King Shaka is not coming to Showtime after all. The cable channel cancelled the new series as it was nearing the end of production. Those behind the series plan to shop it to other outlets.
Starring Charmaine Bingwa, Nkeki Obi-Melekwe, Aïssa Maïga, Thando Dlomo, Tony Kgoroge, Sindi Dlatu, and Bahle Hadebe, King Shaka, formerly known as Shaka: King of the Zulu Nation, revolves around “the Zulu Empire founder Shaka (Babalola) and his unlikely rise to power, uniting multiple tribes across vast stretches of southern Africa in the early 19th century to transform his power into legend, on par with history’s most seminal figures.”
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Starring Charmaine Bingwa, Nkeki Obi-Melekwe, Aïssa Maïga, Thando Dlomo, Tony Kgoroge, Sindi Dlatu, and Bahle Hadebe, King Shaka, formerly known as Shaka: King of the Zulu Nation, revolves around “the Zulu Empire founder Shaka (Babalola) and his unlikely rise to power, uniting multiple tribes across vast stretches of southern Africa in the early 19th century to transform his power into legend, on par with history’s most seminal figures.”
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- 4/4/2023
- by TVSeriesFinale.com
- TVSeriesFinale.com
Exclusive: Showtime has axed King Shaka, its upcoming epic drama series executive produced by Antoine Fuqua, which tells the sweeping story of the Zulu Empire founder.
It marks the latest new series to be canned at the network before it has aired amid a programming overhaul at Showtime, which is being merged with sister streamer Paramount+ and will be renamed as Paramount+ with Showtime.
While King Shaka will not run on Showtime, the premium network is working on multiple other drama projects with diverse storytelling as part of recently announced three main programming lanes, including a project from The Chi showrunner Justin Hillian; Panda, from Fresh Off the Boat’s Eddie Huang; and Quiet in Her Bones, from writer Aminta Goyel.
Showtime also plans to add diversity to the Billions franchise as it is undergoing expansion with spinoffs.
Deadline understands that King Shaka, which is being headlined by Charles Babalola,...
It marks the latest new series to be canned at the network before it has aired amid a programming overhaul at Showtime, which is being merged with sister streamer Paramount+ and will be renamed as Paramount+ with Showtime.
While King Shaka will not run on Showtime, the premium network is working on multiple other drama projects with diverse storytelling as part of recently announced three main programming lanes, including a project from The Chi showrunner Justin Hillian; Panda, from Fresh Off the Boat’s Eddie Huang; and Quiet in Her Bones, from writer Aminta Goyel.
Showtime also plans to add diversity to the Billions franchise as it is undergoing expansion with spinoffs.
Deadline understands that King Shaka, which is being headlined by Charles Babalola,...
- 4/3/2023
- by Peter White and Nellie Andreeva
- Deadline Film + TV
Antoine Fuqua might have been known best for his big screen blockbuster work, but in the past few years, he's made a pretty triumphant transition to streaming. Of course, it took some "adjusting" on the director's part — with the Mark Wahlberg starrer "Infinite" quietly released on Paramount+, and the Jake Gyllenhaal-led thriller "The Guilty" making a similar debut on Netflix — but Fuqua has since found a major groove with television. With producer credits on the celebrated "Mayor of Kingstown" and the recent release of Prime Video series "The Terminal List," Fuqua is enjoying the freedom that long-form entertainment affords.
"I found it to be a really positive thing," Fuqua told /Film's Jack Giroux. The freedom of the new streaming landscape reminds the filmmaker of the risk-taking on display in the '70s. "You got a chance to just come in and try some things and be brave," Fuqua added,...
"I found it to be a really positive thing," Fuqua told /Film's Jack Giroux. The freedom of the new streaming landscape reminds the filmmaker of the risk-taking on display in the '70s. "You got a chance to just come in and try some things and be brave," Fuqua added,...
- 8/26/2022
- by Lyvie Scott
- Slash Film
Exclusive: The Outlaws star Charles Babalola is set to headline Showtime’s King Shaka, (fka Shaka: King of the Zulu Nation), executive produced by Antoine Fuqua.
Babalola will play the title role in the epic drama series, centered around one man’s personal journey from stigmatized childhood to warrior king, which hails from writers Olu Odebunmi and Tolu Awosika, Propagate, Fuqua Films and CBS Studios. Production kicks off next month in the historic KwaZulu-Natal (Kzn) South Africa province, the birthplace of King Shaka, and will be fully shot in South Africa for a 2023 debut on Showtime.
