Coming up next on the slate of proudly South African stories is a 13-part family drama, Still Breathing, currently being filmed in and around Johannesburg. From 27 February, Still Breathing will be screened in the M-Net 101 Thursday night slot at 20:00, just after the new season of The Bachelor SA, which starts on 13 February at 19:00.

While Trackers pumped adrenaline with high-octane car chases, flying bullets and blood-curdling crime investigation, Still Breathing sets out to push a totally different set of buttons: the ones of the heart. Love, friendship, complicated relationships, betrayal and long-kept secrets form the emotional crux of a tale about a circle of former friends who have drifted apart with the passage of time but are drawn together again when tragedy strikes. In short, it’s all about love, death – and the mess in-between.

The main themes echo those of international hits such as Brothers and Sisters; This is Us, and Parenthood, but it is spun around the challenges faced by authentic, modern-day South Africans. Sounds like a goodie if you ask us.  

We first heard about this one not too long ago in passing and we were since quite intrigued, the television adaptation of internationally acclaimed author Deon Meyer’s crime novel Trackers marks the beginning of a new era in high-end African storytelling.

Quite a coup and milestone from a local content point of view, homegrown channel M-Net has partnered with two global broadcasting giants to take a uniquely South African political thriller to the world. First, as announced in December 2018, M-Net sealed a groundbreaking collaboration deal with Germany’s public broadcaster ZDF. Now, M-Net have confirmed that Trackers is also being co-produced by Cinemax, which will also distribute the drama series worldwide beyond M-Net and ZDF’s geographical broadcasting footprint.

“The trailblazing and massively exciting co-production of Trackers illustrates M–Net’s vision and commitment to shine the spotlight on the African film and television industry and provide fresh, proudly African narratives to our viewers as well as global audiences,” says MultiChoice CEO of General Entertainment, Yolisa Phahle. “It is also taking our longstanding relationship with Cinemax to the next level, allowing local and international talent to combine their world-class story-telling and production skills.”

While M-Net is already the home of Cinemax and its sister network HBO, allowing viewers to enjoy showstoppers like Game of Thrones, Big Little Lies, Westworld and many more; HBO, the broadcasting giants also launched an innovative Producers Apprenticeship programme last year when the Cinemax series Warrior, coming to M-Net in July, was filmed here in Mzansi.

Filming for Trackers has already started in exotic locations spanning the length and breadth of South Africa and the co-production partners have been working together on all aspects of production – from developing and casting, to assembling the crew and approving the final content.

A talented local and international cast is on the bill for the six-part miniseries, the list includes Ed Stoppard, Rolanda Marais, James Alexander and Thapelo Mokoena. More details about their roles and additional credits are said to be announced at a later stage.

Trackers will make its debut on M-Net 101 in October 2019 and will also be available on MultiChoice’s popular on-demand service, Showmax. The six-part drama series is produced by UK production company Three River Studios as well as South Africa’s Scene 23.