It’s not easy to stand out in the crime genre, but Catch Me a Killer does a pretty good job of it. It’s set in South Africa, where dynamics like race and gender are slightly different than in the US or UK. It’s also based on actual crimes solved by Micki Pistorius (Charlotte Hope), a chain-smoking read-headed profiler who helps develop the South African police’s investigation processes. But setting and character quirks aside, what makes the show unique is its hero’s philosophy: Pistorius believes that each killer, no matter how demented and harmful, deserves to be understood. “Is there something wrong with me, that I don’t hate them?” she asks in an early episode. Do murderers deserve empathy? It’s a question that follows her in every case she takes, in every corner of the country, and it’s also one that she finds increasingly hard to answer. Catch Me a Killer is a mostly straightforward procedural, but it often dabbles in the existential, making it a thought-provoking and soul-stirring watch.
Follow South Africa’s first forensic and investigative psychologist, Micki Pistorius (played by Charlotte Hope), as she studies the minds of South Africa's serial killers. Catch Me A Killer is an adaptation of Micki's autobiography that details her work as the first female criminal profiler in the country, which is brought to life as the events are depicted in the series.
In 1994 South Africa, amid political unrest, a crime expert helps the police catch elusive serial killers by introducing the analytical act of profiling.
For better or worse, it is very difficult to peel your eyes off that shock of red hair. Anyone else is reminded of Natasha Lyonne?
If the American procedurals are all starting to look the same to you, consider this a palate cleanser that resets your expectations.
Does she eventually go totally nuts? She’s almost there now. Does she really have to smoke that much. She could be dead by the end of the series. Really good series but she’s a little over the top.
Why must there be so much smoking cigarettes?
Rather predictable….enjoyed the new setting….her smoking is a strong distraction.
I thought I might have been the only one bothered by the smoking. Showing her actually chain smoking is a bit much. That’s my only complaint or issue with the show.
I wondered if I was the only one bothered by her smoking. If the role requires Micki to be a chain smoker, learn how to portray it correctly, not as a 12-year-old imagines it would look like. Very distracting.
It’s was good but again the smoking was so off putting we don’t need to see the chain smoking I’m sure there other things they didn’t portray and this shouldn’t have either
A good show completely spoilt by the ridiculously continuous smoking of the lead actor. Didn’t someone realise this would be such a turn-off for so many people.
As a true crime and film enthusiast I think this series is worth a 9/10! Not surprising that most of the detective crime shows from Brit Box are well-made. Love docu-dramas based on true events plus the development of this infamous profiler, Pristorious the amazing heroin is a big attraction. This show offers real dialogue, procedural differences in police work, and low use of gun violence which is enlightening. As far as excessive smoking goes, many serial killer investigators, authors, artists, and gangsters chain-smoked in various films. Especially in the area of psychology and counseling, smoking is somewhat of a communication tool indicative of anxiety. Its the vice that drives her genius ability to work through evidence and connect with the perpetrators.
People smoke in real life, so no I didn’t feel the smoking too much at all. Great show.