A warm welcome to visionary creator Des Dlamini, whose acclaimed web series Slightly Awkward has been turning heads. Blending sharp comedy, grounded drama, and a deeply relatable look at modern millennial disillusionment, Dlamini’s latest project offers a fresh, unfiltered look at navigating young adulthood in Mzansi.
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The South African digital content landscape is experiencing a massive evolution, driven by independent creators redefining how authentic local stories are told and consumed.
From Cape Town music videos to unfiltered comedy
Before bringing Slightly Awkward to life, Dlamini built a diverse creative foundation working across the music video and events space in Cape Town.
Tasked with conceptualising, shooting, and editing visual projects, Dlamini embraced the immense creative freedom music videos provided, describing the process as having a blank canvas paired with every colour of paint imaginable.
Transitioning from commercial work into independent narrative creation, Dlamini began ideating short comedy skits and writing web series-style episodes, ultimately leading to the creation of the unfiltered comedy web series Slightly Awkward.
Having hands-on professional experience in editing, filming, and producing gave Dlamini a distinct, well-rounded perspective on writing and conceptualising a comedy-drama genre that mirrors the messy, textured reality of everyday life.
The spark: Toxic workplaces and millennial pressures
The inspiration for Slightly Awkward stemmed from a combination of personal experience and sharp social observation. The show’s main character, Kenny, finds himself stuck working a gruelling job under a tough, toxic boss, a direct reflection of Dlamini’s own professional reality at the time the series was conceived.
Simultaneously, a vivid memory of standing with friends in Randburg as they approached their thirties sparked a deeper thematic exploration.
Despite having stable jobs, university degrees, and ticking off society’s traditional “life checklist,” there was an underlying undercurrent of dissatisfaction and unmet expectations. This widespread millennial sentiment of wondering “What now? Is this all there is?” formed the solid emotional foundation upon which Slightly Awkward was built.
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Redefining queer narrative spaces on screen
One of the most refreshing aspects of Slightly Awkward is its intentional approach to character development. Rather than boxing queer characters into narrow, trauma-led tropes, the series allows its protagonist simply to exist, mess up, and navigate the universal trials of love, career, and adulting.
Dlamini emphasises that while important stories surrounding the struggles of sexuality must be told, audiences also need to see queer individuals dealing with mundane, everyday pressures, defined by their humanity rather than solely by their identity.
By letting the characters exist without their sexuality serving as the sole narrative driver, the series fosters genuine empathy, understanding, and multifaceted representation for young, diverse South African viewers.
Looking ahead, Dlamini remains deeply invested in telling human-centric stories that tackle modern anxieties, societal tipping points, and the shifting dynamics of community and connection in an increasingly digital world.
Featured image: Supplied
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