The Girl from St. Agnes

The Girl from St. Agnes is a South African mystery drama television limited series developed by a creative team of women from Quizzical Pictures. It premiered on 31 January 2019 as Showmax's first original drama series.^[1]

The Girl from St. Agnes
Written by	Gillian Breslin
Directed by	Catharine Cooke Cindy Lee
Composer	Brendan Jury
Country of origin	South Africa
Original language	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	8
Production
Executive producers	Niclas Ekdahl Candice Fangueiro Shaamila Fataar
Producers	Harriet Gavshon JP Potgieter Nimrod Geva
Production company	Quizzical Pictures
Original release
Network	Showmax
Release	31 January (2019-01-31) – 21 March 2019 (2019-03-21)

Premise

The sudden death of a popular student at a prestigious all-girls boarding school in the Midlands of KwaZulu-Natal is quickly ruled a tragic accident. Her teacher, however, has reason to believe otherwise and sets off to find the truth.^[2][3]

Cast

Main

• Nina Milner as Kate Ballard
• Tyrone Keogh as Shane Moolman
• Graham Hopkins as Chris Whittaker
• Jane de Wet as Alexis "Lexi" Summerveld
• Paige Bonnin as Megan Clayton
• Shamilla Miller as Jenna Galloway
• Makgotso M as Moipone Molopo
• Celeste Khumalo as Kholwa
• Tessa Jubber as Philippa Summerveld
• Tristan de Beer as Jason Clayton
• Karl Thaning as Dylan McMahon
• Zakeeya Patel as Sharon McMahon
• Jocelyn Broderick as Joanne Whittaker
• Robert Hobbs as Gary Clayton

Supporting

• Jerry Mofokeng as Mr. Gwala
• Charmaine Weir-Smith as Rachel Summerveld
• Richard Lukunku as Kgalala Molopo

Episodes

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original release date
1	"Before the Devil Fell"	Catharine Cooke	Unknown	31 January 2019 (2019-01-31)
2	"An Everlasting Funeral"	Catharine Cooke	Sean Steinberg	7 February 2019 (2019-02-07)
3	"My Own Sins"	Catharine Cooke	Zoë Laband	14 February 2019 (2019-02-14)
4	"Immaculate Proof"	Cindy Lee	Zoë Laband	21 February 2019 (2019-02-21)
5	"The Proper Morning"	Cindy Lee	Zoë Laband	28 February 2019 (2019-02-28)
6	"The Devil's Agents"	Cindy Lee	Sean Steinberg	7 March 2019 (2019-03-07)
7	"Loose Spirits"	Catharine Cooke	Unknown	14 March 2019 (2019-03-14)
8	"Vengeance is Loose"	Catharine Cooke	Unknown	21 March 2019 (2019-03-21)

Production

Development

Gillian Breslin served as head writer, whilst Catharine Cooke and Cindy Lee co-directed the series. Producer Harriet Gavshon drew upon her own real-life experiences at boarding school for inspiration. Moonyeenn Lee was in charge of casting.^[4]

Filming

Principal photography took place on location in Ixopo and Johannesburg, wrapping in November 2018.^[5] Multiple locations were used to make up the fictional school, including King's Grant Country Retreat.^[6]

Release

A teaser was released on 9 January 2019 followed by a full trailer on 15 January. The 8-episode drama launched on Showmax on 31 January.^[7] It was showcased at the 2019 MIPTV in Cannes.^[8]

Reception

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Recipient(s)	Result	Ref.
2020	South African Film and Television Awards	Best Script – TV Drama	Gillian Breslin, Zoë Laband, Sean Steinberg	Nominated
		Best Original Music – TV Drama	Brendan Jury	Nominated
		Best Actor – TV Drama	Robert Hobbs	Nominated	[9]