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'Blood & Water': Release date, plot, cast and all you need to know about Netflix's South African teen drama

Evoking vibes of 'Elite', 'Gossip Girl' and even 'Riverdale', 'Blood & Water' is also a mystery as one girl tries to solve a cold case from 17 years ago

Done bingeing Netflix's teen dramas such as 'The Society', 'Elite', and 'Outer Banks' and want to know what you can move on to next? Well, the wait won't be much longer as Netflix drops its newest teen drama next week. 'Blood & Water' is Netflix's second South African original and is set in a prestigious high school in Cape Town.

Evoking vibes of 'Elite', 'Gossip Girl', and even 'Riverdale', 'Blood & Water' is also a mystery as one girl tries to solve a cold case from 17 years ago. Read on to know more details about the show.

Release date

All episodes of Season 1 of 'Blood & Water' will be available to stream on Netflix on May 20.

Plot

The story is set in the surroundings of Parkhurst College, a prestigious inner-city school for elite scholars and academic overachievers. 'Blood & Water' follows the exploits of 16-year-old Puleng Khumalo as she engineers her transfer to the school to investigate the 17-year-old cold case of the abducted-at-birth older sister she's never met.

Puleng meets beautiful, alluring Fikile “Fiks’’ Bhele from the nearby private school, who she believes is her sister. In her on-going search, Puleng finds an ally and assistant investigator in Wade, while also having to handle the opinionated Wendy Dlamini, who at times is a bit too ‘woke’, She also meets Karabo ‘KB’ Molapo, resident bad boy and high school heartthrob who is struggling to live up to his father's high expectations.

Cast

Ama Qamata ('My Perfect Family', 'Rhythm City') plays Puleng Khumalo, while Fikile “Fiks’’ Bhele is played by Khosi Ngema starring in her debut role. Wade is played by Dillon Windvogel ('Arendsvlei') and Wendy is portrayed by Natasha Thahane ('Skeem Saam', 'The Queen', 'Lockdown'). Thabang Molaba plays Karabo ‘KB’ Molapo.

The show also stars Gail Mabalane, Arno Greeff, Ryle De Morny, Greteli Fincham, and Getmore Sithole.

Director

'Blood & Water' was directed by Nosipho Dumisa, one of South Africa’s most recognizable black female directors who won the Best Director Award at the Fantasia International Film Festival for 'Number 37'.

Trailer

The teaser takes us to the action: Puleng Khumalo is a new student trying to navigate her Cape Town school, when she crosses paths with Fikile Bhele, whom the other students call “a genuine influencer.” Puleng feels they click, and this is what she has been longing for: “My friends don’t even know the real me,” she says, “and with Fikile, I have a fresh start.”

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'Outer Banks'

'Elite'

'Love 101'

'Gossip Girl'

'The OC'