Local drama goes regional

By Shamiso Yikoniko
AWARD-WINNING drama series Legacies, which continues to score first in the region, is growing bigger and better as its first and second seasons are now a permanent feature in more than 10 African countries on M-net’s Africa Magic channel.
Legacies is one of the few Zimbabwean productions to have been screened across the continent. As if that is not enough, the production’s marketing and publicity manager, Manuel Matsinye, has struck a deal with the Zambian National Broadcasting Corporation and Tanzania’s new television channel, CTN, to broadcast the first season of Legacies.
“CTN is Tanzania’s new television channel that the country has launched. We have since signed a contract to have Legacies broadcast on this new channel,” said Matsinye.
Legacies was created by the late Kaleb Maramba who must be smiling in his grave as his project continues to rise in leaps and bounds, crossing the borders just like he had planned.
Matsinye, who has replaced Maramba as the writer and director of the series, has managed to carry on Maramba’s legacy. 
Matsinye said that Legacies has been well-received in Zambia that its momentum has prompted some of the famous Zambian actors from the Kabanana soap to become part of the cast.
“We feel honoured by the appreciation of Legacies and it is an inspiring thing on our part as the production team.
“For the Zambian actors who have asked to become part of the cast, we will accommodate them to make the scenes of the soap more appealing to that audience,” he said.
Matsinye says the final touches to the third season of Legacies are almost complete and it will begin showing on local television station ZBC-TV in November.
However, Matsinye had earlier announced that the third season would be aired by the beginning of September.
“There are a few revisions that we need to make. We need to improve on the quality, make the soap more refreshing and put in a lot of suspense,” he said.
In December last year, Megacom Trading, the company which Maramba and Matsinye co-founded, struck a deal with Zimbabwe Music Corporation (ZMC) which will see the drama being produced on DVD in the near future.
According to Matsinye, the DVD programme is currently lying idle and will only come to life after they have completed shooting season three.