American media services provider Netflix is adding yet another groundbreaking series “Queen Sono” to its lineup.
The South African-based production will be the first original African series the streaming giant has ever commissioned. The announcement comes just a week after Erik Barmack, Netflix’s VP of International Originals, said the network would be partnering with more creators on the continent in 2019.
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According to “Queen Sono” lead actress Pearl Thusi the show is a thrilling story about a kick-ass female spy.
Netflix’s VP Barmack compared Thusi’s character “Queen Sono”, to the powerful female leads already on the network. “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,” he said. “Over time our roots will get deeper in Africa and South Africa, and we’re moving pretty quickly to that now, and plan to invest more in local content.”
Queen Sono was created by Kagiso Lediga, who starred with Thusi in the Netflix original film, Catching Feelings, which was also the first for the platform. Lediga hopes the new series will allow other African stories to find their way to viewers around the world.