by Thinus Ferreira
Netflix has renewed its South African drama series Queen Sono for a second season.
Headlined by Pearl Thusi and produced by Diprente in Johannesburg, South Africa with showrunner and director Kagiso Lediga, the 6-episode trope-filled spy drama tale made its debut at the end of February 2020 to mostly lukewarm reviews.
Diprente will continue to produce the second season of Queen Sono with the cast who have not yet been signed but according to Netflix are all expected to return, including Pearl Thusi, Vuyo Dabula, Sechaba Morojele, Chi Mhende, Loyiso Madinga, Rob van Vuuren, Kate Liquorish, Khathu Ramabulana and Enhle Mbali Mlotshwa.
Production is expected to start later in 2020 once more clarity exists over TV and film production given the multiple national lockdown periods in effect in South Africa and across sub-Saharan Africa because of the global Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic.
Queen Sono's second season renewal is the first African Netflix production renewal handed out under Dorothy Ghettuba who took up the position to head up the commissioning of Netflix's African originals in mid-2019 and is tasked to expand Netflix's content slate from the African continent from Amsterdam in the Netherlands.
"The first season of Queen Sono marked the beginning of our journey to introduce the world to exciting stories that are made in Africa. It was an unprecedented representation of a strong female black lead in African television," says Dorothy Ghettuba in a prepared statement issued on Tuesday announcing the second season renewal.
"Kagiso Lediga and the Diprente team delivered a compelling story that resonated with our viewers and we can’t wait to see what they have in store for Queen Sono in this coming season."
Kagiso Lediga in the press release says "I am so excited by the appetite for African stories and that Netflix is continuing to partner with us to bring to life the next chapter of Queen’s story and showcase it to the world".
Tamsin Andersson, executive producer, in the statement says "We are thrilled to continue our production of Queen Sono season 2 with Netflix. The hard work from season 1 paid off and we're excited that the brand is investing further in the growth of our local production team."
ALSO READ: REVIEW. The flawed Queen Sono's first season on Netflix is an unremarkable, uneven and missable spy trope-filled tale.
