''Dam'', also stylised as ''DAM'', is a South African psychological thriller television series created, written and directed by Alex Yazbek and developed by Picture Tree. The 8-episode first season premiered on 22 February 2021 on

Showmax Showmax is a subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service that launched in South Africa on 19 August 2015. Its majority owner is MultiChoice, which owns 70% of the Showmax group, while American conglomerate NBCUniversal owns 3 ...

. ''Dams first season received critical acclaim and was one of the top ten most watched shows on Showmax in 2021. It became the most nominated series at the 2022

South African Film and Television Awards The South African Film and Television Awards (sometimes referred to as the Golden Horns; often simply called the SAFTAs) is an annual South African awards ceremony hosted by the National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), to honour creative exce ...

at nomination tally of 11, including Best TV Drama as well as 5 acting nominations, with supporting actress Natasha Loring winning hers. In August 2022, the series was renewed for a second season.

Cast

Main

* Lea Vivier as Yola Fischer ** Wane Cockroft as Young Yola * Pallance Dladla as Themba Zita * Natasha Loring as Sienna Fischer * Neil Sandilands as Bernoldus

Supporting

Episodes

Series overview

Season 1 (2021)

Season 2 (2023)

Production

Alex Yazbek is the series' creator, writer, and director. Joining him on the creative team were Tom Marais as cinematographer, Sue Steele as production designer, Smartie Olifant as head of make-up, and Brendan Jury in charge of the music. The cast of ''Dam'' was revealed at the beginning of January 2021, with Lea Vivier set to lead the series alongside Antoinette Louw, Neil Sandilands, Faniswa Yisa, Pallance Dladla, Natasha Loring, Siv Ngesi, Laudo Liebenberg, and Gerald Steyn. Principal photography for the first season began in September 2020 and took place on location in the

Eastern Cape The Eastern Cape ( ; ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, and its largest city is Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth). Due to its climate and nineteenth-century towns, it is a common location for tourists. It is also kno ...

towns of

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population was 106,940. Bedford is the county town of Bedfordshire and seat of the Borough of Bedford local government district. Bedford was founded at a ford (crossin ...

and

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

. Production for the second season returned to Bedford and Adelaide, and was underway as of August 2022.

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 13635918 *
Dam
' at TVSA 2021 South African television series debuts 2020s South African television series English-language Showmax original programming Mass media in the Eastern Cape Psychological thriller television series Zulu-language television shows Zulu language Showmax original programming