game of Thrones and Catherine of Aragon in The Spanish Princess – also has to confront the misogynistic backlash of her police force peers. This is exemplified in the first episode by the dismissive comment ‘I don’t want a degree in a skirt’, uttered by the police commander.

The true crime series is shot entirely in South Africa with stunning cinematography capturing a diverse range of the country’s landscape. The team behind the show displays some of South Africa’s most talented filmmakers. Local SAFTA winning writer Amy Jephta (whose film Barakat was South Africa’s submission for the 94th Oscars) leads the screen adaptation of the book. Directing is shared between UK director Tracey Larcombe and SAFTA winning filmmakers Rene Van Rooyen (whose film Toorbos was South Africa’s official entry in the 93rd Oscars) and Brett Michael Innes (Fiela se Kind).

‘The series opens in the place that I come from, Mitchell’s Plain,’ Amy shared with Showmax. ‘I was in grade 1 at the time of the Station Stranger killer and my mother was a police officer at the same station that Micki was assigned to in 1994. I was in and out of that police station. So I remember the fear in that community and what it felt like to be a kid at a time where there were these boys being abducted. So I could draw a lot on my first-hand feeling.’

While the investigative show frames the horror and anguish of Micki’s profession as a forensic psychologist, it also explores the humanity of all involved, even that of notorious mass murderers like the Station Strangler. ‘I should hate the men that do these terrible things, but I can’t. What does that say about me?’, asks Micki in one scene.

Stream episodes of the 11 part series Catch Me a Killer on Showmax.

WATCH CATCH ME A KILLER TRAILER