When a woman seeking advice about an abusive husband is found dead, recipe advice columnist Tannie Maria, and her colleague, rookie journalist Jessie, spring into action, determined to solve this small town Karoo murder and catch the killer. Big city cop Khaya and his team of local police officers always find themselves just slightly behind the detecting duo, as the investigation takes us through an array of unlikely suspects.

I have not read the hugely popular books this series is based on. Thus, I was not invested in the show representing the books in a certain manner. It is to be viewed as a standalone creation.

I was also not fussed that an international actress, Maria Doyle Kennedy, was cast to play a very South African character, Tannie Maria. I understand the producers wanted to reach a wider audience by giving her Scottish heritage, and I am a big fan of Kennedy. She was sometimes the only character that held the meandering Orphan Black together. Tough as nails, mysterious.

Add to that the incredible production teams we have in SA, the talented local actors that will be showcased internationally, and the genius of director Christiaan Olwagen, and I was ready to be entertained.

Shifting of gears

Three episodes in and I can see what the creators attempted. A kooky, yet dramatic series based on food, sense, smell and, yes, murder. The Karoo with all its charms was to be a character.

Let’s compare it to Killing Eve, another kooky, yet dramatic series. Underlying the crazy, was a thumping heart. Instead of food and smell, Vilanelle loved fashion, luxury and yes, murder. Europe with all its old-world charm was the setting, the extra character.

With Eve, the shift between crazy, comedy and humanity happened seamlessly. Villanelle could be psychotically funny and oozing sex appeal, then slit someone’s throat. In one scene. You laughed, you fell in love with her, and you were appalled by her. Jodie Comer rocked the role. Killing Eve was perfectly cast, tightly written (well, for the first two seasons) and expertly directed. Recipes for love and murder botches the shift between comedy, drama, and murder. The series almost has a split personality.

Personality A

When Tannie Maria reads the letters, the scenarios are “re-enacted”; you hear Martine’s voice, then you see her interacting with her husband. Then she breaks the fourth wall and addresses the camera, but in a sense Tannie Maria. The writer of the letter narrates their own story. Those scenes, which I believe is Olwagen’s strongpoint, is riveting and reminiscent of Olwagen’s earlier work. Just behold Tinarie van Wyk-Lootz in all her glory retelling the story of love and loss. (Bennie Fourie is a bum note, though.)

Personality B

Then you shift to Tannie Maria and her posse, and it falls flat. The tonal shifts are jarring. For example, Tannie Maria is moved to tears by Martine’s letter, but when she finds out she was killed, there is no similar sorrow. When Dirk and Anna shoot each other, it obviously calls for a suspension of disbelief. It is supposed to be funny, over the top, and yet dark. It simply comes across as silly.

The biggest surprise is Maria Doyle Kennedy. Her facial expression hardly changes, her even keel manner is slightly disarming. She looks and feels out of place, as if she’s aware of the fact that she does not quite get the Karoo with all its charms and charming people. Tannie Maria is the titular character, the glue that’s supposed to hold this show. She is almost not present.

Casting of Kennedy

Going into the show I had no issue with a non-South African being cast in the role. Three episodes in and I strongly feel, that is precisely what is missing for this particular role. Anna-Mart van der Merwe or Denise Newman would have carried the dust, the heat, the smell, and the lovely people of the Karoo inside them. This lived knowledge would have brought all the ingredients together.

Was it necessary?

I do wonder if casting of an international actor for the lead was necessary. Really popular foreign language series such as Money Heist, Dark, Lupin, and Call my agent! did not cast an internationally known actor in the lead. They relied on great, local yet lesser-known actors that could tell the story simply by showing up, by bringing that lived experience with them.

We certainly have great, local actors who would have shown up to play Tannie Maria.