Unseen

This was added to Netflix in the UK recently so I binged watched it one rainy evening.

I don't know anything about South Africa and I had no idea what this show would be about beyond the blurb written in the Netflix page.

What I found was quite an interesting and different kind of revenge / crime thriller.

Imagine, for a second, that John Wick or Nobody had been a cleaner and instead of finding the people that killed their dog or stole their kids bracelets they were looking for their partner and taking in the underworld of South Africa to do it... And that's about it in a nutshell.

An unassuming maid goes about trying to find her husband, who took the fall for a murder he didn't commit, and the murderer of her child.

Very much worth a watch. The main actress is outstanding and really brings life into the part.

Unseen is a stunningly executed South African thriller that masterfully blends emotional depth with edge-of-your-seat suspense. Across its first two seasons, the series tells the story of Zenzi Mwale, a quiet domestic worker whose search for her missing husband draws her into a violent criminal underworld. What begins as a personal quest becomes a profound exploration of invisibility-how society overlooks those who clean its floors, raise its children, and quietly endure its injustices.

Season 1 lays a slow-burning but intensely powerful foundation, pulling you into Zenzi's world with precision and empathy. The writing is sharp, the cinematography striking, and the pacing deliberate yet impactful. Season 2 builds upon that momentum, diving deeper into Zenzi's moral dilemmas and the systemic rot she confronts. It avoids the common sophomore slump by raising the stakes and tightening the story without losing its soul.

Gail Mabalane delivers a tour-de-force performance-raw, restrained, and unforgettable. Her portrayal of Zenzi is layered with strength, pain, and resilience, anchoring the series in emotional truth.

Unseen isn't just a crime thriller-it's a social commentary dressed in noir. It questions who gets seen, who gets heard, and what happens when the invisible finally push back.

Highly recommended for fans of grounded, character-driven thrillers like Ozark, Unbelievable, or Top Boy.

Pleasantly surprised! This had solid writing, acting, plot and pacing. Good character development and timeline sequencing.

The latter half of the season is more edge-of-the-seat than most mystery/crime thrillers. In the last episode I learned to trust the incredible luck of the main character against insurmountable odds. The woman is unkillable! She had some very unlikely saves - BUT I appreciate her for the stoic superhero she turned out to be.

Well worth watching for the understated, strong female lead. Nice to see a film from South Africa as well.

Fingers crossed there will be more to watch in 2024!

The story, even though a remake, was not terrible. Quite a few head scratching, rather silly events occur throughout. However, the acting, oh, the acting... the female characters were not good, but not horrible. But, every single male character, the actors are among the worst I've ever seen. It's as though a search ensued, a casting call, seeking the worst possible male character actors in the history of film.

Yes, I powered through to the end of this six episode series, the redeeming quality is that it is only six episodes and each is less than an hour long.

Unfortunately, this has become common for Netflix. And, at a time when they are cracking down on password sharing. Maybe not a great combination.

This is one of them shows that start promising and end up in tatters. The first couple of episodes were keeping the viewer "edge if the sit", however the bad acting, coupled with ridiculous situations and bloopers made the show a terrible one. There were so many times when one asks himself "why?" that by the end it just ended up a real disappointment. I kinda missed the speed increase option on my TV to enable a faster viewing as the pace was so agonisingly slow at times.

Seems like nowadays more and more series are following in the same footsteps. Why services are choosing more and more quantity over quality?