Zola Nombona as Roxanne and Anga Makubalo as Ntando.
When I first heard the plot of e.tv's new series
Z'bondiwe it sounded like yet another remake of the Romeo and Juliet plot: two gangs at war in a neighbourhood while lovers get caught in the chaos - the Capulet/Montagu drama all over again.
But now there's an added element to things which makes it seem less samey. More plot details have become available and they take things in a different direction in relation to the lovers. The show's set in Soweto and centres round two gangs - The Vutha Boys and The Mambas - so that part's the same as R&J. The lovers storyline doesn't involve families ripping them apart but rather...
From the official description:
Ntando and Roxanne, a happily engaged couple from Cape Town have just moved from Cape Town and are trying to settle in Johannesburg’s Northern Suburbs. Roxanne gets kidnapped by a notorious psychopath gangster, Killer (Mbulelo Grootboom). Ntando goes on a mission to rescue his future bride and is forced to immerse himself in the underground gang world.
This adds a fresh spin to it I thought - specifically the fact that Ntando's going to become Donnie Brasco. It's an action series which makes it different too because we have so few local action series so these factors give it it's own appeal.
Your first impressions?