The first season of ''
Gidi Up
''Gidi Up'' is a Nigerian television and web drama series starring OC Ukeje, Deyemi Okanlawon, Somkele Iyamah, and Titilope Sonuga in lead roles. The series was created by Jadesola Osiberu and executively produced by Lola Odedina. It is pro ...
'' was originally broadcast on ndani.tv in 2013; the first episode aired on 20 February 2013 and the concluding episode on 16 April 2013. The season is directed by Jadesola Osiberu and it consists of eight episodes, each with a length of not more than ten minutes. The season shows "how Tokunbo, Eki, Yvonne and Obi deal with love, sex and making a living in one of Africa's biggest cities". The
second season of the series however has a length of thirty minutes per episode and was broadcast on television; all the episodes of season 1 was combined as a 52-minute pilot episode for the second season on television.
Plot summary
Obi (Karibi Fubara) is a budding radio presenter. He is offered a huge television contract and as a result, he borrows a loan from a thug to acquire an apartment on the
Island
An island or isle is a piece of subcontinental land completely surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island in a river or a lake island may be ...
with a friend, Tokunbo (
Deyemi Okanlawon
Deyemi Okanlawon is a Nigerian film, television, theatre and voice actor. He is best known for his roles in '' Omo Ghetto: The Saga'', ''Blood Sisters'' and '' King of Boys: The Return of the King''. He has been listed as the highest grossing N ...
) and to buy a car, amongst other things, hoping that when he gets his pay for the television project, he'd pay back the loan in no time. However, things doesn't go as planned when he is shown the documents, as his pay for the first season of the show is very low and not enough to do anything. The time of payment gets due and Obi ends up being constantly issued threats from his creditor.
Yvonne (
Somkele Iyamah
Somkele Iyamah-Idhalama (born 23 March 1988) is a Nigerian TV and film actress and model. She is well known for her roles in ''93 Days'' (2016), '' The Wedding Party'', ''The Arbitration'' (2016), and the TV series ''Gidi Up'' (2013–2014) and a ...
) is an upcoming fashion designer who is very determined to get what she wants. She starts up a fashion brand; "Vone" with the help of an
aristo
Aristo (from el, ) may refer to:
People Given name
* Aristo of Ceos (3rd century BC), Peripatetic philosopher
* Aristo of Chios (3rd century BC), Stoic philosopher and colleague of Zeno of Citium
* Aristo of Alexandria (1st century BC), Perip ...
; Chief Jagun (Bimbo Manuel) who is very possessive. Things eventually turns sour as Yvonne ends her relationship with the chief, which makes Chief's personal assistant; Folarin (Daniel Effiong) to lose his job. Folarin attacks Yvonne as a revenge and is captured by the Police.
Tokunbo (Adeyemi Okanlawon) is having problems with his father regarding his career interest and he eventually leaves home to live together with Obi. Eki (
Oreka Godis) also leaves her home because her parents do not support her dreams to pursue a career in Photography, a dream she's passionate about. She meets Tokunbo and they both fall in love.
Cast and characters
Main characters
*Oreka Gordis as Eki (8 episodes)
*Karibi Fubara as Obi (7 episodes)
*
Deyemi Okanlawon
Deyemi Okanlawon is a Nigerian film, television, theatre and voice actor. He is best known for his roles in '' Omo Ghetto: The Saga'', ''Blood Sisters'' and '' King of Boys: The Return of the King''. He has been listed as the highest grossing N ...
as Tokunbo Adepoju (7 episodes)
*
Somkele Iyamah
Somkele Iyamah-Idhalama (born 23 March 1988) is a Nigerian TV and film actress and model. She is well known for her roles in ''93 Days'' (2016), '' The Wedding Party'', ''The Arbitration'' (2016), and the TV series ''Gidi Up'' (2013–2014) and a ...
as Yvonne (6 episodes)
Supporting characters
*Daniel Effiong as Folarin (4 episodes)
*KC Ejelonu as Sharon Olaitan Jagun (4 episodes)
*Makida Moka as Monye (3 episodes)
*
Udoka Oyeka as Creditor (2 episodes)
*Sean Amadi as Derrick (2 episodes)
*Abiodun Kassim as Charles (1 episode)
*Seun Ajayi (1 episode)
Guest stars
*
Maria Okanrende
Maria Okanrende is a Nigerian television and radio personality.
She co-hosts ''The Morning Rush'' on The Beat 99.9 FM. She previously hosted at Dropout UK, Hayes FM and worked as a production assistant at Global Radio.
Early life and education ...
as Maria (2 episodes)
*Najite Dede as Ade (2 episodes)
*
Segun Arinze
Segun Arinze (born Segun Padonou Aina in 1965) is a Nigerian actor and singer.
Early life and education
He is the eldest of seven children born to Lydia Padonu. He is descent of Badagry, Lagos State. He attended Victory College of Commerce in I ...
as Lanre (2 episodes)
*
Bimbo Manuel
Bimbo Manuel (born 30 October 1958) is a Nigerian actor. He was nominated for Best actor in a supporting role at the 2013 Nollywood Movies Awards.
Career
Bimbo hails from Lagos State. After graduating from the University of Port Harcourt wit ...
as Chief Jagun (1 episode)
*
Burna Boy
Damini Ebunoluwa Ogulu (born 2 July 1991), known professionally as Burna Boy, is a Nigerian singer, songwriter and record producer. He rose to stardom in 2012 after releasing "Like to Party", the lead single from his debut studio album, ''L.I. ...
as Burna Boy (1 episode)
*
Temi Dollface
Temi DollFace (born August 2) is a Nigerian electro-pop-soul singer, who grew up in England. Her music is described as "a brand of music that is jazzy, energetic and theatrical". She is best known for her 2013 single "Pata Pata", which received fou ...
as Temi Dollface (1 episode)
*
Lynxxx
Chukie Edozien (born November 24, 1983), better known by his stage name Lynxxx, is a Nigerian hip-hop recording artist and entrepreneur. In 2010 he released his debut studio album ''This is Lynxxx'' and went on to become the first Nigerian art ...
as Lynxxx (1 episode)
Music and soundtracks
The series features independently produced songs.
Track listing
Promotions
The trailer for season 1 was released on 7 February 2013. Along with the trailer, character posters were also released to the public, describing the role of each cast member.
Reception
The first season of ''Gidi Up'' was generally met with mixed reception. It was praised for its beautiful cinematography and high production values, but criticized for its shallow storyline and the poor performance from the actors. Maryam Kazeem of
OkayAfrica
OkayAfrica (stylized as okayafrica) is a digital media platform dedicated to African culture, music and politics. Founded in 2011 by Vanessa Wruble and Ginny Suss as a sister site to The Roots frontman Questlove's Okayplayer, the site has bec ...
comments: "The production quality of this show is amazing. The cinematography depicts a visually beautiful Lagos, which we don't see enough...We love that the series highlights young Nigerians pursuing careers that aren't the typical professions. Rather we get to watch young creatives pursuing their unconventional and artistic careers and it definitely adds an extra layer to the show".
Episodes
See also
*
Gidi Up (season 2)
References
External links
*
*{{YouTube, X14CbdAnvKc, ''Gidi Up'' (season 1) trailer
2013 Nigerian television seasons
Gidi Up