Showmax will premiere a new original telenovela titled ‘Wura.’ ‘The River,’ a Nigerian adaptation of the hit South African 1Magic telenovela, is the latest addition.
With over 200 episodes, the show is billed as the first and longest-running Nigerian telenovela on the streaming service. ‘Wura’ follows Wura-Amoo Adeleke, a perfect wife, a loving mother of two, and the ruthless CEO of the fictional Frontline Gold Mine.
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Wura is a saint in her family’s eyes, but when it comes to running her business empire, she is the ultimate iron lady who doesn’t care whose ox is gored in her path to get what she wants.
The show takes place in the gold mining industry in Iperindo, a small community in Osun state in Nigeria’s south-western region. It is one of seven gold deposits clustered around Ilesha town.
Despite the promise that the presence of the precious metal holds for Iperindo and surrounding communities, residents are still impoverished and vulnerable to environmental disasters as a result of illegal mining. Despite being a work of fiction, the show will shed some light on this issue.
Speaking ahead of the launch of the show, Executive Head of Content and West Africa Channels, MultiChoice Nigeria, Dr. Busola Tejumola said, “Wura explores the untold story of gold mining in Nigeria and is a demonstration of Showmax’s continued investment in authentic local stories.
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“Each scene is carefully crafted to thoroughly entertain as well as educate our viewers. This is going to be our longest-running Nigerian telenovela with over 200 episodes, and as you can imagine, a lot of hard work and long hours have gone into making it. We are incredibly proud of the outcome and cannot wait to share it with the world.”
The episodic drama stars veterans and up-and-comers, including Scarlet Gomez, a rising Nollywood star, who plays the lead Wura, and Yomi Fash-Lanso, a Nollywood Yoruba actor, who plays the male lead, Anthony Amoo-Adeleke.
Carol King as Grace Adeleke, Ray Adeka as Jejeloye “Jeje” Amoo, Iremide Adeoye as Lolu Adeleke, Ego Iheanacho as Iyabo Kuti, Martha Ehinome as Tumininu “Tumi” Kuti, and Lanre Adediwura as Olumide Kuti are among the other cast members.
The Executive producer of ‘Wura,’ Rogers Ofime said, “Our research into the world of ‘Wura’ has given us a new belief in Nollywood. We poured our hearts and soul into the show. Every word, every scene, and every reaction was a thought-provoking journey, a journey we would like you to be a part of and be entertained by.
‘Wura’ gives all the emotions that a well-rounded series should; it will pull you into its world of intricacies, whodunit, deceit, triumph, and suspense from the very first frame to the last. We have no doubt that our viewers will enjoy ‘Wura’ as much as we loved making it for their viewing pleasure.”
With ‘Wura,’ Showmax expands its library of local content while also investing in Nigeria’s film industry, Nollywood.
In 2022, the service added five new Nigerian Originals to its lineup, including the reality TV series ‘The Real Housewives of Lagos,’ a 10-part docu-series on the history of Afrobeats called ‘Journey of the Beats.’
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It also added a psychological thriller called ‘Diiche,’ a drama series called ‘Flawsome,’ and a recent Nigerian adaptation of the police procedural drama called ‘Crime and Justice Lagos.’
‘Wura’ will premiere on Showmax on Monday, January 26, 2023, with four episodes released each week.