First Look To BET’s Nelson Mandela Miniseries ‘Madiba’ Starring Laurence FishburnePosted by Wilson Morales
December 9, 2016
BET has released a first look at Laurence Fishburne starring as Nelson Mandela in “Madiba,” a six-hour miniseries to air on BET Networks and executive produced the late South African hero’s grandson Kweku Mandela.
The three-part saga will air February 1,8 and 15, 2017, as part of BET’s Black History Month programming.
Based on two Mandela books, “Conversations With Myself” and “Nelson Mandela by Himself,” the miniseries was directed by Kevin Hooks.
Named after Madiba, the Thembu clan to which Nelson Mandela belonged, the project tells the story of a younger Nelson Mandela during the early-60s as he deals with the political unrest engulfing South Africa.
Madiba was produced and financed by Toronto-based Blue Ice Pictures and also produced by UK-based Left Bank Pictures and South Africa’s Out of Africa Entertainment in association with Fishburne’s Cinema Gypsy Productions. Blue Ice Pictures president Lance Samuels executive produces alongside Kweku Mandela of Out of Africa and Daniel Iron, Neil Tabatznik, Steven Silver, Andy Harries, Marigo Kehoe and Loretha Jones.
“Nelson Mandela’s journey of political activism and leadership is deeply inspirational and we are proud to have the talented and award-winning actor Laurence Fishburne join Madiba to tell this triumphant story” said Stephen Hill, President of Programming, BET Networks.
Other actors who have played Mandela on television and film include Morgan Freeman, Sidney Poitier, Idris Elba, Dennis Haysbert, Terrence Howard and Danny Glover.
