Netflix's second original African series, Blood & Water, has been a hit with fans since it premiered in May, joining a long list of successful teen dramas to debut on the streaming platform.
The plot revolves around a teenage girl named Puleng (Ama Qamata) and her search for her lost sister. Puleng's older sister was kidnapped and forced into human trafficking as a baby. After accusing one pupil, Fikile (Khosi Ngema), of being her long-lost sister, she transfers to Parkhurst High to discover the truth. The drama is riveting from start to finish. Is the show based on a true story?
Is Blood and Water based on a true story?
Officially, the series is not based on a true tale, but it does have striking parallels to the case of Miché Solomon, a Cape Town citizen who attended Zwaanswyk High School.
When Cassidy Nurse, a new student, came to the school in 2015, Miché was taken aback to see how similar the two appeared.
Miché told the BBC in 2019: “I nearly felt like I knew her. It was terrifying—I couldn't understand why I was feeling this way.”
Miché and Cassidy knew each other since a DNA test revealed that they were twin sisters who had been separated at birth.
Miché was born Zephany Nurse and was snatched from the Cape Town hospital where she was born when she was three days old. Lavona Solomon, the lady who had raised her, was imprisoned on charges of kidnapping shortly after her true name was revealed.
Solomon denied any involvement but was found guilty and sentenced to ten years in prison for kidnapping, fraud, and breaking the Children's Act, notwithstanding Miché's decision to maintain her name—though she is also pleased to go by Zephany—and continue to live with her adopted father, Michael Solomon.
In the same 2019 interview with the BBC, she stated, “I think I hated Zephany at first.” She arrived with such power, such an unexpected invitation, and so much agony and pain.
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“But Zephany is the reality, whereas Miché, the 17-year-old girl I was, was a falsehood. So I've successfully balanced both names. You can name me Zephany or Miché; either is OK.”
So, while Blood & Water may not be a direct depiction of this true story, it appears to have been inspired by it in some way.
