Is Cape Town a natural setting for aliens?

The Cape Town area is the unlikely setting of a streaming video series set on a distant planet to which Earthlings flee after a global apocalypse. Come to think of it, perhaps not so unlikely, given the stereotype of Capetonians hankering for an otherworldly existence.

Raised by Wolves, first aired on the US HBO Max network and streaming in SA on Showmax, is a remarkable series for three reasons.

First, the executive producer is Ridley Scott, legendary director behind iconic science fiction movies Blade Runner and Alien.

Second, it draws on the astonishing biodiversity of the Western Cape to portray an alien landscape, complete with seemingly bizarre plant life. Most filming took place at Cape Town Film Studios and Lourensford Wine Estate.

Finally, it has introduced a steady stream of South African actors into a series that many viewers may not realise was made here.

While some have background roles, South African Kim Engelbrecht stole the show in the second season, which aired this year to critical acclaim.

She plays the role of Decima, a weapons engineer who is recruited into a new church by the archetypal baddie. Decima has also implanted the memories of her dead daughter into an android, and the fractious relationship between the two drives a key subplot.

At first glance, she appears to give scientists a bad name. In reality, however, even as an evil scientist on an alien planet in a murderous environment, she represents the ordinary person’s quest for community.

“Even if it is not based on reality, there are these elements that are just universal,” says Engelbrecht.

“At the end, when you look past the androids, when you look past the crazy world, the crazy landscape, it’s all about community.

“It’s about building community and it’s about family and trying to recreate those strong bonds that are the building blocks of

Many viewers may not realise that ‘Raised by Wolves’ was filmed in SA

everything. That’s the real theme: it’s things that need love and things that need to be part of something.”

As a result, numerous powerful sciencefiction themes recede into the background rather than dominating the show. While review aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes calls it “a science-fiction vision that feels wholly its own”, it ultimately depends on the power of relationships for its appeal. Says Engelbrecht: “I was a little bit intimidated by Raised by Wolves, just watching season 1, because I thought I would not get a real grip on what exactly was going on. Now that I understand the world, it’s quite existentialist.”

She is equally philosophical about a scientist being cast as a villain.

“You’re always on this side of the character. My character is a quantum gravity engineer and that is all that she focuses her life on, everything she loves is science and technology, even recreating her daughter in an android. If that is your complete reality, and that’s your belief system, your right and your wrong is also completely based on that.

“That’s the really cool thing about the show: it does ask those difficult questions. Every single character lives in a certain world. When you have an android, how would they logically think when everything that they know is programmed? And how would you think if you were an android trying to have a human experience and the kinds of difficulties that you face? Ultimately, it asks the question: what are you as a human being?”

For Decima, the bottom line is that she believes she’s good, and is driven by a purpose rather than evil intent.

Engelbrecht acknowledges that scientists are sometimes seen as inhumane, but believes the series is realistic in blurring the lines between humanity and inhumanity.

“Everything has a meaning and everything has a purpose in this show.

“You have to pay attention to every scene: it is all strategic.”