To Kill a Monkey: Kemi Adetiba Teases a Gripping Crime Saga

Kemi Adetiba doesn’t repeat herself. After the grand ambition of King of Boys, she returns with something leaner, darker, and much more personal. Her latest project, To Kill a Monkey, is an eight-part crime series set to premiere on Netflix this July. From the very first episode, you can tell the story isn’t about power—it’s about the weight people carry. That weight builds over time, quietly pressing in, until something eventually snaps.

At the centre is Efemini (William Benson), a man living an ordinary life until a familiar face from the past turns up. What begins as a simple reunion soon becomes a spiral into cybercrime, where choices shrink and consequences multiply. There are no flashy setups or over-the-top plot twists. What you get instead is a portrait of a man slipping into a life he never imagined for himself—bit by bit.

The trailer, released in late June, keeps things subtle. There are no dramatic speeches or slow-motion chaos. Just quiet tension, restrained performances, and a world that feels close—maybe too close. Benson plays Efemini with the kind of stillness that suggests inner turmoil, while Bucci Franklin, as the friend who leads him astray, brings just enough charm to make you uneasy.

The cast is packed with familiar names—Stella Damasus, Ireti Doyle, Chidi Mokeme, Bimbo Akintola, Lilian Afegbai—but this isn’t a story built around celebrity moments. These actors blend into the world. Their performances don’t demand attention; they earn it. They play people who seem real, caught in circumstances that feel all too familiar.

Filmed over two months in 2023, the series marks a new phase for Adetiba. It’s her first major project without Sola Sobowale, and the shift in tone is unmistakable. Gone are the fiery confrontations and political theatre. What remains is quiet desperation—and the choices people make when there are no good options left.

To Kill a Monkey doesn’t try to impress. It tells a story about survival, temptation, and the heavy cost of crossing lines you thought you never would. If the full series delivers on the promise of its trailer, it may be Kemi Adetiba’s most focused and emotionally honest work yet.