Zuku enters ‘Kenyan West Wing’

African pay TV operator Zuku has commissioned a 12x30mins political drama billed as “Kenya’s answer to HBO’s The West Wing“.

State House is being filmed in the Kenyan capital and features well known East African stars.

It is set in Nairobi’s presidential residence in 2013 just as the government is changing and an old dictator has been ousted after 40 years of rule, and follows a young, newly-elected and radical president who looks in instigate change. Zuku Entertainment (fka Zuku Afrika) is coproducing with Awali Entertainment.

Hannelie Bekker, managing director at Wananchi Programming, the content arm of Zuku parent Wananchi Group, said: “State House is Kenya’s answer to The West Wing. It is an excellent example of high quality locally produced Kenyan drama. The first ever series to dramatise the inner workings of a living and breathing East African political institution, it demonstrates Zuku’s ongoing commitment to investing in unique and original content.”

Zuku recently launched Groove Theory, a music-themed drama.