To open 2026, the Africa Magic Showcase channel launched a new series based on a superb premise. Titled “Split”, it follows a group of struggling bank employees, Abdul, Harriet, and Tola, in Nigeria who come together to transfer money in a dormant account to their personal accounts. It’s an easy enough plan but its aftermath takes quite the toll on their lives.
As with the bulk of Africa Magic stories, Split is relatable to the average Nigerian. Who hasn’t felt that a delay at the bank is caused by the shenanigans of staffers at the bank? This relatability, however, shouldn’t be a reason for the show’s cheap appearance and the story’s rushed narrative.
The picture could certainly look better and the story gentler told. The actors, Baaj Adebule and Annee Icha among them, deliver their roles well enough but the tone of the performances are sometimes uneven. This is especially the case with Baaj Adebule, who plays Abdul. He is the one who comes up with the idea of taking money lying fallow in an account and splitting it three ways. He also has a gambling problem. These details of his character make him out as quite interesting.
The trouble is he sometimes goes from comedic to serious, which is one source of the actor’s charm, but Split wants to have its cake and eat it too. Split wants charming Adebule to appear even when the scene doesn’t quite call for it. The character is evidently a ne’er-do-well, but he is also capable enough to rise within his bank. The tone of his performance in the pilot and the couple episodes released so far puts an emphasis on the former and not enough on the latter. Is this a funny character or a serious one who’s funny? The plot says one thing, the performance says another.
This instability in one of the show’s lead characters leads the show to feel like a sitcom instead of something sturdier in TV storytelling terms. The many interior scenes (usually indicative of a smaller budget) only add to the feeling that Split is a sitcom that missed its way.
It’s a disappointing state of affairs as this show could be as visually and narratively ambitious as Diiche, one of the premium Showmax Originals released in 2022. The premise of Split is certainly as deserving of the premium treatment as those first batch of shows on the streaming platform were.
The producers (or perhaps commissioning team) seem to feel otherwise. And it’s a loss for viewers who would have been better entertained with a cooler, more sophisticated approach to a quite promising premise.
Split is currently showing on DSTV’s Africa Magic Showcase and on Showmax
