Created by Kudi Maradzika and co-produced by her company Lincoln Green Media alongside Gambit Films, the seven-part drama follows BK (Jo-Anne Reyneke), a single mother and small-time grifter, who teams up with rising influencer Pinky (Cindy Mahlangu) to sell counterfeit luxury handbags. Their hustle spirals into a dangerous underworld of crime, deception, and morality in a world where image is everything.
Directed by Keitumetse Qhali and Ari Kruger, “Bad Influencer” is notably the first Netflix-commissioned series to come from the Realness Institute’s Episodic Lab, a talent incubator that mentors African writers from concept to pitch.
Maradzika, who entered the lab in 2021, developed the project through this program before taking it all the way to a Netflix greenlight.
The upcoming series co-stars Thapelo Mokoena, Hamilton Dlamini, and Vincent Mahlape in key roles.