South African series finds an international home on Amazon

South African produced drama-thriller Obsessions is set to make history when it becomes the first local series to air worldwide on Amazon's video streaming service, Amazon Video.

The series, which tells the story of a young group of friends who are harassed by a stalker determined to destroy their lives, will premiere on Amazon's international video service in May 2018 and run for 22 weeks. The show will debut in America and the UK, with producers in negotiations with local broadcasters to carry it 24 hours later

The series creator Nicho Bernard told TshisaLIVE that they were honoured by the opportunity to have the series screened worldwide and believed it marked a "revolution" for the local entertainment industry.

"We want to create a trend. We want to create a culture of sending our content overseas. We want to show international markets that we compete with them and we can also make high quality productions that they will enjoy. We are doing that by not sticking to the rules of being big first in South Africa and then internationally. We are not afraid to be bold and brave and that's what we need in South Africa," he said.

The series had initially been named The Crossing and was picked up by the SABC before complications saw the producers pull out of the agreement and sign an international deal with Amazon.

All of the music and fashion featured in Obsessions will be provided by local artists and designers.

The series also features an all South African cast including Jack Devnarain, Brandon Auret, Elma Postma and Liesl Ahlers and was shot at locations in Johannesburg and Hartbeespoort Dam.

Brandon told TshisaLIVE that he was at first hesitant to make the move from film back to TV but was excited by the script.

"It is different. It feels like an American series. When I read the script for the first episode I was blown away. I knew this would be an amazing production and I was excited to be a part of it. I told the creators: 'If this is what the show is like, I am in.'"

Obsessions premieres on Amazon Video in May 2018.