Zuku network launches TV series with a mix of music and drama

A gripping mix of music and drama has been merged in a new show that is directed for the stage and shot for television. Groove Theory, which premiered on TV last week, has been launched at time when broadcasters are striving to meet the requirement to dedicate 60 per cent of their airtime to local content.

It has taken eight years since the idea for the programme was first conceived by musician Kanji Mbugua as an entry into television for his company Kijiji Entertainment, that until now has been involved in music production and event management.

The concept was sold to satellite network Zuku TV who commissioned the production. Auditions for the cast took place at the Kenya National Theatre in October last year. Because of the musical element of the programme, this was a search not just for acting skills, but also singing and dancing ability.

A final team of 40 cast members and crew began filming the 12 episodes of the first season of the show in August this year. The story revolves around five talented students at the fictitious Star Kenya University, one of the finest education institutions in the country.

Zamm Mwenesi, the lead character played by Kevin Maina is a member of the prestigious university choir that has been in existence for several years and is well-known for performances at national day functions.

He has grown up in the 1990s in Eastlands, Nairobi, under the watchful eye of a father who is a classically-trained musician and a mother who works for the government. Both parents are deeply religious.

Zamm is in the university choir along with his easy-going friend Guy (Pascal Tokodi) and his girlfriend Bisquit played by singer Patricia Kihoro. They run into trouble after upstaging the choir during an annual benefit concert at the campus and both Zamm and Guy are kicked out of the group by the choirmaster, the no-nonsense Professor Eliud Bori (Peter King).

His father enrolls Zamm at the Conservatoire of Music but he drops out to discover what he believes is a unique soulful, musician in him. The two singers vow to set up their own band to rival the choir but they have to contend with several obstacles in their path.

An uncompromising choir master, an inability to get themselves instruments, a nosy younger sister, pressure from conservative parents and a hot-headed Dean of Arts, played by Julisa Rowe, a former Drama teacher at Daystar University. All these conspire to make Zamm’s musical ambition nearly impossible.

When he eventually teams up with a shy but talented computer whizz kid called Ladama, the band gets a taste of the future, but his relationship with his parents and his girlfriend are severely strained as a result.

Singer

On the other hand, Kihoro’s character, Bisquit, is an excellent singer, soldiering though her college years while dreaming of making it big. Despite her chaotic lifestyle, she lands some solo shows outside of campus.

The plot of the story therefore comes down to several questions: can Zamm attain his long sought-after dream to make his own music and not that which the choir or his parents prescribe? Can he and the small group survive in the music business on nothing but their talent?

Will he maintain a relationship with his girlfriend? If the premiere of Groove Theory is anything to go by, then viewers are in for a solid performance by a cast, which combines both experience and fresh screen talent.

Singer and actress, Patricia Kihoro, who is remembered for her role in Tusker Project Fame, Season Three, where she made it to the finals, is perhaps the best-known face in the cast.

Kihoro, whose acting career began in 2004 in a production at the Kenya National Theatre, has played a few roles on TV and film, including on the MNET production Changes and appeared in music videos for fellow singers like Muthoni Drummer Queen, Just A Band and Sauti Sol.

Last year, she found her way back to musical theatre after she was picked for a role in a production called Out of Africa: A Safari Through Magical Kenya, which toured several European cities for three months.

“With Groove Theory, we hope to contribute to the increase of local content on TV and at the same time provide viewers with entertainment that speaks to them in a way they can relate to,” says Mwendwa Mbugua, Head of Production at Kijiji Entertainment.

The show is directed by Amira Tajdin, a 26-year-old screenwriter director and photographer whose screen credits include short films, like His to Keep, Fluorescent Sin, Walls of Leila and Downtown Tribes.

After this first season, Mwendwa says they are optimistic that there will be production of a second season in the new year.