When death awakens a sleepy village, its past threatens to haunt the present. Introducing the first Kenya Original Series. Premiering 15 July. Only on Netflix
A new, original, high-quality drama series, the first out of Kenya is adding to the growing list of dynamic and utterly binge-worthy African content. COUNTRY QUEEN is a family drama series set in contemporary Kenya, a David & Goliath story where the past and present collide when a mining company threatens to destroy the rural home of an ambitious event planner, who is pitted against a deadly business woman, whose husband she is entangled with.
COUNTRY QUEEN’s multi character plot centres around the strong AKISA MUTUNGA, played by well-known and loved Kenyan actor Melissa Kiplagat. With a high profile cast, the first episode of Season 1 opens with Asika, an ambitious event planner to the elite who leads a comfortable but complicated life in the city. She is having an affair with the charming but villainous MAX SIBALA (Blessing Lung’aho), a man married to one Kenya’s wealthiest and ruthless business moguls, VIVIENNE SIBALA (Nini Wacera). Vivienne runs Eco Rock, a mining company on the brink of collapse until the discovery of gold in Tsilanga, Akisa’s rural home.
Akisa finds herself in the midst of of two love triangles as she struggles to find her place in life, whether in Nairobi or Tsilanga, to find her true love, whether it’s Max or Kyalo and to find her lost son.
The issues of land grabbing and exploitation form the tapestry against which the fractured personal lives and relationships of Country Queen’s main characters play out. The fight for land becomes a fight for redemption, truth and facing the consequences of one’s own choices. The story, although fictional, carries many elements of truth that speak to a range of issues affecting millions of people in Africa such as family disputes, land ownership, and exploitation.
As this gripping story unfolds, secrets from the past come to light amidst a tangled web of exploitation, greed, and personal intrigue. Akisa has to make tough decisions; she must choose between her glitzy life in the city and saving the land that has caused her so much pain.
Supported by DW Akademie and funded by BMZ (German Government), Good Karma Fiction, together with ten up and coming Kenyan writers/filmmakers developed the narrative of COUNTRY QUEEN. Good Karma Fiction is a Berlin/Germany based film production company, lead by Peter Obrist, Waltraud Ehrhardt, and Ravi Karmalker, who are the executive producers and show runners of COUNTRY QUEEN. Season 1 of COUNTRY QUEEN was co-financed by German-French cultural channel Arte/ZDF, German Government/DW Akademie, a private investor and Netflix.
COUNTRY QUEEN will be available for streaming in 190 countries exclusively on Netflix from 15 July 2022.
CREDITS
Directors: Vincent Mbaya, Tosh Gitonga and Brian Munene
Scriptwriters: Lydia Matata, Oprah Oyugi, Wanjeri Gakuru and Kimani Waweru
Executive Producers: Waltraud Ehrhardt, Ravi Karmalker and Peter Obrist
Producer: Kamau Wandun’gu
Art Director: Eugene Oyoo
Head of Wardrobe: Kambua Rose
Cast: Melissa Kiplagat, Melvin Alusa, Blessing Lung’aho, Nini Wacera, Mumbi Kaigwa, Muthoni Gathecha, Sheila Munyiva, Nyokabi Macharia, Joel Otukho, Eddy Kimani, Abu Sensei, Nice Githinji, Nancy Karanja, Maina Olwenya, Kael Njihia, Robert Agengo, Oliver Litondo, Vera Atsango, Peter King, Johnson ‘Fish’ Chege and Raymond Ofula.
