The new africa

Video: ‘Ghanaian Sex and the City’ takes Africa by storm

Photo: Cropped from France 24 video.


Dubbed "Africa's version of Sex in the City", online show "An African City" became a YouTube sensation when it debuted back in 2014. Now about to air its second season, FRANCE 24 went to meet the stars and creators of a show taking Africa by storm.

Fans love it for the fashion, the fun and its fresh perspective on African life – and the show’s first season racked up more than two million views online.

“There is a certain group of Ghanaian women who are now seeing themselves reflected on TV: Young, modern, working,” says Maame Adjei, who plays Zainab, one of the five main characters.

“If you hear any stories coming out of Africa it’s about poverty. But now viewers are seeing young, dynamic women on TV, I think that’s been the biggest thing.”

The show’s main characters are all young, single, successful and independent women of African descent who have returned to the continent after living abroad.

Bringing women together 

Creator and writer Nicole Amatafio believes that their multicultural backgrounds are what appeals to many of the show’s fans.

“My favourite comment on Youtube was a woman who wrote: ‘I’m Puerto Rican, born in New York but live in Italy, and what do I have in common with all these women? Everything!’” she says.

But the programme hasn’t been without its critics. Scenes of single women having sex has shocked some in conservative, Christian Ghana.

But the show’s writers want to provoke that debate.

“It is so crucial for us to create space to have honest conversations about sex in a society and culture like Ghana where women are really shamed and judged for even having a sexuality,” says Esther Yarmah, a script supervisor on “An African City”.

The show’s second season promises more of the same: glamour, sex and soul-searching ... all done in killer heels.

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