In recent years, Nollywood has witnessed cinematic and commercial evolution. This comes after decades of Nigerian screenwriters, directors, and production studios proved themselves trailblazers in Nigeria's film industry. However, the most significant milestone Nollywood attained was when it garnered attention from streaming companies. Most notably, Netflix's official expansion into Nigeria's film industry in 2020 — this move significantly impacted the landscape of Nigeria's video-on-demand movie market. Today, Netflix, Amazon, and Showmax, in partnership with visionary Nigerian filmmakers, continue to elevate Nigeria's diverse ethnicity while addressing pressing socio-political issues through compelling stories.
In Nigerian entertainment, a pattern of excellence remains consistent. Similarly to its music counterpart, Afrobeats, Nollywood is becoming inevitable. This year's Sundance Film Festival featured a World Cinema Drama Competition program, an initiative that aimed to showcase the beauty of diverse cultures and their integration with cinema across the globe. Part of the stellar entries was C.J. "Fiery" Obasi's film, Mami Wata, which won a special jury prize among the other 11 participants. This is a remarkable feat, in addition to Kunle Afolayan's Anikulapo, being rated among the top 10 international-language movies with a total of 8,730,000 global views within two weeks of its release, or the crime thriller Blood Sisters earning critical acclaim globally upon its first season, which premiered on Netflix.
Although film festivals and the Academy Awards have more areas to improve to ensure more inclusivity to accommodate African stories in major categories, there are certain Nigerian movies and TV series whose excellence needs no further validation to initiate an interest in Nollywood. Here are 10 of them currently streaming on Netflix.
10 MTV Shuga Naija
MTV Shuga Naija is as Nigerian as it can be. It features the journeys of an array of engaging characters navigating friendships, relationships, young adulthood, and hustle culture in the bustling city of Lagos. At the time of its premiere in 2018, MTV Shuga Naija was praised for its bold exploration of certain subjects that were wholly unaddressed in Nigeria's conservative culture and educational curriculum. From sexual health, planned parenthood, child marriage, and domestic and sexual abuse, on MTV Shuga Naija, no topic is off limits. You can binge-watch the four seasons of MTV Shuga Naija on YouTube.
9 Castle & Castle
Produced by Nollywood titan Mo Abudu, Castle & Castle made its debut on Netflix in 2020 as the first Nigerian legal drama series. The show features a power couple, Tega Castle (Richard Mofe-Damijo) and Remi Castle (Dakore Adande), who, together, run the top law firm in Lagos, Nigeria. As the duo oversees the affairs and corporate politics of managing an elite legal firm, they must remain strong against the pressures that threaten to ruin their marriage. Drawing inspiration from prominent legal dramas, Castle & Castle highlights the misogyny in corporate spaces, thrilling romance among the attorneys, good ol' firm rivalry, and hilarious civil cases that can only be seen in a Nigerian society.
8 Far From Home
For most teenagers growing up in Nigeria, their future aspirations usually fall into generic fields: doctors, lawyers, engineers, and pilots. However, for the Netflix series, Far From Home, the main character Ishaya Bello (Mike Folarin) is not one. When the art enthusiast from a humble background sees a rare opportunity to get recognized by an art academy in London, he takes it without question. Oblivious to Ishaya, his rational decisions trigger a series of chaotic events threatening the lives of his family and friends he holds dear.
Written by Dami Elebe, Far From Home's first season achieves something quite unique in Nigerian television. It accurately depicts the social class disparity in Nigeria and addresses the privilege of children of Nigeria's 1% without portraying any party as the hero or villain. Through the enthralling adventure of Ishaya Bello, the high school drama paints a harsh reality of young adults who must make their own opportunities in a society that doesn't care about anyone's dreams.
