…as Dstv unveils bumper package for new calendar year

By Benjamin Njoku

Eleven years after he hinted about returning his longest running drama series on NTA in the 1990s, ‘Ripples’ to the silver screen, movie icon, Ze Ejiro has actualized that laudable dream.

The Executive Head of Content and West Africa Channels, MultiChoice Nigeria, Dr Busola Tejumola, owners of Africa Magic confirmed the return of the popular sitcom to the screen again, while speaking at the company’s Content Discovery event held during the week at its head office on Lagos island.

The multi-national pay TV is collaborating with Ejiro, fondly called the sheikh of Nollywood to return the popular sitcom to the silver screen. The sitcom is among the 28 more series titles Africa Magic will be bringing on screen in the coming month.

‘Ripples’ which featured the best brains in the movie industry, including Alex Usifo, Babara Soky, Clarion Chukwura, Kogi State-born Lola Alao among others was rested in 1993, after it ran for five years uninterrupted on NTA.

Tejumola said the sitcom will still be featuring the original cast as well as the emerging actors.

Recall that Zeb Ejiro years back hinted that the series which will be written by award-winning screenplay writer, Joe Dudu will return as “Ripples: The New Generation”, and will get everyone glued to the screens again.

Recounting the milestones Africa Magic have recorded in the last two decades, Tejumola said customers should expect a new and diverse set of captivating and relatable indigenous stories across Africa Magic channels.

“It’s been 20 years of Africa Magic and Nollywood growing together, building global careers and talents. In 2003, we began the journey of telling authentic Nigerian stories on Africa Magic to build a platform where everyday Nigerians see themselves in relatable stories reflecting our culture. In 2023, we’ve found ourselves celebrating 20 years of creating and telling Nigerian stories.

“This year, we intend to break more boundaries and find new frontiers in local storytelling. We look forward to ensuring Africa Magic remains at the forefront of Nigeria storytelling. We are adding 28 more series titles and 20 original Africa Magic movies for our customers, starting from April 2023. This year, we are also investing more in our indigenous productions across our language channels: Yoruba, Hausa and Igbo,” she said.  Touching on the investment by MultiChoice in growing content on its platform, Tejumola stated that Africa Magic launched with a single channel in Nigeria and has since expanded to a cluster of seven channels