Jacob's Cross is a

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was derived from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jo ...

television drama series In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular su ...

created by Catherine Stewart. It is an

M-Net M-Net (an abbreviation of Electronic Media Network) is a South African pay television channel established by Naspers in 1986. The channel broadcasts both local and international programming, including general entertainment, children's series, ...

original series produced by The Bomb Shelter for M-Net, and stars

Hlomla Dandala Hlomla Dandala (born 22 September 1974) is a South African actor, television presenter, and director. He is best known for his roles as Derek Nyathi in ''Isidingo'' (1998–2001), title character Jacob Makhubu in '' Jacob's Cross'' (since 200 ...

, Anthony Bishop,

Nandi Nyembe Nandi Nyembe (born 19 August 1950) is a South African actress known for her roles in the sports drama Zone 14, and Soul City. Early life Nyembe was born in Kliptown, Johannesburg, in August 1950. She also stayed in various places, like Botswana ...

, Fabian Adeoye Lojede,

Bankole Omotoso Bankole Ajibabi Omotoso (21 April 1943 – 19 July 2023), also known as Kole Omotoso, was a Nigerian writer and intellectual best known for his works of fiction and in South Africa as the "Yebo Gogo man" in adverts for the telecommunications co ...

, Jet Novuka,

Moky Makura Moky Makura (née Jumoke Akinsemoyin) is a Nigerian author, journalist, actress, and businesswoman who serves as executive director of Africa No Filter (ANF), an organization aiming at inducing changes in Africa by means of mass media. Life Maku ...

and Mmabatho Montsho.

Premise

The series revolves around South African born businessman Jacob Makhubu Abayomi (Hlomla Dandala), a son of an ANC stalwart who finds that his biological father is actually a Nigerian

tribal chief A tribal chief, chieftain, or headman is a leader of a tribe, tribal society or chiefdom. Tribal societies There is no definition for "tribe". The concept of tribe is a broadly applied concept, based on tribal concepts of societies of weste ...

. Jacob's subsequent desire to build an African oil and gas business empire in the shadow of both of his fathers is set against the backdrop of family feuds and betrayals.

Main cast

as Chief Jacob Makhubu Abayomi *Anthony Bishop as Mr. Prospero Brand * Mmabatho Montsho as Mrs. Lerato Makhubu *Nandi Nyembe as Mrs. Thembi Makhubu *Fabian Adeoye Lojede as Mr. Bola Abayomi *

as Chief Bankole Abayomi *Jet Novuka as Mr. Andile Makhubu *

as Chief Folake Abayomi, Mrs. Soludo

Broadcast

The series premiered on 25 January 2007. Premiere episodes for season 1 and 2 debuted on the defunct

M-Net Series M-Net Series is a defunct group of television channels broadcast by South African pay TV satellite network M-Net across Sub-Saharran Africa on DStv. Most of the programmes broadcast are repeats of episodes previously shown on M-Net. History ...

channel, making the first original series to premiere on the channel. Episodes were shown a day later on the main

channel until season 3, where M-Net showed premiere episodes. The series was moved to

Mzansi Magic Mzansi Magic is a South African digital satellite and general entertainment channel created by Multichoice and run by M-Net's local interest division, and is broadcast on DStv. History The channel launched in mid-July 2010 on channel 107 as ...

for season 4, then Africa Magic Entertainment from season 5 onwards.

International broadcast

The series made its free-to-air debut on SABC 2. The series was later added to streaming services

Showmax Showmax is a subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service that launched in South Africa on 19 August 2015. Its majority owner is MultiChoice, which owns 70% of the Showmax group, while American conglomerate NBCUniversal owns 3 ...

Prime Video Amazon Prime Video, known simply as Prime Video, is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming television service owned by Amazon. The service primarily distributes films and television series produced or co-produced by ...

and

Demand Africa The Africa Channel is a cable and streaming channel focusing on travel, lifestyle, and culture documentaries. The channel covers the lands, people, culture, and history of Africa. Co-founded by Zimbabwean James Makawa, who had prior experience in t ...

References

External links

Jacob's Cross
o
Demand Africa
Mass media portrayals of the upper class Nigerian drama television series 2000s Nigerian television series 2010s Nigerian television series M-Net original programming {{Drama-tv-prog-stub