Nollywood has never lacked interviews. Actors and filmmakers have long made the rounds on TV, radio, and digital platforms, opening up about their lives and careers. But what’s emerging now is something more intentional: a new wave of shows designed specifically around Nollywood—its stars, its seasons, and its need to tell its own stories on its own terms.
One of the latest entries is ‘Lights, Camera, It’s My Turn’, a talk show hosted by actress Tope Olowoniyan. Set to premiere on April 25, 2025, the show is structured around Nollywood’s award ceremonies, spotlighting nominees and winners from ceremonies like the Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards (AMVCA), Best of Nollywood (BON), and the Africa Movie Academy Awards (AMAA).
With the next AMVCA scheduled for May 10, it places the show in conversation with the industry’s most high-profile recognitions.
But Lights, Camera, It’s My Turn isn’t about trophies. Olowoniyan invites actors to reflect on what happens between dreaming of success and actually being seen. The show builds room for doubt, vulnerability, and recovery—the parts of the journey that rarely make it into acceptance speeches. The show feels closer to a visual diary than a press tour.
It’s one of several new shows that are beginning to treat Nollywood not just as content but as culture; these programmes have all adopted formats that foreground the human experience behind the screen.
What sets them apart from traditional celebrity coverage isn’t just their depth—it’s that they’re built with Nollywood as the centre, not the sidebar. It’s part of a growing trend of shows that treat Nollywood not just as entertainment but as a cultural force worthy of documentation.
In a way, these shows are filling a gap the industry didn’t always acknowledge: the need for archival, artist-driven conversations that document how success in Nollywood actually works—what it demands, what it takes, and what it costs. They’re less about performance, more about presence. For Olowoniyan, the show is both a personal project and a cultural statement—one that adds depth to how Nollywood stars are seen.
As awards season rolls in, the performances may be up for review—but it’s these quiet, self-authored stories that are beginning to define what Nollywood remembers.
“This show is very close to my heart because I’ve seen how hard actors work and how often their humanity gets lost in the noise,” Olowoniyan says. “I wanted to create a space where they could be seen—not just as professionals but as people, navigating real emotions, pressures, and dreams.”
Lights, Camera, It’s My Turn! premieres April 25, 2025, on Tope Olowoniyan’s official YouTube channel, Tope Olowoniyan TV.
