Tinsel Celebrates 1000th Episode

Nigeria's longest running soap opera, Tinsel aired its one thousandth episode on May 23, 2013.

The show that also stars Kenyan actress Lizz Njagah termed this as a landmark achievement never before accomplished by any other TV soap in Nigeria.


Producers of the show MNET Africa celebrated their milestone success by staging a 'Tinsel 1000th premiere' event at Eko Hotels and Suites with its cast and a large number of other actors and entertainers attending.

Aside the whole glitz and glamour Tinsel brought out that night, the 1000th episode also marked a record financial feat: during the four years the soap has aired on TV, costs have exceeded a whooping N4bn, yes you read that right. N4,000,000,000.

And this, according to NET findings, is a conservative estimate. Tinsel was originally created by acclaimed screenwriter Yinka Ogun (who also created Tajudeen Adepetu's 'Everyday People') and produced by the trio of Femi Odugbemi (Content Producer), Jaiye Ojo (Executive Producer) and Lemmy Adebule (Associate Producer).

With its success, Tinsel has surpassed other MNET soaps like Doctors Quarters and Edge of Paradise which both failed to muster a punch on Nigerian Television.

In spite of the staggering amount of money put into Tinsel, the soap opera's influence is highly debatable; it has taken four good years to get some traction and some would still argue that its appeal falls within the 'elitist' class.

The mass audiences are still warming up to the soap unlike the old soaps (Village Headmaster, Checkmate, Super Story) which gathered a cult following almost immediately.

So has it been really worth all that money? Perhaps MNET should look at creating other soap operas truly catching the massive audience and stirring up reactions with true social values.

 'It is nice they have gotten this far, but I am not overly excited because I know they will go farther like Egoli and Generations which is reaching its seventeenth season', creator Yinka Ogun told NET on Sunday.

Asked whether any Nigerian soap opera will reach this milestone in the foreseeable future, he answered with 'a capital NO'. 'The investment in Tinsel is humongous, thanks to M-NET for doing this...'