Mona Scott-Young shifting gears from reality television to scripted drama. The owner of Monami Entertainment and Monami Productions tells Deadline that her company has several projects in development. One of which is a remake of classic South African drama Shaka Zulu.

Monami has teamed with South African production company New Vision for the remake of the Shaka Zulu series.

“That is a brilliant classic and when you think about thematically what it represents, there are parallels with what we are experiencing now. It’s strategic rebellion, right? Understanding that now is the time for people to take a stand about the things that are wrong, to not allow themselves to be victimized, that was what Shaka’s legacy was about. He was a masterful and strategic general,” Scott-Young says.

Luckily for reality show lovers, the Love & Hip Hop franchise will remain. Criticism of Scott-Young has persisted for years, with many believing her reality shows push negative stereotypes and exploit its Black castmembers. There’s some skepticism regarding whether or not Scott-Young can handle a drama series, but not afraid of what’s to come and tells Deadline she’s proud of what she’s accomplished with Love & Hip Hop.

“I kind of embrace the challenge and see it as a new frontier to be conquered,” she said. “The beauty of it is each city has managed to establish its own fan base and has its own place in the zeitgeist and with the fans, and, of course, my hope is that all four cities come back, there has been nothing to indicate otherwise. They all have fared really well for the network in terms of ratings and they’ve been the cornerstone of the programming there so I don’t see that changing.”

 

Photo: Getty