By BAMUTURAKI MUSINGUZI

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African streaming service Showmax has announced its next original series in Kenya, Single-ish, a drama adapted from the hit South African series Unmarried.

The 13-part series will premiere today on January 20. It follows the lives of three women in Nairobi – Sintamei (played by Gathoni Mutua), Mariah (Minne Kariuki) and Rebecca (Faith Kibathi) — as they deal with the challenges that marriage, relationships and their careers throw at them.

It also explores the strong bond of friendship that these women share, knowing that they will always have each other even when the world crumbles around them.

Sintamei is an overachieving, career-focused brilliant lawyer who seems to have the life that any woman would dream of — she’s on track to making partner in a prestigious law firm and has been happily married for 10 years to the man of her dreams. Or so she thought.

“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,” Gathoni (This Is Life) says of what drew her to the project.

Minne Kariuki (Ma’Empress) plays the sassy Mariah, a woman with a taste for the finer things in life, who uses her looks to get whatever she wants.

“She (Mariah) 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,” Minne says, adding that Single-ish doesn’t shy away from capturing the struggles of modern women.

Faith Kibathi (This Is Life) plays the humble and down-to-earth Rebecca, a housewife and a mother of two who has lived with her high school sweetheart for nine years despite not being officially married.

“It’s an honour to get to play Rebecca as she explores motherhood and failures of her relationship,” Faith says, “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 actors

The series also stars Brian Abajah (Sincerely Daisy), Michael Munyoki (A Grand Little Lie), Lucarelli Onyango (Crime and Justice), Mburu Kimani (Nairobi Half Life), Lenana Kariba (Selina), Dora Nyaboke (Crime and Justice) and Jacky Kaboi (Bait).

Single-ish is produced by Insignia Productions, the studio behind popular shows Changing Times and New Beginnings, with Philippe Bresson and Grace Kahaki co-directing alongside Robby Bresson (Simiyu Samurai).

“I think for the first time we are able to depict real life in an unfiltered way. To me this is real film making — 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,” Philippe says.

Single-ish becomes the second Showmax Original series in Kenya after the Kalasha-nominated police and legal drama Crime and Justice.