(Johannesburg) The streaming platform Netflix released its first African animated series on Thursday, a launch that gives hope to its screenwriter, the Zambian Malenga Mulendema, for more original productions from this continent.
The Supa Team 4 series is set in a futuristic version of the Zambian capital Lusaka and tells the story of four teenage girls recruited by a former secret agent to save the world.
“I am thrilled that the world can finally see the fantastic streak that the very talented team, from Africa and beyond, have achieved,” Malenga Mulendema told AFP. “We hope Supa Team 4 will drive further investment and collaboration so that we can continue to grow the industry,” she added.
Malenga Mulendema created the series after being one of eight winners of the Triggerfish Story Lab initiative in 2015, an African continent-wide talent competition.
When the series was announced in 2019, the screenwriter said she wanted to set the story in her country, Zambia, to “show that anyone, from anywhere, can be a superhero.”
“(Animation) series have shaped our childhood and knowing that young Zambians will be able to see what they have never seen on TV before is great! “, recently enthused on Instagram the Zambian rapper Sampa the Great, who worked on the main musical theme.
The streaming platform has bet in recent years on diversifying its production outside the United States, with successful series such as the Spanish La Casa de Papel or the South Korean dystopian drama Squid Game.
In April, Netflix said it planned to expand its operations in Africa and give “more African storytellers an amplified voice on the world stage.”
