Inside the writer's war room

Shaka iLembe returns with cinematic ambition, cultural depth and storytelling that honours memory as much as history

- Kulani Nkuna

When Shaka iLembe premiered, it announced itself as more than a historical drama.

From the beginning, the creative team approached it as an epic with long-range intent, a cinematic treatment of precolonial Southern African history rarely seen on local television.

“We pitched it as three seasons from the start,” says series executive producer and director Angus Gibson.

“Season one would be Nandi’s story and Dingiswayo's, with Shaka growing up during that. Season two is about him becoming king and emperor, with campaigns against the Ndwandwe. Season three, he’s at the height of his power, then comes the internal conflict and his eventual demise.”

This level of planning is typical of The Bomb Shelter, the production company behind the series. It is in their DNA to research rigorously, an approach that has shaped their previous work on Yizo Yizo, Isibaya, Zone 14 and Ayeye. These stories hold because they do not leave the writers’ room until they get it right. They are not afraid of rewrites either.

Because of his experience with Yizo Yizo, Gibson was not fazed by the transition from one season to the next. In Yizo Yizo, nobody expected the character Papa Action to have such a strong effect on South Africans. Many real-life school bullies patterned themselves after Ronnie Nyakale’s portrayal, which affected how the second season of the show and that particular storyline was crafted. With Shaka iLembe, Gibson is more relaxed.

“With season one, the impact was great because people were seeing something they had never seen before. Now they have seen it, so there will be a bit of a difference. But this never changes our approach from season to season.”