Entertainment Reporter.
In Ancient Africa, one thousand years after the fall of Atlantis, the five surviving houses of Kemet find themselves beset with fears of a prophesied end of days.
This is the synopsis for Showmax’s first ever epic, action-packed African fantasy series, Blood Psalms.
The local streamer dropped the trailer for the highly anticipated series that sees Bokang Phelane (Isidingo) in the role of a lifetime as Princess Zazi – a fiercely determined teenage princess who must navigate primordial curses, long-standing ancestral vendettas, and her inexplicable role as the damning prophecy’s chief harbinger.
Mothusi Magano, winner of four Saftas, plays her father, mad king Letsha, while 2022 DMVC nominee Zolisa Xaluva (Gomora) plays General Toka, the head of her father’s Akachi army.
A co-production between MultiChoice’s video streaming service and Canal+, Blood Psalms is touted as the largest and most expensive TV series ever filmed on South African soil, costing R85 million to produce.
“Blood Psalms is the biggest and most ambitious series we’ve ever made, completely unlike any other African series you’ve ever seen,” says Nomsa Philiso, executive head of programming at MultiChoice. “We couldn’t be more excited.”
The star-studded cast also includes Safta winners Bongile Mantsai (Knuckle City), Hamilton Dlamini (Five Fingers For Marseilles), Hlubi Mboya (Isidingo), S’dumo Mtshali (iNumber Number), Siv Ngesi (DAM), Thishiwe Ziqubu (The Imposter), and Warren Masemola (The Republic). Plus Safta nominees Enhle Mbali Mlotshwa (Rockville), Niza Jay (The Wound), Richard Lukunku (Happiness Is A Four-Letter Word), Sello Maake kaNcube (The Herd), Thando Thabethe (Reyka), Thembekile Komani (Knuckle City) and Zikhona Sodlaka (The Wife).
Show creators Layla Swart and Jahmil X.T. Qubeka from Yellowbone Entertainment were responsible for South Africa’s 2020 Oscar entry, Knuckle City.
The boxing drama was the most awarded film at the 2020 Saftas, where it took home six awards, including Best Director for Qubeka and Best Editor for Swart, and the most nominated film at the 2020 AMAAs, where it won two awards.