We’re here for Africans winning. Especially when they’re women. Earlier this month, Netflix announced plans to air its first animated original series from Africa. The brains behind this show? Malenga Mulendema from Zambia. She was one of eight winners in the Triggerfish Story Lab Initiative in 2015.
Set in a futuristic Zambia, the series chronicles the adventures 4 teen girls recruited by a retired secret agent to save the world. Visuals for Mama K’s Team 4 reflect the retro-R&B and hip-hop girl groups of the ’90s.
Melissa Cobb, Netflix’s VP of original animation hailed this series: “In addition to giving African writers a global platform on which to be heard, we are excited to present this powerful and entertaining new animated series that brings Malenga’s incredible and unique vision to life on Netflix.”
She praised the show for providing African children the opportunity to see themselves on-screen in the powerful, aspirational characters they look up to.
Mulendema often wondered as a child why the cartoons she watched didn’t have any characters that looked like her. Mama K’s Team 4 gave her a chance to challenge that.
“In creating a superhero show set in Lusaka, I hope to introduce the world to four strong African girls who save the day in their own fun and crazy way. Most importantly, I want to illustrate that anyone from anywhere can be a superhero,” she said.
