52-episode family drama Summertide, which concluded on M-Net in January this year, is now available to stream globally on streaming service Acorn TV – and remains available on DStv Stream, Catch Up and Showmax for local viewers to enjoy.
The New York Times (subscription required) says that the show ‘rolls in with an Everwood vibe and a beachy setting’. NYT TV Critic Margaret Lyons writes that “The miracle here is that Summertide is not a murder show or a cop show… It is sketched on a human scale and you can feel the relationships stretch and repair in concert with one another; we see the characters experience different moods, not just different plot points”.
On the pacing, Lyons notes that “The show can afford to be relaxed in its pacing because there are 52 episodes in the first season… That is a lot of episodes and it engenders in the viewer the same feeling the characters share: ‘We’re in this together for the long haul’.”
“We’re always proud to see local productions finding audiences on the global stage,” says Waldimar Pelser, Channel Director: Premium Channels at MultiChoice Group. “South African – and African – stories have global appeal and Summertide demonstrates that with the right treatment and care, we can compete with shows from anywhere in the world”.
The generational drama tells the story of a marine biologist and father of two teenagers, Martin Field (Frank Rautenbach), who moves to the idyllic False Bay after the death of his wife Julia (Amalia Uys), to start a penguin rehabilitation centre. The family includes Martin’s parents, Wilma (Terry Norton) and Jack Field (Andre Jacobs) – the latter a retired naval commander who runs his household like a military operation and the Field children – Tristan (Jan Combrink) and Lucy (Evangelina Hallock) – who must cope with the loss of a parent and moving to a new town on top of the usual stresses of high school.
Rene Van Rooyen, Producer at Red Letter Day Pictures says: “We are incredibly excited to see a South African show travel globally and get such positive reviews by international publications! We are especially proud of our crew and cast and the monumental effort they put in to make this happen”.
Stream Summertide on DStv Stream or Showmax, or catch it on DStv Catch Up on connected DStv Explora devices now, if you missed it.
