‘Highs and thrills’ — Dumisani Mbebe chats ‘Savage Beauty’ season two

The cat is finally out of the bag and season two of Savage Beauty is well on its way.

Created by Lebogang Mogashoa and produced by Quizzical Pictures, the series made its Netflix debut in May 2022.

Season one was themed around revenge, justice, secrets, a global beauty empire, power struggles and everything in between.

In season two fans can expect to see the Bhengus finding themselves splintered both at home and at Bhengu Beauty after their relentless enemy Zinhle’s successful mission of destruction. Instead of reuniting and moving through their tragic losses as a united family front, the radicalised Bhengus each set out to gain personal and professional power and control on their own ruthless terms, according to thesynopsis from the channel.

The drama-filled series left viewers with a cliffhanger.

TshisaLIVE caught up with lead actor Dumisani Mbebe who stars as Don Bhengu, the patriarch of the family and the man you love to hate.

How has the show been received? Netflix exposes you to a broader audience across continents.

Hate him or love him, Don is Don, he won't change for anyone. He does his own thing. I got to experience that in terms of how the character was received and how the show did in this country and abroad. It's crazy that you are walking down the streets of Paris and some French woman is like: “Don”. People have been asking me about season two and when it is coming out and now that we are here, everyone is excited. You can't drop the ball. Because the show is popular the stakes are even higher.”

How was playing Don this time ? 

“It is more like our lives. We evolve. Don has evolved so much. Season one has to give context towards how things play out in season two. The very last image we see is Don in the boot, and questions have been asked. Is he going to die? Will he manage to get out of the boot and if he does, what is the first thing he does?

Without giving too much away, are we going to love or hate Don less than we did during season one?

“I'm hoping a huge chunk of the audience is going to sympathise with Don. Some will think he is getting what he deserves. It's going to be a split. Don does what any man would do if they were in his shoes, so a bit of love and a lot of hate.”

Congratulations on your Netflix debut. Was filming Savage Beauty different from other productions you've done? 

“Netflix is rich in terms of the number of countries your work is going to be seen in and the stakes are higher. The budget is bigger. There's a few perks you get to enjoy. It is like you are shooting a movie but you are shooting a series. You get treated like the A-lister you are. I'm sure if local productions had the same budget they would go to the same lengths.”

Why should people watch season 2 of Savage Beauty?

" I'm in season two and you cannot miss that. If you watched season one then you have unfinished business and you have to watch season 2. The highs and thrills of season two are on another level. People are going to be shocked. There are new characters and new actors joining the stellar cast. It is like the cream of the crop.”

The new season of the hit series premieres in 2024.