Meet Redemption’s sinners
Everyone at Pastor Simon Zikode’s Redemption church has their sins… and their secrets
Redemption
Season 1 Mon-Thu (from Monday 26 September) BET (*129) 18:00
The Zikode family has turned Redemption in Christ Ministries into Johannesburg North’s grandest megachurch. People come from near and far to attend their huge events, and every service could pack out a concert stadium as the church’s choir raises the roof in their determination to become gospel superstars. No wonder people feel inspired when they look at Redemption’s charismatic Pastor Simon Zikode and his elegant wife Evelyn. Aside from running the church, the #Blessed Zikodes are also blessed with a host of celebrity friends and flourishing businesses under the Zikode Investments banner, including faith-based TV channels, and branches for property development and construction.
But all that’s about to come crashing down on the day of the church’s 20th anniversary celebrations, as Redemption’s tale of Biblical proportions begins.
WHO’S WHO Pastor Simon Zikode (Themba Ndaba)
Simon Zikode was raised by parents who were both teachers and faithful members of the Redemption Church. Simon married the pastor’s daughter Evelyn, but he was also fascinated by the shebeen owner’s rowdy daughter Basetsana (Sthandiwe Kgoroge). Simon’s entanglement with her led to his darkest secret, and his greatest sin… which is about to return to haunt him at the most inconvenient time. Simon’s looks, charm and powerful presence and charisma hide a trapped, desperate 58-year-old man riddled with guilt, greed and the knowledge that he is in fact a fraud, a liar, an unfaithful husband and a flawed father despite telling his congregation otherwise.
Evelyn Zikode (Tina Jaxa)
Intelligent and sophisticated 55-year-old Evelyn Zikode is aware that something at Redemption is fishy, but she looks the other way, choosing instead to believe her family’s wealth and success is a sign of God’s blessing. Evelyn has scripture at her fingertips and a quote to justify her every deed, and she has run a righteous and somewhat unloving household. Appearance is everything to her, from her polished Sunday outfits to her “perfect” husband. But her parents’ early deaths have led to her controlling everyone around her to protect Redemption, her beloved father’s legacy.
Faith Zikode (Kwanele Mthethwa)
When we first meet 28-year-old baddie Faith, she seems to have strayed far from the flock. This scandalously
dressed diva is about to break through to the big time, with a slot to perform at the BET Awards. And when she rocks up for Redemption’s 20th anniversary, she brings her lover/manager into her parents’ house! But she’s also the apple of Simon’s eye and there’s more to Faith than being The It Girl, if only she’d stop putting the men in her life on a pedestal and take control of the talents she has.
Zwelakhe “Zee” Zikode (Sparky Xulu)
Faith’s arrogant and narcissistic big brother, 33-year-old Zwelakhe was meant to step into Simon’s shoes as his heir. Instead he’s fresh out of rehab (again) after ploughing nose first into a pile of cocaine. His parents have spent a lifetime telling him what a disappointment he is, and the only person who believes in him is his wife Yvonne (Pearl Modiade), who’s trying to steer him through life like a bus on the road to riches. But marriage doesn’t stop Zwelakhe from treating Redemption’s choir as an “all you can bed” buffet. Zwelakhe blends entitlement and insecurity in a festing cauldron of toxic masculinity.
Yvonne Zikode (Pearl Modiade)
The 29-year-old Yvonne is a Nigerian preacher’s daughter who grew up respected in his humble church, but she has shaken that dust off her feet and become a Lady Macbeth in the making. She sees her marriage as a business and the goal of that business is getting her status, control and power. Yvonne married young, sacrificing her career and education to become bad-boy Zwelakhe’s wife in the hopes of one day stepping into Evelyn’s shoes and becoming the power behind the throne at Zikode Investments, and she’s becoming a little desperate…
Nimrod (Zenzo Ngqobe)
Nimrod is your archetypal sharp-dressed gangster, although he has a veneer of respectability that has earned the 45-year-old a place on the boards of many businesses… where he’s as feared as he is on the street. In Redemption he spotted a perfect forum for money laundering, since the tax man can’t go near a church without starting to sizzle. Coldly evil Nimrod never forgets a grudge or an insult, nor does he ever miss a day of church. And that makes him a dangerous man…
Kabelo Kabe (Yonda Thomas)
Cool-headed 34-yearold policeman Kabelo is driven, ambitious and a true believer in law and order – by the book.
And that means no snakey police business to trap the likes of Simon and Nimrod, even though his gut tells him they’re guilty as sin. Kabelo and Faith were teen sweethearts in the choir together, but she left to be a star, and he married his nerdy wife, Doctor Karabo (Mmarona Motshegoa). Faith’s return will challenge his black-and-white thinking and his vows.
Basetsana (Sthandiwe Kgoroge)
As a young woman, Basetsana left her twoyear-old son with relatives and chose to go to prison to save Simon after a church robbery went wrong. She spent 20 years behind bars building a criminal empire and a network of favours owed – but Simon might be the one who’s most in her debt… and she’s coming to collect. While Basetsana is a hardened criminal who crushes everyone around her with her unreasonable demands, she has never gotten over the loss of her son. So now she keeps her distance to protect him, as the only gesture of love she can offer.