Every time I hear a South African accent in an international production, my ears prick up.

Sadly, and all too often, those attempts to sound ‘Seth Afriken’ are woefully off point, but that won’t be a problem in a new drama series, The Girl From St. Agnes.

Produced by the multi-award-winning Quizzical Pictures, The Girl From St Agnes is already garnering huge attention, both in South Africa and abroad, and will be distributed internationally in the coming months.

Great, maybe that will help with future attempts to nail down our accent.

So, what’s the show all about?

At St Agnes, a prestigious all-girls boarding school in the Midlands, the only saint is in the name. When a popular student is found dead at the base of the old mill, the school is quick to declare the death a tragic accident.

But drama teacher Kate Ballard (Nina Milner) doesn’t believe it. The more she investigates, the more Kate realises that she didn’t know the dead girl, Lexi Summerveld (Jane DeWet), or the school at all.

Behind the imposing walls of St Agnes, Lexi’s killer won’t be the only person exposed…

Who doesn’t love a whodunnit? To the trailer we go:

The eight-part series premieres on Showmax on January 31, so mark that one down in the diary.

Pro tip – you can sign up for a free two-week Showmax trial here, to help with the binge, and existing DStv Premium subscribers can add Showmax to their bouquet for no extra cost.

There are many reasons to be excited about an original, high-quality local production, but we’ll just run through four to get the ball rolling.

It’s a drama in South African English, for a change

The Girl From St Agnes is a rare showcase of South Africa’s English-language acting talent. “English-speaking actors generally work internationally and they have to do American or British accents to make decent money,” says legendary casting director Moonyeenn Lee, who’s been nominated for two Emmy Awards in the past three years, for The Looming Tower and Roots. “That was why it was nice when this came up, to do English but South African English.”

It’s being distributed internationally

In a South African first, the dark drama is being distributed internationally by Red Arrow Studios International (Death and Nightingales, Bosch).

It’s easy to see why: “Crime stories and twisted dramas taking place in different parts of the world have become a staple,” says Milner. “What this show does really successfully is set the formula in a fresh, contemporary South African context.”

It’s only eight binge-able episodes

Look, we love soaps and telenovelas as much as the next South African, but sometimes it’s nice to watch something with a satisfying ending, like finding out who killed Lexi Summerveld and why.

“The Girl From St Agnes has that formula that the whole world has gone mad for: shorter seasons of extremely binge-able criminal content,” says Milner.

Fine by me – batten down the hatches and let’s binge.

It’s like nothing you’ve seen before on South African TV

South Africans normally turn to HBO series on Showmax for edgy content, rather than local series, which tend to be a lot more conservative, with nudity and divisive topics generally avoided. But conservative isn’t a word anyone’s going to use for The Girl From St Agnes.

“The series is a first for South Africa,” says actor Robert Hobbs. “When I read the scripts, I absolutely loved them. They go to the heart of the story. The fact that it’s on Showmax allows it to really go there. There’s no limitations in terms of broadcasting this, no old-school rules and regulations about what you can show live. You don’t have to imply stuff; we can experience it. That is its strength. That’s what makes it unique.”

In other words, you might not want to watch this one with your grandparents, because it could make for some uncomfortable viewing.

The Girl From St Agnes, January 31, Showmax.

You’re welcome.