24 May 2023

Recipes for Love and Murder

When a woman who wrote to her seeking advice is found dead, recipe advice columnist Tannie Maria and her colleague, rookie journalist Jessie, spring into action, determined to solve this small-town murder and catch the killer.

Based on the first of Sally Andrew’s bestselling Tannie Maria novels, For Love and Murder was selected for Berlinale Series Market Selects 2022 - described as being for “curated series with high market potential”, the same strand Donkerbos screened in this year.

Award-winning Irish actress Maria Doyle Kennedy (The Tudors, Outlander, Orphan Black) stars as Maria Purvis, aka Tannie Maria. The rest of the cast is entirely South African, with Kylie Fisher (Zamanti in Troukoors) earning shoutouts from the likes of Variety and Decider for her breakthrough role as Jessie. Also look out for SAFTA nominees Tony Kgoroge and Jennifer Steyn as chief detective Khaya Meyer and Hattie Wilson, publisher of the Karoo Gazette, respectively, plus a host of familiar faces.

A co-production between M-Net, Acorn TV in America, and two-time International Emmy nominees Both Worlds Pictures, the ten-episode series is directed by SAFTA winners Christiaan Olwagen (Kanarie) and Karen Jeynes (Puppet Nation ZA), who also adapted the novel. The murder mystery is set against the idyllic backdrop of a small fictional Karoo town called Eden, which was largely created in Prince Albert, with gorgeous cinematography by SAFTA winner and Camerimage nominee Vicci Turpin (Poppie Nongena, Four Corners).

TVFantatic says it’s “delightful… The vistas are stunning! The food is even better… Murder never tasted so good!” while the New York Times says the series, “offers the same mix of human drama, gorgeous landscapes, local colour and mouthwatering cooking [as the book]” adding that “despite the murders and simmering racial undertones, the show keeps its warm, humorous tone through the quiet, grounded character of Maria, with her empathetic, practical advice.”

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