Tomorrow will mark the 3500th episode milestone for Tinsel, Africa's longest-running and most popular drama series, with the release of a documentary titled "Through The Decades: A Tinsel Story." Following the documentary on December 22, 2022, the landmark episode will run on Africa Magic Showcase (DStv channel 151) and Family (DStv ch. 154 and GOtv ch. 2).
The programme debuted at first in 2008. Its exciting plot, which explores themes of love, influence, and controversy against the backdrop of the Nigerian film business, has been rewritten by the makers multiple times. The documentary "Through The Decades: A Tinsel Story" chronicles all the alterations, additions, and losses the television programme has gone through throughout its fourteen years on broadcast.
The documentary is a special offering that examines Tinsel's journey via the viewpoints of its creators, supporters, actors, and crew as it marks its 3500th episode and 15th season. The show's current and former cast members, current and former MNET/Africa Magic Stakeholders, the original Tinsel content creator and pioneer producers, and important industry figures like Joke Silva, Tade Ogidan, Tunde Kelani, RMD, and others will all be included.
Tinsel is not only the longest-running show on television. It still ranks during its time slot and recently won an award at the 2023 Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards. The show is also the first series to embark on a multi-cam studio shoot in Nigeria. One of its most respected and oldest cast members, Taiwo Ajai-Lycett, also won the 2022 AMVCAs “Industry Merit” award.
Over the years, Tinsel has served as a major launchpad for many of Africa’s best-known faces on television, including Gideon Okeke, Osas Ighodaro, Damilola Adegbite, Chris Attoh, Timini Egbuson, Joseph Benjamin, Blossom Chukwujekwu, Femi Jacobs, and many others. Interestingly the show has also imitated life and created many cast love stories between stars. Couples like The Suleimans (Linda Ejiofor and Ibrahim Suleiman) and The Ukechukwus (Iyke Ukechukwu and Florence Uwaleke) have emerged from the show. Tinsel still features many established Nollywood actors like Iretiola Doyle, Funlola Aofiyebi-Raimi, Yul Edochie, Taiwo Ajai-Lycett, Abayomi Alvin, and many more.
Speaking about the show hitting its 3500th episode, Executive Head of Content and West Africa Channels, MultiChoice, Dr Busola Tejumola, shared, “This show has maintained its status as one of Africa’s most successful drama series for over 13 years. This is not a small feat, and I believe our audience continues to tune in to watch the series every weekday because it shows you real life, real people, and everyday circumstances. It feels like people are generally living their lives on TV. We are indeed happy to hit the 3500th episode mark of this stellar series. At MultiChoice, we hope to continue growing and promoting local content and talents and expanding the boundaries of African film and television production as we have done all these years with Tinsel.”
The documentary, ‘Through The Decades: A Tinsel Story’, will air on Thursday, December 22, 2022, at 5 pm WAT on Africa Magic Showcase and Urban; and at 6 pm WAT on Africa Magic Family. The 3500th episode will also air later on the same day at the usual time slot from 7:30 pm on Africa Magic Showcase (DStv ch. 151) and Family (DStv ch. 154 and GOtv ch. 2).