Sizwe Sibiya
Netflix’s African takeover rolls on, and on Wednesday the streaming giant announced it would begin production of its first Afrikaans series, called Ludik.
When Netflix started making productions in Africa, commentators thought they would be bringing with them Hollywood stereotypes about the continent. But it’s quite the opposite.
From their first Mzansi series Blood & Water, which is set in Cape Town, they have been able to remove all the tired stereotypes and focus on real stories of modern African people.
Now the leading streaming platform is tapping into the less explored world of the Afrikaans community in the film industry, with an Afrikaans cast and script.
Even though the streaming platform has not yet released a trailer for Ludik, we know that it is an action-packed drama series focusing on the lead character Daan Ludik, who is played by Arnold Vosloo.
Daan is described as “a self-made South African millionaire who comes from nothing and builds his own empire as a successful furniture salesman and family man,” in Netflix’s premise of the show.
“To save a kidnapped family member, an enterprising furniture tycoon must use his secret diamond smuggling operation to transport guns across the border.”
Ludik is being produced locally by Rose and Oaks Media, with Anele Mdoda, Paul Buys and Frankie du Toit as executive producers, and Ian Gabriel and Harold Holscher as directors. It may be a Netflix production, but it is very much South African made.
The series will premiere globally on Friday, 26 August on Netflix.
Image source: @NetflixAfrica
