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Tac Studios to co-produce Kenyan drama series 'The Yard'

Friday June 21 2019
L1

A poster of the film 'The Yard'. PHOTO | COURTESY

By BAMUTURAKI MUSINGUZI

The Kenyan drama series The Yard set in the hip-hop scene of the capital Nairobi is among four new television series from across the continent that will be co-produced by local companies in partnership with Los Angeles-based TAC Studios, the production arm of US-based The Africa Channel.

The Yard will be produced in collaboration with Nairobi-based Currency Media.

The other three series being produced in Africa for the global marketplace are: May’s Kitchen (Egypt); Second Husband (Nigeria); and My Design Rules (South Africa).

The Yard tells the story of Dash, a struggling hip-hop artist trying to make it big in Nairobi’s rap scene. Dash gets caught between his dual lives as a musician and a drug dealer and his loyalties are tested when the authorities come after him and his father.

The May’s Kitchen series, filmed entirely in Egypt, stars celebrity chef, May Yacoubi, who tantalises our taste buds with her take on North African and Arab Gulf cuisine. Viewers will explore diverse flavours from eastern Mediterranean cuisine to North African recipes as chef May introduces viewers to authentic dishes and their distinct flavours.

May’s Kitchen will be produced in partnership with Filmedia Productions based in Cairo.

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Second Husband explores the complexities of monogamy as a scorned wife tests the boundaries of marriage and polygamy. The series follows a successful Nigerian businesswoman who exacts revenge on her cheating husband by seeking a second spouse and turning an age-old marriage law and her household upside down. Our protagonist defies societal norms and shocks the people in her world as she brings another man into her life and her bed.

Second Husband will be a co-production with Biola Alabi Media based in Lagos.

My Design Rules is set to inspire and entertain as three interior design duos, made up of the top emerging creative talent from the Southern tip of Africa, compete to transform three empty white-box spaces into designer dream homes, one room at a time.

My Design Rules is a partnership with Cardova Productions based in Cape Town.

According to a statement issued by TAC Studios, a combination of scripted and unscripted projects, these programmes reflect the breadth and depth of talent and storytelling available across Africa. These new partnerships and productions from across Africa add to the company’s already extensive and diverse slate of Africa-influenced content.

“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,” Johannesburg-based head of creative and production for TAC Studios, Brendan Gabriel said.

“With the recent announcement of streamers such as Netflix and Amazon who are investing in content from Africa for their global viewership, TAC Studios is well positioned to be a key supplier to these entities,” Gabriel added.

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