20-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Marked OTT Release Date: When and where to watch Desmond Dube and Lerato Mvelase's emotionally-charged series
Marked OTT Release Date: Netflix's latest original from South Africa doesn't ease you in. It throws you straight into a world where morality is a luxury, and desperation is a daily companion. Set to premiere on July 31, 2025, Marked is a six-part series that pulls no punches when it comes to storytelling. It's exactly the kind of series that lingers long after you've hit the final episode.
What is Marked all about?
At the centre of it all is Babalwa, a devoted mother, loving wife, and security guard who lives by the book until life forces her to rewrite the rules. Played by the brilliant Lerato Mvelase, Babalwa finds herself staring down a nightmare when her daughter, Palesa (played by Blood & Water's Ama Qamata), is diagnosed with a life-threatening illness. With time ticking and no money to afford treatment, Babalwa's well-ordered life begins to unravel.
It's a mother's war against a broken system. When the healthcare system fails her family and every legitimate door slams shut, Babalwa is pushed to a place she never thought she'd go. She enlists the help of her colleague and old friend Tebza (played by S'dumo Mtshali) and a reckless newcomer to the criminal world, Zweli (played by Sphamandla Dhludhu), to pull off a desperate heist.
And while they begin with one plan, what follows is a cascade of betrayals, close calls, and moral compromises that force Babalwa to reckon with who she is and what she's willing to become.
Meet the cast and crew of Marked
The emotional load of this story is carried not only by Mvelase and Qamata but by a cast stacked with South Africa's finest. Desmond Dube, Jerry Mofokeng, Mduduzi Mabaso, Natasha Thahane, Bonko Khoza, Linda Sokhulu, Gaisang Noge, and Jabulani Mthembu each bring their own weight to the screen.
Behind the camera, Marked is helmed by a trio of powerful directors - Akin Omotoso, Matshepo Maja, and Jono Hall. The show is created by Steven Pillemer, Sydney Dire, and Akin Omotoso, and the writing team, which includes Sydney Dire, Wendy Gumede, and Charlene Ntsane, deserves full credit for crafting a narrative that feels urgent and real. Quizzical Pictures produces the series.
