Arese Ankemokpae, Bukola Oladipupo, Chinasa Anukam, Toni Tones, Rachel Anthony, Elozonam Ogbulu, Ibrahim Suleiman, Ikechukwu, Karibi Fubara, Obi Maduegbuna and Sika Osei
Ema Edosio Deelen and Ifeoma Chukwuogo.
Isioma Osaje
Tamara Aihie
2021
YouTube
Let’s introduce you to your next obsession. If you liked “Smart Money Woman” and “Skinny Girl In Transit” then you will love MMM.
MMM is the story of a fresh Lagos babe, Marion (Arese Ankemokpae) who moves to Lagos to work at a publishing firm while living with her aunt and her husband. Only that when she arrives at that publishing firm, she realizes what most people in Lagos already know which is that ‘things in Lagos aren’t always what they seem’. But don’t worry, this is not a preachy series. She soon meets the high and mighty Wale Odenuga (Ikechukwu) who at first seems arrogant and obnoxious but eventually transitions to a really reliable friend.
She goes over to meet the only friend she has in Lagos, Esther (Chinasa Anukam) and while there she meets three more ladies – Lola (Bukola Oladipupo), Kimi (Rachel Anthony), and Suzi (Toni Tones). Soon enough they become good friends and she moves in with them. Each of them have their own different struggles with money, men and marriage. Lola is desperate to find her prince charming but always seems to end up with the frog. Kimi has less of an interest in the ‘charming’ part and more of an interest in the ‘prince’ part, specifically the perks of being a prince (think money). Suzi appears to be the most settled of the group. She owns the house the girls live in (even though I can’t quite grasp how that seemingly tiny house has five separate rooms for each girl), and she also works in Finance (which is systematically dropped into the story as per everyone that works in finance is rolling in money). However, if the flashbacks are anything to go by then before she became so ‘settled’, Suzi had an interesting past that might not have been too different from Kimi’s present. Esther, on the other hand, is an Instagram baddie in a long term open relationship with her childhood love, Tunde. She finances this love affair by dating a Caucasian expat, Theo, who funds her lifestyle.
So listen, no one is watching this for originality and no one is watching this for depth. The only job of a series like this is to entertain and to entertain well enough and MMM does just this. It pulls you into this world where you wish you lived in the house with these ladies. The ladies lives are dramatic but not so dramatic that you want to pull out all of your hair. The storylines are believable and yet intriguing.
The performances from our main characters are consistent and engaging. Possibly the weakest link of the five would have to be the character of Esther because there are a few scenes here and there where her timing is off. As per usual, the white person (Theo) is painful to watch due to a critical lack of acting skills. The chemistry between Arese and Ikechukwu is so tangible that it’s hard to let go of while we wait for more episodes. And let’s not forget about Rachel Anthony. I don’t know if it is the character she plays but something about her makes her quite the unforgettable character.
And oh yes, if you are a series lover you will be glad to hear that this one dropped all 6 episodes in quick succession and no, it’s not any 10 minute episode stint. This has 25-40 minutes of pure drama. So binge all of the first six episodes as we await more of this goodness.