Netflix launches first original animated series from Africa

Netflix is adding to its ever-growing list of original shows with its first animated series from Africa.

"Mama K's Team 4" is produced by Cape Town-based Triggerfish Animation Studios and leading London-based kids' entertainment specialist CAKE.

“Mama K’s Team 4” is about four teen girls living in the neo-futuristic African city of Lusaka, Zambia, who are recruited by a retired secret agent still committed to saving the world.

Credit: HEAVY

Credit: HEAVY

The series was created by Zambian writer Malenga Mulendema, who was one of eight winners in the Triggerfish Story Lab initiative in 2015, a Pan-African talent search.

Mulendema grew up watching cartoons on TV and found herself asking why no heroes looked like her and why they didn't live in a world that felt like her own, Netflix said in announcement on their site.

“In creating a superhero show set in Lusaka, I hope to introduce the world to four strong African girls who save the day in their own fun and crazy way. Most importantly, I want to illustrate that anyone from anywhere can be a superhero,” she said.

" ‘Mama K's Team 4’ has the potential to give a whole new generation of African children the opportunity to see themselves on-screen in the powerful, aspirational characters they look up to,” said Melissa Cobb, vice president of original animation at Netflix.