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Honoring Black History Month, Netflix is all set to release African Queens: Njinga on February 15, 2023, at 3.00 am ET. The four-part documentary series, which will explore prominent warrior queens of Africa, will be narrated by Jada Pinkett Smith, who also serves as an executive producer of the show.
The synopsis for African Queens: Njinga states:
"From Executive Producer Jada Pinkett Smith comes a new documentary series exploring the lives of prominent and iconic African Queens. The first season will cover the life of Njinga, the complex, captivating, and fearless 17th-century warrior queen of Ndongo and Matamba, in modern-day Angola."
It further reads:
"The nation’s first female ruler, Njinga earned a reputation for her blend of political and diplomatic skill with military prowess and became an icon of resistance."
Jada Pinkett Smith to narrate four-part documentary series, African Queens: Njinga
In the upcoming Netflix documentary series, African Queens: Njinga, Jada Pinkett Smith will delve into the realm of prominent African warriors. The first season of the series, slated to debut on the streaming platform on February 15, will center around Queen Njinga.
African Queens will chronicle the story of the fierce warrior queen Njinga, who ruled over Ndongo and Matamba, located in Angola, in the 17th century. As the nation's first female ruler, Njinga gained a reputation for both her military might and political and diplomatic skills. The four-part series will delve into the extraordinary struggles of Queen Njinga.
In the trailer, Pinkett Smith can be heard narrating:
"Born into an era of darkness - a warrior, a queen, destined to lead. She fearlessly defended her kingdom against European power... slavery threatened to decimate a continent. Rising to become a beacon of light for her people."
In connection with African Queens: Njinga, Jada Pinkett Smith talks about representation
In an interview with The Citizen, Pinkett Smith elaborated on her journey with the show and shed light on how she wished to "stick to the historical facts."
She said:
"The difficulty with narrative is that sometimes you want to take creative license and stretch ideas a bit, where I really wanted to be able to stick to the historical facts of each woman. I just felt like that was important, specifically because these are stories that aren’t well known."
The 51-year-old added:
"There’s lots of historical literature around all the queens of England so, if you decide to stretch their stories in telling a narrative, the purity of their existence is at our fingertips. That’s not the case with Black African queens."
Smith spoke about wanting to "represent Black women" and how the audience doesn't often get to "see or hear stories about Black queens." She highlighted the importance of representation, especially for the "community to be able to know these stories."
Other executive producers alongside Smith include Miguel Melendez, Terence Carter, Jane Root, Maxine Watson, Ben Goold, and Sahara Bushue of Westbrook Studios. Nnene Iwuji and Seasons of Love’s Peres Owino serve as the writers for the series.
African Queens: Njinga premieres on Netflix this Wednesday, February 15, at 3.00 am ET.
