Shanty Town’s Showrunner Chi Chi Nworah Explains How The Series Got Its Name 

The popular television program had a different name at first.

By Omotayo Olutekunbi

Showrunner Chi Chi Nworah may now divulge some exclusive information as “Shanty Town” is presently available on Netflix and is one of the most popular TV programs in Nigeria.

She spoke about the process from the original idea to the end result during our exclusive chat with the co-creator and executive producer, but one aspect of the talk stuck out: the original title.

It turns out that “Shark Town” was the initial name of the popular television program, which took over six years to develop.

In her words, “…I started to think about it so I brought in a writer, Xavier Ighorodje. Then, he worked on the story with the team to flesh out the idea that I had. He put life into it then sent me the first draft. I tweaked it and changed the name. It was originally called ‘Shark Town.’ Xavier did amazing job with Donald Tombia.”

Ini Edo, a fellow executive producer, and the series lead actress, also offered some fascinating series-related information.

She claims that getting ready for her physically demanding sequences required extensive training in everything from boxing to stunts.

“We had hired two sets of martial art professionals, who did all kinds of trainings. Amazing people. For me, it was the believability for me. It was my high. I had found something that was that would take me out of my comfort zone. At first, I was scared. Then I got into it, I set my mind to it and I just did that. I didn’t want to have a lot of doubles. I did 90% of my stunts.”

The six-part television series, in which Ini stars as Inem, an undercover police officer who moonlights as a sex worker, tells the tale of three hustlers from Lagos who band up to fight the greatest and most vicious crime syndicate in the state.

Icons of Nigerian cinema like Richard Mofe-Damijo, Ini Edo, Nse Ikpe-Etim, Sola Sobowale, Shaffy Bello, Ali Nuhu, and Uche Jombo are all included in the cast.