Desperate Housewives Africa to Premiere Next Summer
Wisteria Lane is coming to Nigeria.
Disney announced this week that they are in production on a spin-off of the mega-hit primetime soap Desperate Housewives, set in an upscale gated community in Lagos. The series, called Desperate Housewives Africa, is scheduled to premiere next summer.
The show would feature an “African soul” and will provide ”the opportunity to engage African audiences through locally relevant and entertaining storytelling” according to a joint statement by Disney and their producing partner EbonyLifeTV. The show will also act as a vehicle to promote Nigerian dress designers and feature pan-African acting talent.
Desperate Housewives, which ran from 2004 until 2012, was a ratings smash for Disney-owned ABC and made a global star out of Eva Longoria. Vanessa Williams, Alfre Woodard and Mehcad Brooks also joined the ensemble cast in later seasons. Other versions of Desperate Housewives have already been produced in Turkey, Argentina, Brazil and the U.S. in Spanish.
The Nigerian film and television industry — known as "Nollywood" — has exploded in recent years, generated over $500 million in revenue and cranking out over 1,000 titles in a year, trailing only Hollywood and Bollywood in terms of revenue. While mostly known for low budget, low quality fare, Nollywood, with the support of the Nigerian government — has been pushing for higher quality work that appeals to a global audience.
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(Photo: ABC)