Jada Pinkett Smith will delve into the rich stories of prominent African women rulers in the upcoming Netflix docuseries African Queens: Njinga.
On Tuesday, the streamer dropped the first trailer for Season 1, which will focus on Njinga, the “complex, captivating, and fearless 17th-century warrior queen of Ndongo and Matamba, in modern day Angola,” per the official description. As the nation’s first female ruler, she “earned a reputation for her blend of political and diplomatic skill with military prowess and became an icon of resistance.”
The freshman season — comprised of four episodes — arrives on Wednesday, Feb. 15.
“There are so many stories to be told in regard to the Black experience globally,” Smith said in a statement. “I think that it’s important to tell the stories now because we can and haven’t always been able to. Even though there’s a lot more work to do, we’re at a place now where we have the ability and the opportunity to tell stories that have been forgotten as well as the stories that are part of our everyday lives, and what a gift that is. It’s a testament to standing on the shoulders of all of those that came before us that didn’t have the opportunities that we have but were part of carving out the path for all of us to get to where we are today. African Queens is in honor of that.”
Smith will narrate the series and executive-produce alongside Miguel Melendez, Terence Carter and Sahara Bushue for Westbrook Studios, as well as Jane Root, Maxine Watson and Ben Goold for Nutopia.
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