The Story ⚡
4 years after its announcement, Netflix will be ready to launch Supa Team 4 (Formerly Mama K’s Team 4) on July 20th.
Tell Me More
The new animated series follows four teen girls living in the futuristic version of Lusaka, the capital of Zambia. When they’re recruited by a retired secret agent to help save the world, they have to balance their secret identities and fighting supervillains with homework and the everyday dramas of teen life.
Supa Team 4 stars Zowa Ngwira, Namisa Mdlalose, Kimani Arthur, Nancy Sekhokoane, Pamela Nomvete, and John MacMillan.
In 2019, writer Malenga Mulendema, who was one of eight winners in the Triggerfish Story Lab initiative in 2015, a pan-African talent search was tapped to create this original for Netflix.
Designed by Cameroonian artist Malcolm Wope, the show was said to draw visual inspiration from retro-’90s R&B and hip-hop girl groups.
Malenga 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.
“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,” commented Malenga.
“In addition to giving African writers a global platform on which to be heard, we are excited to present this powerful and entertaining new animated series that brings Malenga’s incredible and unique vision to life on Netflix,” said Melissa Cobb, vice president of original animation at Netflix. “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.”
“After animating four multi-award-winning BBC Christmas specials set in England, including the Oscar-nominated Revolting Rhymes, Triggerfish is delighted to bring an African capital city to life on Netflix,” added Vanessa Ann Sinden, Triggerfish’s development producer.
CEO & Creative Director at CAKE, Tom van Waveren concluded, “We are delighted to be partnering with Triggerfish and Netflix on Mama K’s Team 4, a uniquely empowering, but most of all fun project, which brings a fresh perspective to a classic cartoon genre.”
The above key art, which is new, is quite different from what was released 4 years ago. it seems some characterizations have been changed hence the renaming of the title.
In Summary
Netflix collaborated with Triggerfish Animation Studio and CAKE to create this animated series and we can’t wait to see what a futuristic Lusaka looks like.
