Power, blood and spirits: Inside season 3 of Kings of Jo'Burg

Kingpin: Mo Masire, played by Zolisa Xaluva, in a scene from Kings of Jo'Burg season 3, which is on Netflix. Photo: Courtesy of Netflix
There is no doubt that the team at Ferguson Films know how to create action in a gripping crime drama. Mzansi Magic's The Queen and Rockville are thrilling examples.
In Netflix's Kings of Jo'Burg franchise they add an element of the supernatural.
In the first season, which premiered in 2020, viewers were taken into the underworld of a Johannesburg criminal family, the Masires.
Created by the late Shona Ferguson, who played kingpin Simon Masire in season 1, the series follows the Masires as they navigate power struggles, betrayals and supernatural forces.
Led by Veronica Masire (Connie Ferguson) and Mo Masire (Zolisa Xaluva), in season 3, we see the family's continued rule over the criminal underworld, while dealing with a supernatural family curse and a new contender threatening to bring their empire to its knees.
The rival gang, headed by Gavin Salat (Clint Brink), has declared war on the Masires in a bid to establish dominance in Johannesburg. To defend their turf, the Masires make a deal with their former enemy Aliko Bajo, played by Nigerian actor Enyinna Nwigwe.
Executive producer Connie Ferguson and US co-executive producer Samad Davis continue their aim to create a show with a global reach. Thus, the casting for the franchise seems strategic with the inclusion of actors from South Africa, Nigeria and the US.
Similar to previous seasons, which included American actors Terri J Vaughn and Michael Anthony, in this season we see new characters, such as Isador played by New York-born Malik Yoba.
At first, I was sceptical about this all-star cast fulfilling my expectations, especially in the first season. But, rest assured, this is a serious series with a serious cast.
With the exception of Lester's (Abdul Khoza) trivial jokes, there is no comic relief here. The overall tone from the characters, the soundtrack, and even the locations, is riveting, ominous and tense. There is no darker character than the menacing Gavin Salat who elevates the danger and supernatural factor.
Complex and cold, with a robot-like wife on his side, Salat is Cape Town's saint by day and devil by night, leading a wide drug distribution network that includes prisons.
Similar to Masire's Mermaid, Salat's supernatural entity is called Oom. Drawing from South African cultural heritage, Salat's gang members are tattooed with an eland — the spirit animal of the Khoisan.
It is these spiritual symbols and mythical figures that set this franchise apart from what South African audiences have seen before.
Unlike the Nigerian and Asian film industry, supernatural mythology is not broadly explored in South Africa.
Growing up, my cousins and I were scared to death by drama series like Lesilo Rula (1987) and Ubizo (2007).
Watching my grandparents' black-and-white TV, even the scenes with witches and dark spirits in Henry Cele's Shaka Zulu (1986) shook me as a boy.
In recent times there have been a few films that drew inspiration from local folklore and beliefs.
Norman Maake's recent award-winning Sebata: The Beast, 8: A South African Horror Story and Vuyani Bila's Deep Face, for instance, explore ghosts, spirits and other supernatural entities.
A common denominator in the horror-supernatural genre is that the monsters are representative of unresolved traumas. When triggered by life events, we experience life as 'horror' as those past 'monsters' have been awakened.
Kings of Jo'Burg challenges us to think about the monsters that lurk in our past and present, be it unresolved childhood traumas, envy, corrupt thoughts or fear. These negative emotions and energies, when undealt with, can turn people — alive or in the afterlife — into disruptive entities, hungry for blood and souls.
The series made me wonder if family inheritances of spiritual gifts is a curse or blessing. Through The Mermaid and Oom, the series explores the idea of family legacies and spiritual warfare in protecting and enriching the family.
In my village days as a child, we heard stories of shop owners burying human skulls and hands, with bony fingers creepily calling customers to purchase. Stories of people sleeping with snakes in their homes to gain success. Stories of businessmen and politicians bathing and drinking all sorts of concoctions in the shadows to amass more power and wealth.
Kings of Jo'Burg prompts us to check our personal spiritual blind spots and our lineage. As hard as it might be to ask our elders about our family history, rituals and beliefs, the assignment to this generation is to ask those difficult questions, regardless. If we want to break generational curses, and embrace the beauty of family spiritual gifts, lifting the lids becomes of utmost importance.
The supernatural aside, the action in series 3 is enthralling.
In last year's Heart of the Hunter, a Netflix production also starring Ferguson, viewers saw how big-budget production can push the boundaries of action when it comes to fight scenes, car chases, weapons and explosions.
The South African film and TV industry is indeed improving on that front. I was, however, not moved by the hyperbolic scoring in convincing audiences of the danger and thrill. Sure, it's a crime-action series, with plenty of bullets, blood, demons and drugs, but did the soundtrack have to be ominous in every scene?
The overall sound design was off-putting, especially in the calmer and more emotive scenes.
In one scene, when Veronica and Keneilwe (Thembi Seete) are talking about the glow of pregnancy, the music is imposingly eerie and mismatched. What am I as the viewer supposed to feel, exactly?
The scene between Outjie (Maurice Paige) and Mo in the prison cafeteria also could have been made without music to allow the actors' prowess to naturally shine.
The visual effects supplied by Pau Meyer from Luma Animation Studio, also the principal VFX supplier for M-Net's Shaka iLembe, immensely elevated the supernatural features in this season.
The franchise has come a long way from the questionable camerawork, ambitious storyline and poor character development in the first season. Season 3 is bolder and more menacing — glowing eyes and all.
Kings of Jo'Burg season 3 is streaming on Netflix.

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