American streaming giant Netflix is closing in on its plan of producing original African continent, headlining with a South African drama series “Queen Sono”.
“Queen Sono,” is a drama about a secret agent who fights crime while dealing with crises in her personal life.
The series will launch globally in 2019, according to Variety.com
Netflix’s director of international original films, Funa Maduka, says such moves are “just the beginning” for the streamer’s plans for the continent.
“Africa is birthplace to one of the oldest storytelling traditions in the world. It also has a rich cinematic history,” she said. “The talent is here and we want to present ourselves as an option as they choose the best path to connect their stories with audiences,” Maduka is quoted as saying by Variety.com.
“Queen Sono” stars veteran South African actress Pearl Thusi, who tweeted in an emotional video Monday that she “cannot wait for…every woman on this continent, and actually on this planet, to meet Queen Sono.”
Of the deal with Netflix, she added: “It’s going to change the game for every artist on this continent.”
#QueenSono – Africa’s first @netflix original ! A thrilling story about a kickass female spy. Can’t wait for you guys to see what we have in store for you ! @NetflixSA pic.twitter.com/z0LtRTbspv
— #QueenSono (@PearlThusi) December 10, 2018
The announcement of the show comes barely a week after Erik Barmack, Netflix’s vice president of international originals, told a gathering in London that the company would begin commissioning original series in Africa starting in 2019.
Speaking about “Queen Sono” with South Africa’s Independent Online, Barmack said: “Taking talent like this and telling stories to the rest of the world puts Pearl in the same category as other strong female characters like Claire Underwood in ‘House of Cards’ and Jessica Jones.”
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