‘Everything happens for a reason’ – Pearl Thusi on ‘Queen Sono’ cancellation
The first-ever Netflix African original production to hit screens globally had received lukewarm reviews internationally, with Hollywood Reporter describing Thusi's performance as 'inconsistent'.
Pearl Thusi as ‘Queen Sono’. Picture: Netflix
Netflix’s Queen Sono, starring Pearl Thusi, will not be renewed for a second season.
The series is premised on a highly trained South African spy who takes on her most dangerous mission yet while facing changing relationships in her personal life.
In a statement issued to The Citizen, the star of Queen Sono said: “It’s so incredible that we as a team got a lifetime opportunity to make history together as there will never be another ‘first’ African Netflix original series. I’m proud of the work we did, but everything happens for a reason. I am excited about what the future holds.”
Queen Sono, the first-ever Netflix African original production to hit screens globally, received lukewarm reviews internationally, such as Hollywood Reporter which described Thusi’s performance as “inconsistent”.
Ratings on IMDb ranked the show as 5.9/10 while it received a 68% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.
When asked about the show’s ratings, the streaming service said it would not be commenting on the matter but confirmed that season two of the show would not go ahead as originally planned.
“We’ve made the difficult decision not to move forward with season 2 of Queen Sono. We are incredibly proud of the Diprente [Films] team for sharing their audacious vision and bringing it to life with Netlflix.
“A huge thank you to our fans across the world for the love shared for our first African original series. Netflix is also grateful to the amazing efforts shown by the cast and crew for their stellar efforts in creating this show for our members around the world. We’ll continue to work closely with South Africa’s creative industry to keep producing more compelling ‘made-in-South Africa’ stories.”
The show, which was created by comedian and director Kagiso Lediga, has been cancelled due to filming difficulties as confirmed by the streaming service.
On Wednesday, the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies revealed plans that would direct streaming services to showcase 30% local content, which Netflix also chose not to comment on.
The streaming platform did, however, confirm that the wildly popular Blood and Water would go ahead as planned with season 2.
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