There are times when you hear about a new show and you hope it’s going to be good. Then there are times where you just know it’s going to be good. This is one of those times.
The first clue was this picture:
There is no way this picture could come from a show I wouldn’t like. Just not possible. It’s giving off too much African fierceness for me not to like it. Look at those clothes. Look at that hair. No brainer!
And if that weren’t enough, there is the uncanny resemblance between actress MaameYaa Boafo (center in above pic) and my favorite female emcee of all time, Lauryn Hill. Anyone who looks like Lauryn Hill gets instant approval in my book. It’s sort of a rule I live by.
But, secret cousins aside, my heart can’t help but jump at a display of beautiful brown women that is so contrary to the stereotypical neck-rolling, lip-smacking, weave-pulling content we’re normally bombarded with. And it also flies in the face of the “poor Africa” trope. Creator and co-producer Nicole Amarteifio, a Ghana native, “yearn[ed] for media that rejected the stereotype of the African woman as poor and dire, but as intelligent, modern and classy.” And that’s just what she’s done.
But there’s a twist: These are all African women who have returned home after being raised outside of Africa.This makes the show all the more appealing to me. No, I’m not African in the sense that I or my parents were born there, But I am African in the sense that my ancestors once called it home, and so their return home could very much be my own.
I’ve been to Senegal, West Africa. Thanks to my husband, I actually have family there (that I can trace and readily identify). That makes me laugh a little harder, nod my head a bit more emphatically. I know it’s a scripted show, but its real. I can relate.
I love that the show doesn’t romanticize life in Africa. Realizing that all extremes are dangerous distortions, An African City doesn’t paint Africa as a mahogany utopia. Instead, it addresses the difficulties (power outages, water shortages, political corruption, etc) head on, knowing that those things do nothing to erase the beauty of the people and culture there. It makes Africa real, 3 dimensional. For many who don’t live there, Africa is but a collection of images: babies with distended bellies, lions on safari, the Sphinx, the Pyramids. There is no depth, and so there is no humanity. An African City adds depth.
And the fashion: Banging! Everything there wear on this show is runway ready.
Meet the Cast
MaameYaa Boafo: She plays Nana Yaa, an independent Ghanaian woman who doesn’t want to live off her wealthy father (aka, the minister of energy) or any other man for that matter. Unless, of course, she happens to cross paths with certain ex who may or may not be her soul mate.
Esosa E: She plays Ngozi, a Nigerian, church-loving vegan with a sweet and soft energy. She works for a development agency and has no problem being dependent on her parents. (She is farthest left in the above picture.)
Maame Adjai: She plays Zainab, a Ghanaian entrepreneur who is making a killing on exporting shea butter back to the states. She loves the business opportunities in Ghana and has no problem saying exactly what she means. (She is second from the left in the above picture.)
Nana Mensah: She plays Sade, a Nigerian-Ghanaian with lots of brains and sass. She is a graduate of Harvard who prides herself on relying on sugar daddies to get her bills paid. (She is second from the right in the above picture.)
Marie Humbert: She plays Makena, a biracial Ghanian Brit who moved back home after a divorce. She is an out-of-work lawyer, living with her aunt and uncle. She is looking for a man who won’t expect her to go Dutch and won’t sweat on her. (She is farthest right in the above picture.)
Here’s the first episode. I know you’ll love it!