Bright Okpocha, also known as Basketmouth has been one of the most known faces in the Nigerian comedy scene over the last 20 years.
However, these days, he wears many hats and can’t just be called a comedian. Basketmouth is also an actor, a TV producer, a writer and even a rapper.
In an interview with The Punch, the Abia-born entertainer discussed his career so far. When asked about his experience with his TV show, ‘My Flatmates’ and the difficulties he’s faced bringing the show to life, he said,
“One of the first issues we faced at the beginning had to do with stories. When we started the project, Multichoice hired writers but they could not tell our stories for us. They were Nigerians but they were not sitcom writers; they were more of drama writers, so we struggled initially. After some time, I said it could not continue that way and we needed to restructure. So, we changed everything and the stories changed. They (executive producers) cut me some slack and I appreciate them for that because it was not something they normally did.”
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My Flatmates is a comedy show about four friends who share an apartment. The show follows the craziness of the four individuals as they go about their daily escapades in pursuit of a better life for themselves. The show stars Basketmouth himself, as well as other comedians like Okey Bakassi, Yaw, Buchi, Wofai Fada, Senator, MC Pashun, and more.
According to Basketmouth, there were other challenges in the production of the show. He said,
“In terms of production, we shoot every day. It is practically like a 9-5 job. Sometimes, the availability of the actors could be an issue because it is almost impossible to catch these guys, especially during festive periods (when they have other engagements). So, our timing has to be 100 per cent structured. Availability was our problem but we have been able to work around that. So far so good, it has been an amazing experience. We are enjoying the process. Members of the cast and crew are now like a family, and everything flows fluidly.”
To read the full interview with Basketmouth, go here
