The Girl From St Agnes, Showmax’s first original drama, wrapped-up in November 2018 after filming in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands and in Johannesburg. The eight-part whodunnit will premiere on Showmax on 31 January 2019.

The first Showmax Original, last year’s light-hearted comedy Tali’s Wedding Diary, had the most successful launch day of any series on Showmax ever, and according to Candice Fangueiro, Showmax’s head of content, this first original production for Showmax in the Drama genre, is a complete change of direction. She said that The Girl From St Agnes is a dark murder mystery that will keep viewers guessing, tapping into the current conversations in South Africa about #metoo and teen sexuality.”

At St Agnes, a prestigious all-girls boarding school in the Midlands, a popular and beautiful student is found dead at the base of the old mill. Fearful of the scandal it might cause, the school is quick to declare the death of Lexi Summerveld a tragic accident.

But drama teacher Kate Ballard doesn’t believe it. On the night of her death, an upset Lexi had been trying to contact her, and Kate had ignored her. Now wracked with guilt, Kate attempts to piece together the terrible truth.

The more she investigates, the more Kate realises that she didn’t know Lexi or the school at all. Behind the imposing walls of St Agnes, Lexi’s killer won’t be the only person exposed…

Newcomer Jane De Wet was handpicked to play Lexi by legendary South African casting director Moonyeenn Lee of Tsotsi, who’s been nominated for two Emmy Awards in the last three years, for The Looming Tower and Roots.

Kate is played by Nina Milner, who modelled for Vogue Germany and at Paris Fashion Week last year and most recently starred in Troy: Fall Of A City as Penthesilea, queen of the Amazons.

Jane and Nina are joined by an impressive supporting cast that includes internationally recognised South African talent like Robert Hobbs, Tyrone Keogh, Tessa Jubber, Karl Thaning, and Shamilla Miller, opposite local favourites like Celeste Khumalo, Richard Lukunku, Zakeeya Patel, Graham Hopkins and three-time SAFTA winner Jerry Mofokeng, not to mention hot new talent like Paige Bonnin and Tristan de Beer.

The Girl From St Agnes is being produced by Quizzical Pictures, winners of the SAFTA for Best Drama for six of the last eight years, as well as a Peabody. Producer Harriet Gavshon, Quizzical Pictures’ managing director, is drawing on her own private school experiences, which sparked the original idea for the show.

Catharine Cooke, who won this year’s Best Director in a TV Drama SAFTA for iNumber Number, co-directed the shoot with Cindy Lee, a commercials director helming her first drama series, having previously worked as the social media director on the Emmy-winning Black Mirror. Double SAFTA winner Gillian Breslin (Umlilo; 4Play: Sex Tips For Girls) is head writer. This makes Girl From St Agnes a rare TV series commissioned, produced, written and directed by women.

Binge all eight episodes first and only on Showmax from 31 January 2019.

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