Originating in Cape Town, South Africa, “Blood and Water” follows the story of 16-year-old Puleng Khumalo, played by Ama Qamata. Three days after her birth, Khumalo’s older sister, Phumelele, was kidnapped from the hospital never to be seen again. Khumalo and her younger brother, Siya Khumalo feel as if their mother loves Phumelele more than them. This leads Puleng to leave Phumelele’s 17th birthday party, which their mother throws every year in honor of her. Puleng goes to a birthday party with her best friend, Zama. The birthday party is for Fikile (Fiks) Bhele, played by Khosi Ngema. Puleng starts to think that Fikile is her long-lost sister. While all this is going on, Puleng’s father, Julius Khumalo, is being accused and put on trial for selling his daughter 17 years ago. The stress of her father’s case and suspicions about Fikile causes Khumalo to get into a fight at school. After this, Khumalo decides to switch schools. The school she chooses is none other than Parkhurst High, which Fikile attends. At Parkhurst, Puleng delves into an investigation of her own: to prove that Fikile is her long-lost sister. As Puleng secretly conducts an investigation with the help of Wade, the headmaster’s son, she encounters the drama and privilege of private school life. As Puleng gets closer to the truth, her relationship with Fikile and her family begins to deteriorate. This Netflix television series is a teen crime drama, and truly is full of drama. Follow Puleng as she unravels years of unthinkable secrets, risking her life and those around her.
Based on Alice Walker’s famous novel, the film “The Color Purple” is a riveting emotional musical and drama that follows the life of Celie, played by Fantasia. This musical illustrates the hardships that Celie had to go through over decades of trauma. Married off to a man who doesn’t love her and separated from her beloved sister, Celie is led to believe that no one loves her. She is seen as a maid to her husband, cooking, cleaning and caring for children that are not her own. Celie’s children were taken away from her and sold to the highest bidder by her father. After years of physical and emotional abuse from her loveless husband, Celie meets Shug Avery, a promiscuous singer and entertainer. The Golden Globe Award Winner Taraji P. Henson plays Avery in the film. All the men want Avery, and all the women despise her for it. Although everyone idolizes Avery, she has her own problems too. While living with Celie, Avery reveals that her father is the town’s pastor and he disapproves of her lifestyle. Through Avery, Celie enters into a world beyond her little town. Avery introduces Celie to fashion, makeup and clubs. Avery helps Celie love herself like she never has before and after years of feeling hatred towards her husband and her life, Celie finally leaves her husband and opens up her own sewing business. “The Color Purple” will take you on the emotional rollercoaster you didn’t know you needed.
One Piece is one of the longest running anime of all time, with over one thousand episodes. Netflix recently decided to take this beloved story and turn it into flesh and bone. Just like the original, this remake follows Monkey D. Luffy and his gang of pirates as they take to the vast ocean in order to search for an invaluable treasure called the One Piece. They run into numerous challenges along the way such as the Marines, sea monsters and opposing pirates. Fans of the anime love how well the show adapted the original story, and new fans enjoy the fun and fast paced atmosphere. But the fantastic plot is not the only thing that has made this show popular. The diverse cast is a huge factor in the show’s popularity. In the original manga, the gang of pirates hail from all over the world, and the live action cast reflects the ethnic background of the characters. The author of One Piece, Eiichiro Oda, confirmed that Monkey D. Luffy was from Brazil. Iñaki Godoy, the actor who plays Luffy, is a 20-year-old from Mexico. Then take a look at Usopp, a pirate-wannabe from Africa. Jacob Gibson is the Jamaican born actor who plays Usopp. The rest of the cast follows this same pattern. From the plot, to the characters and everything in between, “One Piece” (2023) is worth watching even if you haven’t heard of the original anime.
From the mind of Shonda Rhimes, “Scandal” lives up to its title in every sense of the word. The ABC original series follows Olivia Pope, former White House consultant turned professional fixer, as she leads her crisis-management firm Olivia Pope & Associates. This show takes you on a wild ride into the murky underbelly of D.C. politics as Olivia tries and fails to fully separate herself from her former job and the complex characters within the Grant administration. Through high-stakes controversies, kidnapping, tumultuous affairs, assassination attempts and so much more, you’ll be shocked by the twists and turns this political drama takes. It explores the secrets and lives of those working at Olivia’s firm, the so-called “Gladiators in Suits,” as they dig up dirt on D.C.’s biggest change-makers, while simultaneously creating their own major messes. Focusing a great deal on often controversy-wrought relationships, Scandal shows us how ethics can fall to the wayside as people do whatever it takes to gain and keep power, bringing you corruption like you’ve never seen before. While each episode typically revolves around a single “Scandal,” the show also mixes in multi-episode and multi-season storylines that add plenty more pieces to try and put together. If you have a love for drama, you’ll find it hard to turn this series off as you wait to see each cliffhanger unfold.
