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Netflix’s ‘African Queens’ EP Says ‘Black Panther’ & ‘The Woman King’ Have Cleared Path For Jada Pinkett Smith-Narrated Docu-Drama
Exclusive: Blockbuster hits Black Panther and The Woman King have cleared the path for Netflix to succeed with Jada Pinkett Smith-narrated docu-drama African Queens, according to the show’s exec.
Premiering this week, African Queens will first tell the story of Queen Njinga of Angola and subsequently Cleopatra in its second season. It is produced by Welcome to Earth with Will Smith indie Nutopia and Pinkett Smith and Will Smith’s Westbrook Studios.
Speaking exclusively to Deadline ahead of a London screening tonight, EP Maxine Watson, who has worked on some of Britain’s biggest factual hits, said recent blockbusters have created a landscape in which shows like African Queens can flourish. A separate Njinga drama from Starz, which is being exec produced by 50 Cent, is also in the works.
“Now is a wise time to launch as The Woman King and Wakanda Forever have made it easier
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I saw the first episode of the Njinga season this morning. It's not all historical reenactment, for there are cutaways to various historians and other experts explaining the context to what the characters are doing. Some people might find them obtrusive to the main story, but I actually found these cutaways helpful by indicating what events in the reenacted segments were based on known facts as opposed to what could have been more fictionalized elements. Overall, not bad at all. I will keep watching as the remainder of the week rolls by.
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Just finished all four episodes of the season. I gotta say that, while I liked how they brought the history to life while using interviews with historians to provide the larger context, Njinga herself comes across as a complicated character with a nasty streak of ruthlessness even if you end up rooting for her against the Portuguese. I also thought the reenacted battles looked too much like disorganized skirmishes rather than the big pitched battles they would do back in the day.
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