{"id":22946,"date":"2024-09-11T17:16:27","date_gmt":"2024-09-11T15:16:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/?p=22946"},"modified":"2024-09-11T17:16:29","modified_gmt":"2024-09-11T15:16:29","slug":"showmax-announces-kenyas-first-ever-sci-fi-series-subterranea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/blog\/2024\/09\/11\/showmax-announces-kenyas-first-ever-sci-fi-series-subterranea\/","title":{"rendered":"Showmax Announces Kenya\u2019s First-ever sci-fi Series, “Subterranea”"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Multi-award-winning Kenyan director Likarion Wainaina directed Supa Modo<\/em>, Kenya\u2019s first-ever superhero film and most successful film ever, which won more than 50 international awards, including Best European Film For Children, European Children’s Film Association, 2019; Generation 14Plus: Children’s Jury Special Mention, Berlin, 2018; the Artistic Bravery Prize at the Durban International Film Festival, 2018; and Best Screenplay at the Carthage Film Festival.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Now he\u2019s back on Showmax with his next ambitious project – Kenya\u2019s first sci-fi series Subterranea<\/em>, set to premiere on 26 September 2024. A Kibanda Pictures production, the eight-part Showmax Original series follows eight participants of a psychological experiment who are placed in an underground bunker to test the effects of close-quarter secluded relationships on humans. In a twist of irony, the world ends and the eight are now trapped in the bunker with nowhere to go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Assembling Kenya\u2019s finest actors, Subterranea<\/em> stars Kalasha winners Foi Wambui (Crime and Justice<\/em>), Peter Kawa (County 49<\/em>), and Nice Githinji (The Caller<\/em>), as well as Kalasha nominees Melvin Alusa and Melissa Kiplagat (both from Country Queen<\/em>). Filmmaker Philippa Ndisi-Herrmann (director of Best Documentary at 2018 Durban International Film Festival, New Moon<\/em>) who makes her debut as an actor, Makena Kahuha (Kina<\/em>), Biko Nyongesa (Sense8<\/em>), Pauline Komu (Groove Theory<\/em>), the finest theatre kid on the block, Kenyan Theatre Awards winner Dadson Gakenga (Subira<\/em>), and newcomer Chintu Chudasama round up the ensemble.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 “I\u2019m always keen on experimenting with genres. In 2018, we made Kenya\u2019s first superhero film with Supa Modo<\/em>. Six years later, we are presenting Kenya\u2019s first-ever sci-fi series,\u201d says Likarion. \u201cIn Kenya, and maybe other places, there\u2019s this misconception that sci-fi always means futuristic or lots of laser guns, but sci-fi can also be about exploring the impact of actual or imagined science on human psychology or behaviour. That is what Subterranea<\/em> is all about. It’s not a futuristic show but rather a series where we dream about science and how our characters react to it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likarion also co-produces Subterranea<\/em> alongside series creator and head writer Brian Munene, with Martin Kigondu (County 49<\/em>) and Arnold Mwanjila (Taliya<\/em>) also serving as writers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Previously, Brian has written for Showmax and CANAL+\u2019s first-ever co-production, the Kalasha-winning, AMVCA-nominated Kenyan police procedural and legal drama Crime and Justice<\/em>; the Kalasha-nominated political thriller County 49;<\/em> Kenya\u2019s first military series Mpakani<\/em>; and the 2018 Oscar nominee for Best Live Action Short, Watu Wote: All of Us<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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