Lifestyle platform Africa.com has put together their top five African web-series to watch.
With so much choice in this ever-expanding television show industry, it can often be hard to pick the good from the flops.
Taking advantage of a number of genres of web series, here are five of the best that have caught the eye of viewers:
Tuko Macho
A Kenyan web series which premiered in 2016, Tuko Macho is a dramatisation of Kenya’s issues with crime and vigilante justice. The series centres on a vigilante gang who kidnap criminals in Nairobi, and asks viewers to vote on their execution or release.
Africa.com: “The show portrays a chaotic Nairobi characterised by corrupt and incompetent law enforcement officials. In this imaginary world, vigilantism is the only way to get justice.
“The dialogue in the fictional series is authentically carried out in Sheng, a mixture of Swahili and many languages found in Kenya.”
An African City
A television and a web series created as a Ghanaian equivalent of Sex and the City for YouTube, that debuted in 2014. An African City follows the lives of five single young women of African descent who have recently resettled in Accra, Ghana after living abroad for most of their lives
The series also displays how each woman balances being a successful college-educated woman with their personal lives as well as their new life as “returnees” in Ghana.
Africa.com: “Often seen in five-inch heels and dazzling dresses, hopping from one high-end restaurant and bar to another, the women live glamorous lives. But they also get to deal with the challenges that come with life in an unfamiliar city. They discover that Accra has entirely different problems from those you’d find in New York or London.”
Skinny Girl in Transit
A Nigerian Comedy web series that began airing in 2015, and is based on the life of a young Nigerian woman and her efforts to lose weight.
Africa.com: “It turns out losing weight is not as easy as it sounds. The writer of the show, Dami Elebe, who’s famous for being a radio presenter at Lagos-based Beat FM, describes Skinny Girl in Transit as a comedic representation of typical scenarios in the Nigerian society, and the culture in an average Nigerian home. The show also explores the dynamics between an overbearing mother who has the best intentions for her daughter. The show is often referred to as a Nigerian version of the hit American TV-show, Modern Family.”
The Foxy Five
Inspired by the South African student uprising, #FeesMustFall, The Foxy Five follows the lives of five black women who are trying to plot a revolution while also dealing with the everyday issues that they’re faced with.
Africa.com: “Unity Bond, Prolly Plebs, Blaq Beauty, Femme Fatale and Womxn We, are astonishingly relatable characters who not only have the same conversations as regular South African women, but also do everything in their power to challenge the status quo.
“The Foxy Five is the brainchild of Cape Town-based filmmaker, Jabu Nadia Newman, who felt the need to channel her feelings about the historical #FeesMustFall protests.
“What makes this show more unique is that it tells post-apartheid stories with a 70s styling. If you’re ready to open yourself up to real-life issues in a real-life way, this series was made just for you.”
Gidi Up
A Nigerian television and web drama series that follows the lives of four young adults who are pursuing success and independence in the city of Lagos, Gidi Up reveals the challenges young adults are faced as they attempt to achieve their dreams.
Allafrica.com: “The show achieved remarkable success in its first season, instantly becoming one of Nigeria’s loved series. Plucking its title from the term “Las Gidi”, a popular nickname for Lagos, the series is centred around the lives of four friends as they try to chase success in Nigeria’s most populated city, all the while juggling relationships and work.”
