Netflix’s “Queen Sono” Renewal and What It Means for African Series
Queen Sono, Netflix’s first script-to-screen African original production, is being renewed for a second season; based on the success of the first season. The renewal of Queen Sono was inevitable due to its enormous success.
The spy drama led by South African writer/director Kagiso Lediga, starring Pearl Thusi and an all African cast was extremely popular with its African and global audience.
This audience includes the black diaspora with high viewership rankings in Africa, the Caribbean and beyond. In its week of launch in late February, it was the seventh most-watched show in America, Netflix’s biggest market.
Queen Sono is a significant milestone in African film and TV producers tapping into Netflix’s $15 billion original production budget. Forecasts reveal that revenues from streaming platforms will exceed $1 billion in sub-Saharan Africa by 2024.
This is huge considering that the 2018 figure for Sub-Saharan Africa was $223 million. Netflix expects to attract 39% of subscribers in the region, making local content the game-changer.
Currently, only a tiny proportion of Netflix’s 183 million subscribers are in Africa; this is likely to be a strong growth market for Netflix.
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“The first season of Queen Sono marked the beginning of our journey to introduce the world to exciting stories that are made in Africa,” says Dorothy Ghettuba, who leads African Original Series at Netflix.
The story of Queen Sono takes the viewer on a journey of political power struggle, romance, action, and intrigue. The first season introduced the troubled spy, Queen Sono, haunted by the assassination of her mother, a famous anti-apartheid campaigner.
The second season will see Queen search for the truth as her newfound need for revenge takes her on a mission across Africa. All this while she deals with her family’s past and her complicated love life.
Check out the renewal announcement for Queen Sono below:
Netflix will soon debut another African original globally, Blood & Water—a young adult drama series set in Cape Town, South Africa.
Previously, the company also announced its first Nigerian original series by acclaimed Nigerian director, Akin Omotoso. In addition to that, there will be an animated project, Mama K’s Team Four, a children’s animated series from Zambia.
African producers who have spoken with Netflix executives say it has an eye on the African diaspora around the world; as their data shows subscribers watching African movies and new TV series globally.
In its first quarter, Netflix added more than 15.8 million subscribers around the world as more people stayed home due to coronavirus lockdowns and precautions. African industry watchers say there’s increasing anecdotal evidence Netflix is winning subscribers across Africa.
However, the numbers are still relatively small. This is because Netflix is yet to break out Africa from its Europe, Middle East, and Africa region; where it added nearly 7 million subscribers.
