Reyka is a South African investigative crime thriller television series which follows Reyka Gama, a flawed but brilliant criminologist, who is haunted by her past.
Reyka, the 11-year-old daughter of African and British parents, is abducted. Having escaped her tormentor, she now lives her life as a mother and investigative detective.
She returns to her home town to lead the investigation into a serial killer behind a string of brutal murders, where victims' burnt bodies are being found in the sugar cane fields.
Caught between hope for new beginnings and living with the horrors of the past, Reyka's worlds collide and reveal a dark secret of her own.
Set against the tropical coastline and vast sugarcane fields of KwaZulu-Natal, the story begins in 1994, the end of Apartheid and the dawning of a new South Africa.
Having been abducted as a child by a farmer named Speelman (Iain Glen), Reyka is traumatised by the experience but this also helps her enter the minds of Africa's most notorious criminals and turn them inside out.
Manipulative and charming, his hold on Reyka, 20 years later, forms part of the backbone of the story, as does Reyka's relationship with her mother Elsa, played by Anna-Mart van der Merwe.
Reyka exposes secrets and lies, truth and trust, damage, healing and forgiveness.
With a dramatic backdrop of sugar cane fields, tropical beaches, stifling heat, dangerous wildlife, a criminal underworld and shadowy politics - each place is connected by sugar, but divided in so many other ways.
Kim Engelbrecht, Iain Glen and Anna-Mart van der Merwe are joined by a cast including Hamilton Dlamini, Kenneth Nkosi, Nokuthula Ledwaba, Desmond Dube, Gerald Steyn, Ian Roberts, Fiona Ramsay, David Butler and Jessica Hayes.
Reyka is created and written by Rohan Dickson and jointly produced by Serena Cullen for Serena Cullen Productions in the UK and Harriet Gavshon for Quizzical Pictures in South Africa.
The series is an M-Net Original Production, produced for M-Net 101.
The executive producers are Serena Cullen, Harriet Gavshon and Rohan Dickson. Yolisa Phahle, Nkateko Mabaso, Allan Sperling and Jan du Plessis executive produce for M-Net; and Julie Hodge for Fremantle.
The series is directed by Zee Ntuli and Catharine Cooke. Music is by Chris Letcher.
Rekya is distributed globally by Fremantle.
Main Characters
Reyka (Kim Engelbrecht)
Reyka is an investigative psychologist and criminal profiler.
Her confrontation with her childhood abduction gives her the ability to crawl under the skin of her subjects and totally commit to the process of discovering the truth.
Speelman (Iain Glen)
Angus Speelman is a Scottish immigrant farmer.
Incapable of having children of their own, Speelman and his wife abduct young girls to raise.
When the girls reach a certain age, the innocent family unit is tarnished as Speelman begins seeing them as sexual beings.
Elsa (Anna-Mart van der Merwe)
Elsa Meyer is Reyka's mother. She is an Afrikaans journalist, a free spirit, and an adventure seeker.
She met radio broadcaster and activist Vincent Gama during the struggle, and in 1983 Reyka is born.
Hector (Hamilton Dlamini)
Brigadier Hector Zwane is doggedly determined and won't ever give up.
His son, Samuel, has followed in his footsteps, becoming a detective in the SAPS.
Nandi (Thando Thabethe)
Constable Nandi Cele loves her job and is always immaculately turned out in her uniform.
She is forthright and empathetic, acting as a moral compass for her colleagues.
Pastor Zik (Desmond Dube)
Pastor Ezekiel, or Pastor Zik as he is also known, is the spiritual leader of his community.
He is a showman and a seductive orator who uses his "gift of the gab" to attract people to his church.
Portia (Nokuthula Ledwaba)
Portia is Angus Speelman's wife.
Mired in a complicated and dangerous relationship with him, her past is a mystery.
Samuel (Mavuso Simelane)
Following in his father's footsteps, Samuel Zwane is a junior detective in the SAPS.
He is proud, strong, and ambitious, a straight shooter determined to do everything by the book.
Sewsunker (Leeanda Reddy)
Sewsunker comes from a family of police officers and has become one herself.
As a forensic detective, she collates evidence and creates profiles on victims, witnesses, and suspects.
She is the voice of reason in her team, always calm and methodical in her approach to her work.
Soda (Khayalethu Anthony)
Soda is a Xhosa cane cutter from Pondoland in the Eastern Cape.
Tanner (Gerald Steyn)
Detective Nick "Bison" Tanner is results-driven and is proud of his arrest record.
An adrenaline junkie, he has no ambition to climb the ranks.
Thuli (Rashaan Stackling)
Reyka's 11-year-old daughter.