Also cast as series regulars in King Shaka are Aïssa Maïga (The Fear Index) as Nandi, Shaka’s devoted mother who will sacrifice everything to fulfill her son’s destiny; and Thando Dlomo (The Woman King) as Pampatha, a herder who finds her fate forever entwined with Shaka’s. Thapelo Mokoena (Bulletproof) will guest star as Gendeyana,...
Babalola will play the title role in the epic drama series, centered around one man’s personal journey from stigmatized childhood to warrior king, which hails from writers Olu Odebunmi and Tolu Awosika, Propagate, Fuqua Films and CBS Studios. Production kicks off next month in the historic KwaZulu-Natal (Kzn) South Africa province, the birthplace of King Shaka, and will be fully shot in South Africa for a 2023 debut on Showtime.
Also cast as series regulars in King Shaka are Aïssa Maïga (The Fear Index) as Nandi, Shaka’s devoted mother who will sacrifice everything to fulfill her son’s destiny; and Thando Dlomo (The Woman King) as Pampatha, a herder who finds her fate forever entwined with Shaka’s. Thapelo Mokoena (Bulletproof) will guest star as Gendeyana,...
- 8/25/2022
- by Nellie Andreeva
- Deadline Film + TV
Viola Davis is no stranger to transformations. In the past couple years alone, she’s played DC’s Amanda Waller, Ma Rainey and even Michelle Obama. But in the warrior epic “The Woman King,” the trailer for which dropped Wednesday, Davis plays a character unlike any she’s played before.
Davis stars in the film as Nanisca, the general of the real all-female military unit known as the Agojie (also known as Amazons) in the West African Kingdom of Dahomey (present-day Benin) in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. The story is inspired by true events and follows Nanisca and Nawi (Thuso Mbedu), an ambitious recruit, as they fight enemies who have enslaved their people and violated their honor. The unit is the inspiration behind the Dora Milaje in “Black Panther,” and its story has never been told on screen before.
Davis told Vanity Fair that she underwent serious training for the physically demanding role.
Davis stars in the film as Nanisca, the general of the real all-female military unit known as the Agojie (also known as Amazons) in the West African Kingdom of Dahomey (present-day Benin) in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. The story is inspired by true events and follows Nanisca and Nawi (Thuso Mbedu), an ambitious recruit, as they fight enemies who have enslaved their people and violated their honor. The unit is the inspiration behind the Dora Milaje in “Black Panther,” and its story has never been told on screen before.
Davis told Vanity Fair that she underwent serious training for the physically demanding role.
- 7/6/2022
- by Sasha Urban
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Four-time Grammy Award winner Angelique Kidjo, Jimmy Odukoya, Thando Dlomo and Jordan Bolger have rounded out the ensemble of TriStar Pictures’ The Woman King, starring Academy Award-winning actress Viola Davis and Thuso Mbedu. Lashana Lynch, Adrienne Warren and John Boyega are also on board with Gina Prince-Bythewood directing. eOne is on board to co-finance the pic.
Based on an original screenplay by Dana Stevens and current draft by Stevens and Prince-Bythewood, the film is being produced by Cathy Schulman though her Welle Entertainment. Davis and Julius Tennon of JuVee Productions and Maria Bello of Jack Blue Productions are also producing.
The film bows on Sept. 16, 2022. It is one of four upcoming films from Sony Pictures by African American filmmakers, including A Journal For Jordan, the George Foreman biopic, I Wanna Dance With Somebody and The Woman King, with the latter two directed by women.
Kidjo is repped by Margrit Polak Management.
Based on an original screenplay by Dana Stevens and current draft by Stevens and Prince-Bythewood, the film is being produced by Cathy Schulman though her Welle Entertainment. Davis and Julius Tennon of JuVee Productions and Maria Bello of Jack Blue Productions are also producing.
The film bows on Sept. 16, 2022. It is one of four upcoming films from Sony Pictures by African American filmmakers, including A Journal For Jordan, the George Foreman biopic, I Wanna Dance With Somebody and The Woman King, with the latter two directed by women.
Kidjo is repped by Margrit Polak Management.
- 11/9/2021
- by Justin Kroll
- Deadline Film + TV
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