Netflix has just bought its first animated series produced by an African company. The series is called “Mama K’s Team 4” and is produced by Triggerfish Animation Studios, an award-winning South-African company, and British entertainment production company CAKE.
“Mama K Team 4” was created by Zambian writer Malenga Mulendema, one of the winners of the 2015 Triggerfish Story Lab and designed by Cameroonian artist Malcolm Wope.
The series follows the story of four teenage girls living in a futuristic version of Lusaka, Zambia, who are recruited by a retired secret agent to save the world.
According to Variety, Netflix and Triggerfish have now embarked on a search for African female writers to join the creative team for the series.
On her inspiration for creating the series, Mulendema said: “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.”
In addition, vice president of original animation at Netflix , Melissa Cobb said: “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. ‘Mama K’s Team 4’ has the potential to give a whole new generation of African children the opportunity to see themselves on screen in the powerful, aspirational characters they look up to.”