British actor Idris Elba is set to star and produce a new television series set in the Republic of Congo. According to the Hollywood reporter, the show, which is called “Brazza,” is a Narcos-like drama set in the criminal underworld of Brazzaville, the capital of Congo. The one-hour TV series will be jointly produced as a collaboration between Elba’s Green Door Productions, Tandem Productions, and Havas Media’s Save Ferris Entertainment.
The series builds its plot around a Congolese man living in Paris who is forced to hastily return home to Brazzaville after his father dies under suspicious circumstances. Once there, he gets drawn into a bloody family feud that threatens the country’s uneasy truce.
Producers say “Brazza” will be a high-tempo drama series that explores the culture, politics, and people of Congolese society. In a press release, Elba said he was looking forward to introducing the world to a new experience on TV.
“I am so proud to be working on this African-set drama and to introduce a global audience to a world and culture that resonates so vibrantly with me,” he added.
The series, which has the potential to be a hit, boasts a cast of seasoned Hollywood professionals, including Paul Viragh, the writer of “Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll,” as well as Studiocanal’s Rola Bauer who is in charge of executive production.
Hollywood’s Leading Man
The 44-year-old Elba was born in London, England to a Sierra Leonean father and Ghanaian mother. As a child, he grew up in East Ham, where he got involved with acting while in school at Canning Town. He got his first big break on the series Bramwell and from there he went on to make many more appearances on both the small and big screen. The actor is perhaps best known in the United Kingdom for his starring role in Luther, a British crime drama series in which he plays a troubled detective.
Elba won a special place in the heart of movie goers on the African continent for his stirring role as Captain Augustine Muganza in the HBO movie “Sometimes in April,” about the 1994 Rwandan genocide. Earlier this year, he delivered another stellar performance in the Netflix movie, Beast of No Nation.
Elba is a winner of several awards including the BET Award for best actor, in addition to an NAACP Image Award and Golden Globe Award for best actor in a mini-series.
In addition to acting, Elba is also a musician and an established DJ, performing in clubhouses under the nickname DJ Big Driis.
