A publicist’s life changes in an instant when she gets a phone call from a serial killer who wants her to tell his story.
Lucy, a former journalist, gets a chance to fulfil her lifelong dream of writing a book when a serial killer labelled “The Butcher” decides to reach out to her with the hope of having his story shared with the world. The eight-part thriller, which is an adaptation of author Angela Makholwa-Moabelo’s bestselling debut novel, explores the psychology of what makes a monster as well as the state of a society in which they can thrive.
Makholwa-Moabelo says, “Red Ink questions why South Africa is one of the most violent societies in the world. We were the murder capital for years and years, which is certainly a dubious honour that’s not comfortable to claim. The fact that this kind of violence is inflicted upon the most vulnerable among us – women and children – is something we really need to unpack. We don’t confront that and fiction is the most liberating way of opening up that discussion.
Why is our society like this? Why do we breed people like that? Is there something that can be done in the way that we run our small family units, just from that nuclear family base? Are there things we could do differently? Are there ways we can raise our children, especially boy children, differently? So that we’re not still having the same conversation about why we’re so violent 20 years from now.”
SAFTA nominee Nqobile Nunu Khumalo (Nqobile, The Herd) plays Lucy, with SAFTA winner Bonko Khoza (Mqhele in The Wife) as Napoleon Dingiswayo, nicknamed “The Butcher”. The all-star cast also includes Outlaws’ Nirvana Nokwe-Mseleku, SAFTA winners Bongile Mantsai (Inxeba: The Wound), Lorcia Cooper (Lockdown), and Jo-Anne Reyneke (Black Tax) as well as The Wife stars Kwenzo Ngcobo and Abdul Khoza.
Red Ink is a partnership between Makholwa-Moabelo’s Britespark Films and Bomb Productions, the company behind MultiChoice's most-watched drama ever, Shaka iLembe.
With shocking twists and cliffhangers in every episode, Red Ink shines as a stellar, unpredictable primetime drama that will have viewers tuning in for more.
Watch the first two episodes of Red Ink here.
