Season 1
Amagugu is a South African docu-drama television series produced by Ochre Media which uses actors to reconstruct the events of real life tragedies whilst interviewing the surviving family members about the events surrounding their loss and how they are coping in the aftermath.
The series premiered on SABC1 on Monday 3 February 2014, at 22h00. New episodes broadcast weekly. There are 13 half-hour episodes in the series.
Synopsis
Amagugu is part reality show, part drama, set against the backdrop of a real person going through a major life transition, experiencing the death of a loved one. While there's obviously a lot of sadness there's also a lot of organising that needs to be done.
We follow the true story of the surviving family members and see how they are now facing major change and have to rebuild their lives. But that comes with time.
Losing someone is very painful. The people on the show experience all kinds of difficult emotions and we get the feeling that the pain and sadness they experiencing will never let up.
The viewers realise that these are normal reactions to a significant loss. But while there is no right or wrong way to grieve, there are healthy ways to cope with the pain that, in time, can renew and permit live to move on.
We experience their journey and discover what's at stake.
An Amagugu episode consists of a mixture of interviews with the real person whilst actors reconstruct the events. The stories all revolve around the contributors experience with a death and funeral of a person close to them. We hear about the grieving and the events around the death.
Produced by Ochre Media, the series producer was Ernie Vosloo and the executive producer Stan Joseph.
Episodes
Episode 1
In this episode we meet Sylvia Makoka - the police woke her up when they banged on her window looking for her grandson Thato. It was believed that he had a gun.
During a body search the automatic rifle that a trainee cop carried went of killing the teenager. It was the start of Sylvia's worst nightmare. How did she cope with her grief?
Episode 2
Neo Moyo from Soweto is frustrated. Her mother suddenly passed away and left her to raise her siblings. Time is running out to find money for the funeral.
What does Neo do when her aunty comes knocking at the door wanting to sell the house as it is a family heirloom?
Episode 3
When Isaac opened his best friend Seun's coffin at his funeral, the coffin was filled with animal body parts! The gruesome finding puzzled the police. They now have to set the record straight.
Will Isaac find peace?