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Welcome to Global Breakouts, Deadline’s fortnightly strand in which we shine a spotlight on the TV shows and films killing it in their local territories. The industry is as globalized as it’s ever been, but breakout hits are appearing in pockets of the world all the time and it can be hard to keep track… So we’re going to do the hard work for you.

This week we’re headed to South Africa, where psychological thriller drama Dam has captured eyeballs through its mix of mystery, social commentary and supernatural elements. The second season dropped earlier this year and is one of streamer Showmax’s top series. With nods to Ire Levin-era dramas like Rosemary’s Baby and The Boys From Brazil, Dam is part of a growing roster of South African TV series and films making a mark across the African continent and beyond.

Name: Dam

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"We live in the shadows, and today we come into the light... Your justice belongs to privileged elite, but we're going to change that." Great speech to kick off this intense thriller. Netflix has revealed a trailer for Justice Served, an intense South African series about a hi-jacking at a court house intended as a form of activism against the wealthy elite. Here's the pitch: An enigmatic Freedom Fighter, and his followers, who have a secret agenda, hi-jack a courthouse to let the public decide if the murder accused should be executed, setting the world on fire, and throwing the lives of everyday people into chaos. Sounds pretty damn cool, right? The series stars Hlomla Dandala, Morné Visser, Pallance Dladla, Alex McGregor, Lerato Mvelase, Dineo Rasedile, Panch Gasela, and Anton Jeftha. This is a very short trailer with very fast flashes of footage, but I dig the look of the...

Exclusive: AMC Networks streamers Sundance Now and Umc have inked a deal for the North American, Caribbean, Canadian, and UK rights to South African horror series Dead Places.

Created by Gareth Crocker, who is behind Shadow, Netflix’s first South African original series, Dead Places is co-produced by France’s Canal+ and Johannesburg-based Motion Story. It premieres in summer next year.

The story centers on an author who has dedicated his career to solving paranormal cases, returning home to South Africa to investigate the biggest mystery of his life: His sister’s death in a water canal 20 years ago.

The series stars Anthony Oseyemi (Agent), Rea Rangaka (Madiba), Shamilla Miller (Blood and Water) David Butler (Maze Runner: The Death Cure), David James (District 9), Luthuli Dlamini (The Furnace), S’Dumo Mtshali (Avenged), and Pallance Dladla (Hard to Get).

Crocker created, wrote, and directed Dead Places. He also serves as an executive...

Money is the root of all evil. It may give one a temporary high, but the pursuit of material wealth will eventually be the driving force toward your wreck and ruin, so you need to find that other connection in life if you have any hope of making it in this world. In Hard to Get, a very robust and stylistic South African noir from debut feature director Zee Ntuli, this is exactly what the two protagonists need to figure out if they hope to survive and create a better life.

Tk (Pallance Dladla) is the local lothario of his village, making bets with his friends to see how many minutes it will take for him to talk a girl into sleeping with him in the backroom of the bar in which he works. Enter the gorgeous Skiets (Thishiwe Ziqubu), a woman of mystery who immediately catches Tk’s eye.