Shaka Ilembe: the breathtaking CANAL+ series on the Zulu warrior king

New CANAL+Original series, Shaka Ilembe is the largest epic series ever made around Shaka Zulu, the mythical and powerful Zulu king of the 18th century. From his childhood to his rise to his fall, Shaka Ilembe retraces in 12 52-minute episodes a great African destiny to be discovered from July 1 on CANAL+Première.

With the series Shaka Ilembe CANAL+ Original takes on one of the most emblematic figures in African history: King Shaka, who succeeded in building an empire by uniting more than 100 chiefdoms into a Zulu kingdom. However, we should not expect exclusively a series of clan wars ending in bloodshed. On the contrary, from the first episode we are captivated by the budding love story between the Princess Nandidaughter of Mbengi, and We are there, son of King Jama of the Zulus, the parents of Shaka. Thanks to the brilliant interpretation of the actors, the natural settings magnified by the direction of photography and the richness of the costumes, we are catapulted to the 18th century, in South Africa, and we want to stay there.

The series required 6 years of work and a large behind-the-scenes team of historians, intellectuals, traditional leaders, guardians of oral history, royal advisors and the descendants of Shaka’s family to ensure that the work is as close as possible to historical reality. The result is astonishingly true and the reconstructions of the villages, rituals and dances are very successful. The dialogues in Zulu are subtitled in the original version.

Shaka Ilembe, exclusively on CANAL+ Première, every Monday from July 1 at 8:30 p.m., two new episodes per evening.