- M-Net’s Reyka is up for Best Drama and Best Actress (Kim Engelbrecht) at the International Emmys
- Executive produced by Harriet Gavshon (Quizzical Pictures), the series is the first African drama series to be nominated in more than a decade Reyka – and only the third ever, after ‘Home Affairs‘ in 2007 and 2008, and ‘Sokhulu and Partners’ in 2009
- Engelbrecht is fifth African actress to be nominated in the fiercely contested category, following in the footsteps of Thuso Mbedu for her role in Mzansi Magic drama series Is’thunzi (S2) in 2018
- The nomination marks MultiChoice’s 4th International Emmy nomination in six years
- Reyka was the opening night series at Monte-Carlo Television Festival in 2021
- The series was sold by Fremantle to 147 territories
- Currently streaming on Showmax across Africa, Reyka is also nominated for Best Drama Series
- ”South Africa has so many stories to tell” Engelbrecht declares
Hot on the heels of her 2022 South African Film and Television Award (SAFTA) Best Actress win, the internationally acclaimed South African actress Kim Engelbrecht has added another feather to her cap with an International Emmy nomination for her title role in the M-Net crime series, “Reyka.’
Now streaming on Showmax across Africa, ‘Reyka‘ is also nominated for Best Drama Series, up against ‘Lupin, Narcos: Mexico’ and ‘Vigil‘.
‘Reyka‘ is the first African drama series to be nominated in more than a decade – and only the third ever, after Home Affairs in 2007 and 2008, and Sokhulu and Partners in 2009.
The series follows criminal profiler Reyka Gama as she investigates a string of brutal murders committed by a serial killer in the sugar cane fields of KwaZulu-Natal.
The opening night series at last year’s Monte-Carlo Television Festival, ‘Reyka‘ was sold by Fremantle to 147 territories, including BritBox North America, CANAL+, Channel4 in the UK, HBO LatAm, and Sky Italia. It was released as The Cane Field Killings in some territories”.
“Congratulations to Kim, Quizzical Pictures and our international partners, Serena Cullen Productions and Fremantle,” said Yolisa Phahle, CEO: Connected Video at MultiChoice. “This is MultiChoice’s fourth International Emmy nomination in six years, building on Thuso Mbedu’s best actress nominations for Is’thunzi in 2017 and 2018, as well as The River’s nomination for Best Telenovela in 2019. As the largest producer of original content on the African continent, we licensed seven times more content internationally in 2021 than the year before and have seen a dramatic increase in co-productions recently, working with the likes of Acorn, Banijay, CANAL+, HBO, and NBCUniversal. African stories are increasingly finding audiences abroad and attracting investment to the continent.”
Engelbrecht is just the fifth African actress to be nominated for the International Emmy, after Egyptian Menna Shalabi (Every Week On A Friday) in 2021, Thuso Mbedu (Is’thunzi) in 2017 and 2018, and Lerato Mvelase in 2010 and Brenda Ngxoli in 2007 for ‘Home Affairs’. Mbedu has gone on to star in ‘The Underground Railroad’ and ‘The Woman King‘ to international acclaim.
