Director Abdi Shuria on the inspiration for Showmax's Black & Blue

Abdi Shuria is no stranger to the comedy scene. The Academy of Art University in San Francisco alumnus is best known for directing Season 12 and 13 of the popular award-winning political satire TV series, The XYZ Show.

The Academy of Art University in San Francisco alumni is best known for his contributions on the popular award-winning political satire TV series, The XYZ Show, which he directed season 12 in 2017 and season 13 in 2019.

The Kalasha Award-winning director has also worked with several of Kenya's leading production companies, such as Protel Studios, MGM Studios, Mojo Productions, C-HUB, Translieu, and Live Eye TV. His work has earned widespread recognition, making him a highly sought-after filmmaker in narrative, commercial, and documentary genres.

Watch the trailer for Black & Blue

In addition, he has directed several other top Showmax titles, such as Igiza and Faithless. He has also been a cinematographer in productions such as Ayaanle, Baba Twins, and Nafsi, to mention a few.

Abdi is now back with the latest Showmax original, Black & Blue, which he co-directed with his frequent collaborator, King “Mushking” Muriuki. 

Black & Blue takes viewers into the world of the Kenyan Police through a fresh, humorous, and wholly unconventional lens. This happens when the Kenyan Police attempts to rebrand and appeal to the public by enlisting a civilian, portrayed by the Kalasha winner Gitura Kamau (Lusala), as the Officer Commanding Station (OCS) of a fictional police station that is implementing a pilot programme of police reforms. 

In an exclusive, Abdi Shuria delves into the production process and inspiration for the show.

What was the inspiration for the show? 

The inspiration stemmed from my personal experiences with our police. Definitely not the best. I have always thought that where there is tragedy, there is humour. For me, humour is very cathartic. So I asked myself, ‘How can I inject humour into this negative experience and entertain people?’ And that’s how the idea for Black & Blue was born.  

Mockumentary is a genre that has not been explored much in Kenya yet. Why did you take this approach? 

We have seen popular shows such as Modern Family, The Office, and Parks and Recreation perfect this storytelling approach. I always found this technique to blend itself really well to comedy, offering a great slice of life perspective. Given that the police world in this country is quite closed off and most Kenyans don’t have access to it, I thought this would be the best way to bring the audience into that world through a mockumentary format while being funny and quirky. 

Having worked on several Showmax productions before, how different was it working on this project? 

Shooting Black & Blue was a unique experience and something that I felt very comfortable doing. It was a blessing to work with a talented team of writers, directors, and actors. It was exciting going on set every day knowing that you are getting an opportunity to work and laugh. With comedy, if you are not laughing on set or enjoying it as you act it out, then, you know, something is not working. This kind of comedy style was quite tough to shoot compared to my previous projects like The XYZ Show, where the jokes and stunts were pre-recorded, compared to working with real actors. But it was a rewarding project in the long run. 

What was the production process for the show?

The series underwent a rigorous development process, with months of writing and pre-production before the cameras began rolling. The shooting process itself lasted approximately two and a half months, during which time the cast and crew worked tirelessly to bring the show to life.

One of my proudest moments from the shoot was when these talented actors went above and beyond what I had envisioned. This ended up bringing something so unique that, for me as a director or even the writers, we did not anticipate, which ended up making the story that much better. 

How was it working with your frequent collaborator, Mushking? 

It was exciting to bring my good colleague and friend, Mushking, on board as a director. He brought a lot of value on set because again we also worked together on XYZ, so this is someone I knew had a great eye for comedy. You know, giving him the reins to direct 13 episodes proves that I had a lot of confidence in him. It was also refreshing to see how differently he interpreted the story, bringing life to the production. 

So what can we expect from you soon? 

That’s a good question. Currently, I want to explore the horror genre. It's something that I’ve done in the past but not really focused a lot of my attention on it. I believe there are a lot of opportunities for us Africans to tell horror stories, whether based on our folktales, or our history and culture. Watch this space. 

Black & Blue is now streaming on Showmax, with new episodes releasing every other Wednesday.