Get Entangled in South African Spy Thriller ‘Trackers’

Cinemax

Despite earlier reports of their demise, Cinemax original series are alive and kicking butt. The network, which delivered pulse-racing dramas like Banshee, Outcast and Warrior, planned to get out of series TV after Strike Back ended its run in April. Fortunately, Cinemax is back in action with Trackers (Fridays at 10pm ET/PT beginning June 5), a six-part thriller based on a novel by Deon Meyer.

Set mainly in Cape Town, South Africa, Trackers spins a tangled web of international espionage, organized crime, terrorist plots, blood diamond smuggling and rhinoceros trafficking. Agents of the Presidential Bureau of Intelligence (PBI) are watching a small group of Islamic radicals known as “the Committee,” who are suspected of trying to secretly import a weapon of mass destruction into the country. To pay for their operation, the Committee has hired a local mob boss to steal a cache of diamonds being smuggled in from Zimbabwe, but all hell breaks loose when the would-be hijackers find more (and less) than they expected.

Here’s an intro to the key players in Trackers:

Milla Strachan (Rolanda Marais) Milla leaves an abusive marriage and takes a job as a researcher at PBI, never expecting to be thrust to the forefront of the battle against terrorism.

Lemmer (James Gracie) A fired PBI operative who now lives off the grid, Lemmer gets more than he bargained for when he accepts a job escorting a truck hauling suspicious cargo.

Janina Mentz (Sandi Schultz) After a politically embarrassing incident for PBI, Director Mentz is trying to justify the bureau’s continued existence while overseeing the operation against the Committee.

Quinn Makebe (Thapelo Mokoena) The PBI chief of operations is a skilled spy whose overconfidence often puts him at odds with Mentz.

Flea van Jaarsveld (Trix Vivier) This supposed wildlife expert is involved in schemes far more dangerous than transporting rhinos.

Inkunzi Shabangu (Sisanda Henna) A headstrong crime boss who plays out of his league when he contracts with the Committee.

 

About Ryan Berenz 2166 Articles
Member of the Television Critics Association. Charter member of the Ancient and Mystic Society of No Homers. Squire of the Ancient & Benevolent Order of the Lynx, Lodge 49, Long Beach, Calif. Costco Wholesale Gold Star Member since 2011.