Michelle Hammond, Zakia Kunge and Adjetey Anang lead Ghanaian drama Roses and Daggers

Dreams set the drama in motion in Roses and Daggers, the new Ghanaian drama series from Akwaaba Magic that is now streaming on Showmax. But what do dreams look like for two very different young women from poor backgrounds, fighting different struggles but both dreaming of better lives?

What to expect in Roses and Daggers, now streaming on Showmax

Meet Winifred (played by singer-actress Zakia Kunge), a young hairdresser struggling to make ends meet as she takes care of her whole family. Talented and ambitious, Winifred wants out of her poor life, and luckily for her, this becomes a possibility when one of her wealthy clients suggests that she moves her business to the city. But if TV has taught us anything, it’s that the city can be a dangerous place for dreamers, especially those like Winifred who will do anything to get what they want.

In an interview with Akwaaba Magic, Kunge describes her character Winifred as “sweet, charming, seductive and dangerous at the same time.” She is also an opportunistic hustler who is determined to get to the top, no matter what it takes. “All she thinks about day and night is how to climb the social ladder and leave her poor past behind. Her days are filled with identifying opportunities and scheming on how to take advantage of those opportunities.”

Days of their lives: Winifred and Sesi

As for what fans can expect from her character and from Roses and Daggers, Kunge praises the storytelling, saying, “Everything is twisted in this show; nothing and no one is what they seem. Each episode will blow your mind with the plot twist.”

Away from Kunge’s Winifred, on the other side of an equally poor world, there’s Sesi (played by Esi Hammond, Nina’s Mahogany), a young fishmonger fighting to escape her grandmother’s plans of marrying her off to an old man. Like Winifred, Sesi wants a better life, but unlike Winifred, she’s ready to work hard for it. Leaving everything behind, Sesi heads to the city in search of newer opportunities but whether her dreams will come true remains to be seen.

Sesi seeks out greener pastures

Roses and Daggers also stars bestselling author and renowned motivational speaker Michelle McKinney Hammond as Marjorie, a doting mother and an insecure wife who grapples with her husband’s infidelity. She finds herself in a sticky situation when she suspects that her husband is having an affair with the mother of her son’s girlfriend.

But Marjorie is not one to let others walk all over her. As Hammond describes her in an interview with Akwaaba Magic, she (Marjorie) can be quite crafty, always devising plans to keep her enemies close. “She’s passionate and transparent; you never have to guess what is on her mind. And she has a way of cutting you to shreds with her words when she wishes.”

Hope in the city?

Ghanaian A-list actor Adjetey Anang plays Marjorie’s son Joshua, making Roses and Daggers the seventh title on Showmax that the award-winning actor has starred in. Anang’s slate on Showmax includes titles like popular telenovela Dede, action thriller film Cartel: The Genesis, Leila Djansi’s feature Like Cotton Twines starring Insecure’s Jay Ellis, the drama series Table of Men, and more.

Created by Mustapha Adam and Linda Okyere and directed by Richard Danklu, Roses and Daggers also stars Daisy Little Amankwah, Lucinda Ribeiro, Lydia Wilson, Paul Wilson, Benedict Yeboah and more.

Stream new episodes of Roses and Daggers weekly on Showmax.