- Title: 'Iyanu' television show immerses audiences in Nigerian mythology
- Date: 3rd April 2025
- Summary: UNKNOWN LOCATION (MARCH 28, 2025) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) VOICE OF TOYE, SAM KUGBIYI, SAYING: (ON THE VOICE OF HIS CHARACTER) “You know, Toye, his character wants to just be an intellect and he wants to be an engineer and his father wants him to be a warrior and that's where the conflict comes in. And I drew a lot from that and I could really use that, and honestly
- Embargoed:
- Keywords: africa cartoon cartoon network children graphic novel hbo max iyanu
- Location: UNKNOWN LOCATIONS
- City: UNKNOWN LOCATIONS
- Country: US
- Topics: Arts/Culture/Entertainment,North America,Television
- Reuters ID: LVA006373602042025RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Before Nigerian filmmaker Roye Okupe’s daughter was born, he decided that he wanted to create a character that would be a positive role-model for her and people all over the world with first the graphic novel and then the animated television series, “Iyanu: Child of Wonder.”
“Iyanu is a love letter to my daughter, who is 4 years old now,” Okupe told Reuters.
“Before she was born, I had the thought in my head that if I eventually had a baby girl, ‘What is a show that I would want to watch on TV, that she could both be entertained by, but at the same time, inspired by her heritage and her culture?’ And that was one of the things that pushed me to create this,” he added.
“Iyanu,” an original show by the Black-owned studio called Lion Forge Animation, will arrive on Cartoon Network on April 5, followed by Max on April 6 with an all-Nigerian voice cast.
“Iyanu,” is a children’s superhero-action animated series based on Okupe and artist Godwin Akpan’s graphic novel of the same name that takes place in a world inspired by the Yoruba tribe in Nigeria, Africa.
The show introduces Iyanu, a teenage orphan girl who discovers that she has special powers that will eventually enable her to defeat the evil forces in her homeland.
For Lion Forge CEO and founder Dave Steward II, the series based on Nigerian mythology is a sign that African content is becoming more popular in global streaming.
“This is kind of one of the first times you're seeing content coming out with African mythology,” Steward II said.
He added that it’s common for shows and movies to be based on Roman, Norse, and Greek mythologies, while seeing this level of African “cultural specificity” is uncommon.
“We've had Black representation in different ways, in entertainment, in cartoons as well,” Sam Kugbiyi, who voices the character Toye, said.
“But to have it so specific, it's amazing. It's a beautiful thing to see. This is historic, in my opinion,” he added.
(Production: Alicia Powell, Danielle Broadway) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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