Brendan Gabriel

Amazon Studios is continuing its push into the African market with the addition of several executives to its original development teams in South Africa and Nigeria.

Mike-Steve Adeleye has been named senior scripted creative executive for Nigeria and Kemi Lala Akindoju has been appointed senior movies creative executive for the country.

Joining its South African originals team are Kaye Ann Williams, who will serve as head of scripted and movies, and Brendan Gabriel, senior unscripted creative executives.

All four execs will work on the team led by Wangi Mba-Uzoukwu, Amazon Prime Video’s principal head of content in Africa.

The appointments come one month after Amazon Prime Video launched a local version of its service in Nigeria.

Key upcoming titles on the local service are crime drama Gangs of Lagos and comedy format LOL: Last One Laughing Naija.

Produced by Jade Osiberu and Kemi Lala Akindoju and coproduced by Akin Omotoso, Gangs of Lagos follows a group of friends growing up on the streets of Nigeria’s largest city. The cast includes Tobi Bakre and Adesua Etomi-Wellington.

LOL: Last One Laughing Naija is a local adaptation of Japanese format LOL. The show sees 10 comedians attempting to make each other laugh, with the winner being the comedian who refrains from laughing for the longest time. The Nigerian version will be hosted by comedian Basketmouth.

Williams was formerly the head of local production and independent films at broadcasting company MultiChoice in South Africa, while Gabriel joins Amazon Studios from The Africa Channel, where he was senior VP of global content.

Akindoju was previously CEO of Nigeria’s The Make It Happen Productions and Adeleye was at MultiChoice in Nigeria, serving most recently as head of content for West Africa.

Ned Mitchell, Amazon Studios’ head of originals for Africa and the Middle East, said: “This immensely talented group joins with the singular goal of building Africa’s premiere studio and home for talent.

“Together with our colleagues and partners, we are at work to deliver authentic, premium and beloved hit scripted and unscripted series and movies to our local and global audiences.”

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TAC Studios has collaborated with Nigerian, Kenyan, South African and Egyptian production companies to coproduce four new TV series across Africa.

The production arm of US-based The Africa Channel develops, produces and distributes lifestyle content reflecting Africa’s influence on the world

The partnerships are aimed at investing in talent and fostering quality and excellence in media production as well as adding to Africa’s already diverse content.

May’s Kitchen, produced in partnership with Filmedia Productions in Egypt, is a 13-episode cooking series that features celebrity chef May Yacoubi, who introduces viewers to tasty and authentic dishes.

Second Husband is a 10-episode series produced in partnership with Biola Alabi Media in Lagos. It tells the story of a successful Nigerian businesswoman who defies social norms and takes revenge on her cheating husband by bringing another man into her life.

The Yard is a 13-episode drama series coproduced with Currency Media in Kenya, which highlights the story of a struggling hip hop artist who tries to excel in Nairobi’s rap world.

My Design Rules is a 26-episode competition reality series coproduced with Cardova Productions in South Africa. It showcases three interior design duos who compete to transform three empty white-box spaces into designer dream homes.

Brendan Gabriel, Johannesburg-based head of creative and production for TAC Studios, said: “We are really excited to continue to evolve our network of relationships across the continent cementing our studio as a key hub for pan-African content creation. The producers and talent both established and new who we are working with bring an authentic voice to their storytelling and we want to ensure that their stories are now distributed globally and reach vast new audiences.”

Patience Stevens, executive producer at Cardova Productions, said: “We are pleased to work with TAC Studios on our series My Design Rules as a first of many future collaborations, building on our prior relationship with its sister company, The Africa Channel, who has successfully introduced our daily show Expresso Morning Show to audiences in North America and the Caribbean.”

TAC Studios, which acquires content for The Africa Channel and global OTT platform Demand Africa, has produced shows such as Africa on a Plate, Miniiba Entertains and World Wide Nate, which have been distributed to platforms in Africa as well as globally.

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Amazon Studios grows teams in SA, Nigeria

TAC Studios partners for African copros