Showmax lines up next Kenyan original
MultiChoice-owned African streaming service Showmax will launch its next original Kenyan series, Single-ish, on January 20.
The 13-part drama is adapted from the hit South African series Unmarried and is produced by Insignia Productions. It is co-directed by Philippe Bresson, Grace Kahaki and Robby Bresson.
Single-ish tells the story of three women in Nairobi: a career-focused lawyer who seems to have the perfect life; a woman with a taste for the finer things in life; and a housewife and mother who has lived with her high-school sweetheart for nine years.
The series follows how the three women deal with the challenges that marriage, relationships and careers throw at them. It also explores the strong bond of friendship that they share. Gathoni Mutua (This Is Life), Minne Kariuki (Ma’Empress) and Faith Kibathi (This Is Life) star.
Single-ish is the second Showmax original series from Kenya after the Kalasha-nominated police procedural drama Crime & Justice. The streamer’s original productions in the country began with the film Baba Twins, which launched last month.
Mutua said: “Other than the fact that it’s a show about women, Single-ish has this chic yet nostalgic old-school girlfriends’ vibe that takes the drama a notch higher without feeling like the friendship will fall apart.”
Regarding her character, Kariuki said: “She is a modern-day slay queen who pretends to afford a lavish lifestyle and flaunts it all on social media because she wants to keep up with the trends. Single-ish doesn’t shy away from telling it all as it is, capturing the struggles of modern women.”
Kibathi added: “Single-ish is different because it’s very relatable and has a touch of the actual dating experiences in Nairobi. It also shows the beauty of reliable female friendship, especially when things get bad.”
Other stars include Brian Abajah (Sincerely Daisy), Michael Munyoki (A Grand Little Lie), Lucarelli Onyango (Crime & Justice), Mburu Kimani (Nairobi Half Life), Lenana Kariba (Selina), Dora Nyaboke (Crime & Justice) and Jacky Kaboi (Bait).
Bresson, co-founder and director of Nairobi-based Insignia, said: “For the first time, we are able to depict real life in an unfiltered way. To me, this is real filmmaking, when you are able to tell the story as it should be, so even as the viewer watches it, they will be surprised, shocked and will fall in love with how we tell the story.
“I don’t think there’s been any other show that has pushed the boundary in terms of women’s issues as we have.”
tagged in: MultiChoice, Showmax, Single-ish