I’m sure we were all hooked by the first watch; very fast, gritty, and entertaining. Living in today’s South Africa has its challenges, some very far-fetched from the norm, but are lived realities for some individuals. That is what Kudi Maradzika envisioned when she had Bad
Influencer in mind. Released on Netflix in late October 2025, the show quickly sparked social commentary.

Bad Influencer shows the worst and best of both worlds. The fast life, how there is a blurred line between real and fake in influencer culture on Instagram, the harsh reality single mothers are sometimes faced with, and lastly, the new thrilling norm, which is not so ‘underworld’ anymore- the crime. I think it was brilliant to see the merge of luxury and crime, laced with a little bit of humour, to depict and paint a picture of how survival actually looks in certain systems and lifestyles.

Shot in Johannesburg, the show instantly feels familiar—an eye-opening drama that has secured its place in South Africans’ hearts. We all know the struggle of single mothers stretching every rand, or aunties and sisters dipping into overdraft just to make ends meet.
But imagine doing all that without a 9-to-5, hustling on the streets so your child with special needs can attend a school that understands them. If this show doesn’t reveal the constant tug- of-war between survival and morality, I don’t know what will.

With Jo-Anne Reyneke as ‘Bk’ and Cindy Mahlangu as ‘Pinky’ being “bad influencers” and masterminds behind the production of counterfeit bags, this dynamic duo set the scene for the rest of the show. They are hustlers, Bk is an incredible mother, and Pinky, as the It girl, just wants security and maintenance, so they are both essentially securing the bag. Besides the trouble they go through, it is important not to overlook the fact that they both have hearts and are human. The show’s resident mean girl, Naomi, brought to life by Zozibini Tunzi, stands firmly in the duo’s way, determined to dim their shine at every turn. And trust me, there’s a lot to unpack in this whirlwind of drama.

Mastermind behind it

We had the honour of interviewing the executive producer, co-head writer, and creator of the series, Kudi Maradzika, and she delves into the challenges, themes, and logistics of the production from her perspective.

One word, Exposure. What inspired her to produce this show was her fascination with the influencer world, sparked by her dip in the pool herself. With her background in journalism and media production, the idea of producing Bad Influencer became accentuated. “The idea became inevitable, I wanted to make something fun, fast, and clever but still deeply rooted in the lived realities of young South Africans,” she says.

For Kudi, the spine of the show is image versus truth. “This show specifically shows the tension between who you are and whom you pretend to be; every character is performing in some way, and the crime and luxury worlds create pressure cookers where those
performances crack,” she explains.

Audience
Children of South Africa adore humour, rhythm, and grit, and Bad Influencer really does flaunt that. “These elements are very particular to South Africans, and we did not want to dilute that, and so we rooted the show in Joburg’s energy,” she says. I mean, I could say Joburg is where the heart of SA lies, it’s where everything happens. And since it is a Netflix Show, audiences from all parts of the world are surely captivated and probably find it satisfactory. “The universal themes, such as ambition, friendship, deception, and reinvention,
make it so open to the world, yet true to its roots, and when emotion rings true, you have won international audiences, and they will follow you anywhere,” Kudi says. My biggest mistake was internalizing the characters because, I kid you not, the emotions do get to you. It’s quite impressive how immersive this show is.

Logistics of production; intensity and quality of delivery
One can never be naïve to the fact that there are always hiccups to overcome to make it a success. Visions don’t get translated directly onto the screen, but for Kudi, working closely with Nosipho from the Gambit team helped her stay on the lane of her initial vision.
“Nosipho ensured that the vision on the page reflected in the finer details, which made the experience feel more real,” says Kudi. The fast life we see on screen is the same exhilarating speed they had to work on. Kudi admits that maintaining the pace visually and narratively without losing nuance was a real balancing act.

I’m sure working in film requires precision and attention to finer things that make the whole show come alive and feel real. It takes creativity, genuine emotion, and, probably much more that we viewers are unaware of, to pull it off. Kudi’s last remarks highlighted the intensity of working on this show: “Bad Influencer moves at a breakneck speed, and the world also demanded precision with the fashion, influencer culture, the criminal underworld… all of it had to feel real.”

She is currently working on a slate of new projects that are all in different worlds, but for her, the motto stays consistent throughout: protect the heart of the story. “Bad influencer taught me that audiences are smarter, hungrier, and more emotionally intuitive than we often assume, and I want all my future work to meet at that level,” she says.

Bad Influencer is another strong addition to her growing list of acclaimed productions, which includes Isono, Black Tax, Roast of Somizi, and many more. If you didn’t know about Kudi Maradzika before, you’ll certainly be following her work now—an unstoppable force in the film industry.