Mama K’s Team 4: The first African animated series that succeeded on Netflix

Supa Team 4 also known as Mama K’s Team 4, is the first animated African series that captured global audience on Netflix platform with its huge cultural impact. This groundbreaking series has become a phenomenal success, propelling the African continent into a domain previously dominated by Asia and the US.

Originally announced in 2019, Mama K’s Team 4 was hailed as Netflix’s first original African animated series, co-produced by South Africa’s Triggerfish Animation Studios and UK’s CAKE Entertainment.

Created by the Zambian writer Malenga Mulendema, it emerged from a prestigious winner in the Triggerfish Story Lab, a panAfrican talent search. A continentwide search was launched for female African writers to contribute to the show’s creative team.

The African animated series and why it matters

Mama K is set in a futuristic Lusaka, in Zambia, and features four teenage girls recruited by a retired secret agent—Mama K—to form a young and motivated superhero team. With the message “anyone, anywhere can be a superhero”, the series has a huge cultural impact, including African talents in the new equation, and letting children around the world to know another perspective. It’s celebrated as a superhero action-comedy featuring diverse and relatable characters: inventive Komana, peacekeeper Monde, highenergy Temwe, and athletic Zee—each with unique gadgets and personalities.

For many young African viewers, it offered powerful representation— “four strong African girls saving the day in their own fun and crazy way”, fighting the villains in their city.

Netflix emphasized the show’s global and cultural value, saying it gives African storytellers a platform and offers children aspirational characters they can relate to.

The series officially premiered on Netflix in 2022, under the name Supa Team 4, with Season 1 launching in July and Season 2 in December.

The format and creativity have captured both African and global audiences, continuing Netflix’s efforts to diversify children’s programming.

Characters in colorful, futuristic outfits joyfully embrace an elder, highlighting themes of family and unity.

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The artist behind Supa Team 4

The visuals were crafted by Cape Town based Cameroonian born artist Malcolm Wope, drawing inspiration from 1990s R&B and hiphop girl groups. His unique design approach was instrumental in creating a vibrant, culturally rooted world for the show—visually setting Mama K’s Team 4 apart with its Afrocentric style and youthful energy.

Malcolm Wope is a talented illustrator, animator, and concept artist based in South Africa. He currently serves as the lead artist for Netflix’s animated series Mama K’s Team 4 and is also the creator of the animated project Kung Fu Is Dead.

Wope has an impressive animation background working across major studios, including DreamWorks, Studio MIR, MAPPA, Netflix, Blur Studios, and more. He contributed key animation and character design to projects like Attack on Titan, Star Wars Visions 2, Seal Team, and The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf .

He also directed Mkhuzi – The Spirit Racer, a standout short in Disney+’s Kizazi Moto anthology. This work further showcases his dynamic animation style and Afrofuturistic sensibility.

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Article by: Annamaria Ronca