The groundbreaking show targeted at teens, shatters stereotypes as it celebrates African superheroes and #BlackGirlMagic with four female leads.
By Helena Olori
Global streaming service, Netflix, is set to further shatter the stereotypical representational of African women in films with its groundbreaking animated series, Supa Team 4, the first original from Africa.
Premiering on 20th July, 2023, the series, first announced in 2019 when Netflix acquired the Mama K’s Team 4, an animated Series by Zambian screenwriter and former journalist, Malenga Mulendema, will be on Netflix’s Family Summer lineup.
The America-based streamer has made significant strides since the launch of “Made in Africa,” a collection of African films and documentaries, which has paved way for collaborations with ace filmmakers, including Kunle Afolayan, Mo Abudu, and South African filmmaker, Mandalkayis Walter Dube, to create more home-grown African content for the platform.
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Filmed across Lusaka, Cape Town, and London, the upcoming animated series Supa Team 4, follows four teenage girls living in the neo-futuristic city of Lusaka, Zambia. The girls are recruited by a retired secret agent to save the world as undercover superheroes. As they navigate their journey as school girls, barely keeping up with homework, to undercover superheroes fending off supervillains, they’re transformed from a motley crew of friends into Supa Team 4.
The much-anticipated series, created by Mulendema, and designed by Cameroonian artist, Malcolm Wope, is a fine blend of sci-fi, action, adventure, and comedy. It features Zambian multi-talented actress, Zowa Ngwira; Namisa Mdlalose, Kimani Arthur, Nancy Sekhokoane, Pamela Nomvete, and House of Dragon actor, John MacMillan, as voice cast for yet-to-be-disclosed roles.
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Supa Team 4 has been in developmental stage since 2015 when Mulendema won the pan-African talent hunt initiative, Triggerfish Story Lab. The new series is a production of the partnership between South Africa’s award-winning Studio, Triggerfish Animation, and British Kids’ and Family Entertainment Production Company, Cake Entertainment.
The official trailer video for the series is expected in the coming weeks as it prepares for the weekly release, with the first episode set to premiere on July 20.