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This week, African streamer Showmax celebrated its stars and the stories they tell at an exclusive star-studded event at Sankara, Nairobi, hosted by Lotan.
In attendance were Showmax GM in East Africa, Emma Gichonge, MultiChoice Kenya MD, Nzola Miranda, key industry stakeholders, celebrities and the stars of the night: The cast of The Real Housewives of Nairobi S2, Big Girl Small World, and Untying Kantai, as well as the producers of Nilichoma.
The four titles are part of Showmax’s ramped-up content strategy in Kenya. Kicking off its highly anticipated second season, The Real Housewives of Nairobi has added three new housewives – Zena Nyambu, Farah Ismail and Reja Keji Ladu.
They join the Season 1 cast Minne Kariuki, Vera Sidika and Dr Catherine Masitsa.
Big Girl Small World, which premiered on May 8, follows newcomer June Njenga as a plus-size woman fighting to be seen in a world that is determined to shrink her.
From Philit Productions, Untying Kantai, which premiered this week too, follows a man who stumbles on a lucrative but illegal business opportunity and dives headfirst into a world of danger and deceit.
The Real Housewives of Nairobi Season 1 brought glamour, sass, luxury parties, allegiances and self-discovery.
In Season 2, actress and entrepreneur Minne Kariuki returns along with Vera Sidika, who is eager to reintroduce herself, and business mogul and tastemaker Dr Catherine Masitsa. They are joined by new cast members - Farah Esmail, Zena Nyambu and Reja Keji Ladu.
“We are excited for the return of The Real Housewives of Nairobi in May. Over the years, D&R Studios has cut a niche in quality production of unscripted shows in Kenya, and to be able to pull off a global format of this magnitude and have it renewed is something we’re very proud of as a company,” says executive producer Eugene Mbugua. “In this new season, we’ll see a return of some familiar faces and a few new additions. We’re very keen to bring out the opulence that Nairobi and Kenya has to offer while maintaining the excitement and intrigue that makes The Real Housewives what it is.”
New housewives
Farah Esmail is a 50-year-old professional bodybuilder, bikini athlete and owner of F45 training studio in Lavington. She is also an impact entrepreneur, business consultant and corporate lawyer.
Farah, who is a pioneer bikini athlete in Kenya, has won the national championships three times in a row and has represented the country in international fitness competitions winning medals in the UK, Dubai, Portugal, Las Vegas, India, and South Africa.
Zena Nyambu is a 41-year-old mother of two. She is a beauty and aesthetics entrepreneur who runs luxury skincare parlour Glamsquad Kenya, the interior design company Art Infinity. She is also a partner at Zela Aesthetics, a medical aesthetics and wellness centre.
Reja Keji Ladu is a mother of two and the wife to the Minister of Cabinet Affairs of South Sudan. Born in Uganda 29 years ago and raised in both Uganda and South Sudan, Reja resides in Nairobi with her children.
She is the owner of the clothing brand Jenm, headquartered in Juba, and a catering company, and is about to launch a spa in South Sudan and a poultry farm in Nanyuki.
The Real Housewives of Nairobi is produced by Eugene Mbugua’s D&R Studios and is part of The Real Housewives franchise licensed globally by NBCUniversal Formats, which is part of Universal International Studios, a division of Universal Studio Group.
Acknowledging the four Kenyan titles released so far, Showmax General Manager Emma Gichonge said, “We are proud of this content because it directly demonstrates the skill and talent of our Kenyan film and TV community, many of whom are in the audience today”.
MultiChoice Kenya Managing Director, Nzola Miranda, said, “We are revolutionising streaming for Africa. We are supercharging the opportunities that come with the power of content in our hands".
"We are supercharging an exhilarating journey that has embraced the spirit of innovation, collaboration, and boundless possibilities. Together, we have the power to transform the way Africa experiences entertainment.”
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