Queen Sono: Netflix bets on African spy drama as key to unlock continent growth

Queen Sono: Netflix bets on African spy drama as key to unlock continent growth

- Queen Sono is online streaming giant, Netflix’s first made-in-Africa production

- The series is a spy thriller starring South Africa’s leading actress Pearl Thusi, and has been making waves since its launch in February

- Many are optimistic about it and have said it is time Africa started telling its own stories

Netflix Inc. sees the opening of new crime-drama series Queen Sono as the first of many original African TV series that will win it a bigger slice of a market still dominated by satellite TV.

The new Netflix series is about a South African secret agent searching for the truth behind her mother’s assassination. While doing this, she undertakes a dangerous assignment which requires her to traverse the African continent.

Bloomberg reports that this series will be followed by an animation series from Zambia, a mystery-thriller set in Cape Town, SA and a Nigerian production which is yet untitled. All these have been commissioned by a producer from Kenya, Dorothy Ghettuba.

Netflix hired Ghettuba last year to seek out content from the African continent which boasts of more than 1 billion people.

In an interview in Johannesburg ahead of a glitzy premiere to mark the launch of “Queen Sono”, Ghettuba said they are diving all in when it comes to Africa.

According to her, the African continent has a large population that wants to see their stories represented.

The potential market for series starring African characters was hinted at by the success of the movie “Black Panther,” made by Walt Disney Co.’s Marvel Studios, released two years ago. According to report, the movie broke box-office records across the continent after its release.

Netflix’s chief rival, Showmax, already produces as many as 5,000 hours of local African content every year.

The path toward producing African content began when Netflix started making a version of its core service available on the continent in 2016.

Ghettuba has disclosed that Netflix is not allocating a specific budget to the continent. "We look at stories, and we provide the financing that a certain production needs to tell the best story,” she said.

“Queen Sono” was shot in over 30 locations including in Zanzibar, Nigeria, and South Africa.

Legit.ng had reported that the popular American streaming firm has finally established its presence in the Nigerian market by officially opening up shop.

This move by Netflix indicates its interest to use Nollywood, one of the world's recognised movie industry, to make it big.

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Apart from being available in almost 200 nations, so far, Netflix in Nigeria already has more than 12,000 followers.

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Source: Legit.ng

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