7 King of Boys: Return of the King
If you are a fan of anti-heroes, and morally ambiguous protagonists, King of Boys: Return of the King should be your next watch. Written and directed by Kemi Adetiba, the sequel to her 2018 movie King Of Boys follows the political conquests and intriguing character arc of Eniola Salami (Sola Sobowale). Throughout the series' plot, audiences witness the internal turmoil of an emotionally tortured multi-layered character, who seeks power and vengeance for closure. In what has become a franchise, King of Boys: Return of the King explores the obscenity of Nigeria's political scene, while presenting the audience with a moral mirror for self-reflection across major points of the storyline.
6 Blood Sisters
A bride and her best friend must flee in order to avoid being entrapped in a murder conspiracy after the sudden disappearance of an abusive groom Kola (Deyemi Okanlawon), in the middle of his wedding. Following the discovery of his body in a shallow grave, the two young women are hunted by a witty and brilliant detective. What initially seems to be homicide with a culprit to catch turns out to be a case with victims to aid. Aside from the moving plot of this crime thriller, another focal point of Blood Sisters is the complex familial dynamic of The Ademolas, the groom's family. What makes this eight-episode series rewarding is its epic finale, which answers a burning question you will find yourself asking from the pilot.
5 For Maria Ebun Pataki
Post-partum depression is rarely included among several subjects on women's health in real life more or less addressed in films. In the directorial debut for Damilol Orimogunje, For Maria Ebun Pataki, a mother named Derin (Meg Otanwa) has post-partum depression. The movie follows her during the first several months following delivery, which causes Derin to lose a lot of blood. The separation she feels from her infant and her difficulties, as a result, is well illustrated in the movie. It inevitably raised empathy and triggered conversations surrounding post-partum depression and real-life stories of women suffering from it.
4 October 1
Set in the Colonial era of Nigeria's history, Kunle Afolayan's October 1 narrates the story of Danladi Waziri (Sadiq Daba), a police officer from Northern Nigeria, who is posted to the remote town of Akote in Western Nigeria to investigate the frequent female murder cases in the community, and have the mystery solved before the Nigerian flag is raised on October 1, Nigeria's Independence Day.
3 Citation
There are certain movies you either love or hate, there is no middle ground, and this movie is a perfect example. Within a lengthy two-hour-plus runtime, Citation follows the story of Moremi, played by Nollywood newcomer Temi Otedola. Moremi is a master's student sexually harassed by a guest professor and spends the entire plot seeking justice for attempted rape. Contrary to its harrowing plot, what makes this film truly a beauty is the unique picture and landscape cinematography that capture the beauty of the serene locations in the southwestern part of Nigeria and Darka Senegal. If you are a fan of slow-burn movies, Citation should be added to your library.
2 Living in Bondage: Breaking Free
Some of the best Nollywood films remain those made in the classic Nollywood era. No wonder modern Nollywood filmmakers are returning to this golden era to remake the classics. This is what actor and director Ramsey Noah and a new stellar cast impressively execute with Living in Bondage: Breaking Free, a remake of the 1992 classic. In this thriller-drama, a young man burdened with societal and familial pressures strikes a deal with the devil for fame and fortune. However, all is a bed rose until a high price comes knocking.
1 Half of a Yellow Sun
Directed in 2013 by the late director Biyi Bandele and adapted from Chimamanda Adichie's bestseller with the same title, Half of a Yellow Sun stars, Genevieve Nnaji, John Boyega, Anika Noni Rose, and many more. The story tells the gripping tale of twin sisters (Thandiwe Newton and Anika Noni Rose) from a wealthy Nigerian family, who take wildly different paths in life. Still, both become swept up in the struggle to establish Biafra as an independent republic. Although the underlying political themes are ever throughout the tone of plot, Half of a Yellow Sun also gives room for more as the love story between Odenigbo (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and Olanna (Thandiwe Newton) and their will to survive the chaos of Nigeria's democratic genesis in the 1960s. Half of a Yellow Sun is not just an engaging film to get into Nollywood with, but a film that educates one on an often neglected piece of Nigeria's history.