Netflix has greenlit a sequel to South African drama Happiness Is A Four-Letter Word, which was a box office success in its home country in 2016.
The original film was based on Nozizwe Cynthia Jele’s novel of the same name and followed three women – a glamorous trophy housewife, a lawyer and an art gallery owner – trying to find their happiness while maintaining images of success and acceptability. It grossed more than $900,000 in its native market, outperforming several high-profile international releases at the time.
Sequel Happiness Ever After will pick up events five years later, again tackling sisterhood and friendship, this time with the inclusion of a new romantic arc.
Thabang Moleya is back in the director’s chair. Ayanda Halimana wrote the screenplay for the second film. Bongiwe Selane is producing.
Production will take place in Johannesburg, South Africa, and Netflix said the film will debut on its platform later this year.
“The sequel lives independently from the book but obviously with some of the old characters returning to bring more drama and more sizzle in the sequel,” said Khanyi Mbau.
“We wanted to take audiences somewhere new. The story picks up five years later from where we left our characters and it is on all of us (the cast, the producers, the crew) to take our audiences somewhere new,” added Renate Stuurman.
