Sunday Tribune

The impact of ‘Jacob’s Cross’ on TV in Africa, 15 years on

SHINGAI DARANGWA shingai.darangwa@inl.co.za

THE relationship between South Africa and Nigeria, the continent’s two superpowers, has been fraught with contention and hostility for as long as I can remember. Whether vying for sporting dominance, economic prowess or cultural impact, the two nations are bitter rivals that always seem to be pulling at opposite ends of a tug of war.

When South African production company Bomb Productions introduced Jacob’s Cross in 2007, a drama series that revolved around South African-born businessman Jacob Makhubu Abayomi (played by Hlomla Dandala), the son of an ANC stalwart who finds that his biological father is a Nigerian tribal chief, one might have expected the series to be a playground for this rivalry to fester.

Instead, what we saw over five seasons was a landmark moment that paved the way for the emergence of African talent. It’s a series that’ll be fondly remembered as the continent’s first major pan-african production.

Angus Gibson, a director and producer at Bomb Productions, played a crucial role in bringing it all together. Not only was he part of the original conception of the series (the brother of a good friend of his had been doing oil business across the continent and Gibson felt his anecdotes were the stuff of good drama), but he also executive produced the show alongside Desireé Markgraaf and Teboho Mahlatsi.

“I am very happy that we made the series,” he said about the show’s lasting impact. “It broke new ground in terms of pan-african content at the time and it also presented a glossy high end view of Africa which, back then, felt absent from television. Its success with audiences across Africa was very gratifying for us.”

Markgraaf, who helmed the production and is the managing director of Bomb Productions, shared similar sentiments: “It was a seminal series at the time. It was also the first pan-african series that showed African success, but was not shy to have fun, big sexy love stories, sweeping epic family battles, and play with big drama tropes. From the greedy bitter son who wants revenge, to the sins of our fathers and so on. We wanted to entertain while we also subtly shining the light. We wanted Africans across the world to see the show and feel proud and say: ‘Hey, that’s where I come from!’”

Hlomla Dandala, who played the role of Jacob, spoke about how he felt Jacob’s Cross played a critical role in

bridging the gap between South Africa and Nigeria and in showing the world what Africa was capable of.

“It was absolutely critical to show that Africans can work together and produce content that stands amongst the best in the world. The world did not know that Africa could do that. Africans did not know that we could do that. At the very least, I hope African actors realise that we are part of a pan-african community and a global community. It is important to capture local nuances. Let them enrich your craft, but one can’t afford to pander to local audiences exclusively.”

For Gibson, South Africa’s often hostile relationship, not just with Nigerians but other Africans, has always been a concern and something he and Bomb collectively have never shied away from in their storytelling.

A few of the productions they’ve worked on have made a point of trying to shine a light on this and encourage unity among Africans.

Yizo Yizo 3 dealt with xenophobia, and in fact ended with a marriage between a Nigerian and a South African. “I am usually involved in casting at Bomb and we have always insisted on using Nigerians to play the roles of our Nigerian characters.”

Markgraaf said she has always felt that African film-makers should be seeking more collaborations between one another. She also acknowledged that it continued to be challenging.

“The financial support to making TV is significant, and there were not many avenues back then. M-net opened a lot of those doors when they started building local content in Nigeria and Kenya. Now things are different with all the streamers – many more possibilities. Although we need to be mindful to ensure we tell our stories and not the streamers version of our stories.

“On Jacob’s Cross, I loved working with the teams in Nigeria, Kenya and Angola. Film-makers have a common language: story. I also was so touched and grateful for the love that Jacob’s Cross received across the continent.”

Jacob’s Cross is streaming on

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2022-05-22T07:00:00.0000000Z

2022-05-22T07:00:00.0000000Z

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