Lioness is a South African crime drama television series created by Ilse van Hemert and developed by Ochre Moving Pictures.
The series, set in contemporary South Africa, is a time-hopping whodunnit.
Special Ops: Lioness - Series Review
The writing is great and performances are amazing, especially Shannon Esra and Natasha Sutherland.
Synopsis
Lioness, starring Shannon Esra, tells the story of Samantha Hugo, a woman who loses her children, her lover, and her freedom when she is framed for fraud committed by her husband before his death.
Forty-four-year-old Samantha Hugo emerges from prison determined to reunite with her long-lost children: 24-year-old Miranda, 21-year-old Liam, and 11-year-old Caitlyn. However, her efforts are unexpectedly sabotaged.
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Eight years before, someone was spying on the Hugo family. Now, Sam is excited to hear that Liam is returning from Cape Town, but their encounter has an unexpected outcome.
Sam demands a meeting with Caitlyn, but behind the scenes, Megan is a puppet master at work to keep Caitlyn for herself.
Eight years before, she finds out what happened to her missing husband and has to face the music alone.
The boy, Liam, is traumatised at school and goes missing. Sam is notified and goes berserk inside prison.
Character Overviews
- Samantha Hugo: She tends to get herself in trouble when she impulsively seeks out adventure to cater for her boundless energy and passion. Sam missed out on finding love when she became pregnant at 17, marrying a man who does not get her or fulfils her needs as a woman. She is forced to choose between her own happiness and that of her children.
- Adrian Hugo: For investment broker Adrian Hugo, image is everything. He's an urbane model of a man, a winner in every way, but his lifelong competition with his brother leads him to cross ethical boundaries.
- Jason Hugo: On a path to be appointed as a Concourt judge, is a righteous, magnanimous supporter and benefactor of Sam and Adrian in their hour of need.
- Anton Marais: Is appointed as the security detail responsible for the safety of Adrian Hugo's wife and children.
- Miranda: The young Miranda takes life much too seriously and can’t bear imperfection. She hero-worships her urbane, successful father, interpreting his desperate attempts to save his sinking company with a dedication to work. By contrast, Miranda is averse to her mother’s general disorder and embarrassing lack of decorum.
- Liam: Eleven-year-old Liam is closest to his mother, sharing his anxious, dark thoughts with her.
- Caitlyn: She is Sam and Adrian’s last-born child and was only three years old when her family was torn apart and she was taken to live with her uncle and aunt, Jason and Megan.
- Megan: Meg comes from a family with political clout and is an asset to Jason’s ambitions to become a Constitutional Court judge. But behind the veneer of sophistication is a needy woman who found relief from the pain of being unable to have children when Jason offered to foster Sam's children while she was in prison. Caitlyn came to Meg as a toddler and now sees her as her own mother.
- Charlotte: Sam’s bohemian mother who has a need for self-expression and independence but would like someone else to fund it.
- Amo: Amo is warm-hearted, insightful, honest and incorruptible - or so she thinks until her family comes under threat.
- Sifiso Twala: Amo’s husband, is the spontaneous life of the party; a loyal friend and generous to a fault.
- Brian: Miranda’s controlling fiancé, presents himself as an elegant fixer of problems, a protector of damsels in distress.
Plot Developments
In the present, Charlotte and Sam have a huge fight over something Charlotte had given a pesky tabloid journalist, and Jason makes a disturbing declaration.
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Teenage Miranda can't get over the loss of her family and spins out of control.
In the present, Sam is on a mission to uncover the truth behind the news clip she saw and confronts the three people who are the most likely to have answers.
Twenty-one-year old Liam has a nightmare about something he witnessed as a boy.
Ten years ago, Sifiso discovers dodgy transactions on Hugo Investments books while Adrian begs for his brother's help.
In the present, Sam corners the tabloid journo when she makes the front page with a story that enrages her family.
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Sam must kidnap her daughter from a bully and makes good on an ominous warning she recently gave him.
Lesedi hears her parents in conflict over her dad's involvement in the death of Liam's father.
As Liam works through withdrawal symptoms, his memory of the night of his father's funeral starts to return.
Lesedi is torn between protecting her dad and telling Liam the truth.
Sam confronts Sifiso, but he is unable to reveal the missing link. Only when she sees the police report, do the puzzle pieces fall into place.
Armed with the information she was looking for, Sam asks Bonolo to help her get a 4x4 and a gun. She's on a mission to cross the border on a hunt.
In the present, Sam finds the proof she was looking for, but bringing it back to Joburg is easier said than done.
A family court case takes place in a high-rise hotel in Sandton bringing a man face-to-face with his past. Samantha as prosecutor and judge delivers her sentence.
Meanwhile, Caitlyn is trapped in a smoke-filled room and Sam has déjà vu, remembering her toddler's curtains on fire eight years before.
