There haven’t been that many web and television shows written and shot by Nigerians that portray women as complex, layered individuals capable of carrying a series as show lead. With the exception of Skinny Girl In Transit, which did a good job of basing the show around a woman then ruined it by ensuring that the show failed the Bechdel test and centered men in its storytelling. Yemisi Wada is trying to change that with her new web show, ‘Witches’. 

Now before we go any further, let me burst your bubble. This show isn’t the spiritual heir of the much beloved American television show Charmed or even the more soapy Witches of East End. Nigeria is far too religious to allow any indigenous actors or director create a series that portrays witches and witchcraft in a positive light. So yeah, the title is clickbait, but it kind of works. In reality, Yemisi Wada’s show is attuned to Sex and the City with its explorations of sex and sexuality, the dynamics of relationships and female friendships all through a lens of female empowerment. Pretty cool right?

The first episode just dropped and from what I can tell, it is pretty much a primer to get us introduced to the main characters, Oma, Adesewa and Kemi and a bit of infodump so we are all caught up on their backstories and character motivations. “Witches” features Marcy Dolapo Oni, Adunni Ade, Bikiya Graham-Douglas, Remi Surutu, Shawn Faqua, Bucci Franklin, William Benson, and directed by Lyndsey.

Watch the first episode here:

Editor