Faaji Productions’ Reality Competition Series, GRIT, Holds Private Premiere in Lagos Ahead of July 3 Public Launch

Faaji Productions gave Lagos a first look at “GRIT” this week, screening the opening episode of its new Pan-African reality competition series ahead of its public debut on YouTube July 3rd.

The private screening, held on Saturday, June 27 at Ebony Life Place, pulled in a mix of industry executives, media, and creatives eager to see what a show like this looks like when it’s shot in Africa, for African audiences, at this scale. Unscripted formats built around physical and mental competition are common elsewhere, but rare in African television, and that novelty was part of the draw.

GRIT was filmed in Kenya and is hosted by Ini Dima-Okojie. The premise: a group of contestants living together in what the show calls the GRIT Residence, competing through physical and mental challenges while navigating the strategy and interpersonal friction that comes with close quarters and high stakes.

The first episode, which is what guests watched at the screening, introduces ten contestants as they move into the Residence and hear from Dima-Okojie about what’s ahead. From there it moves into the season’s opening challenge, then into the first “Who Has the GRIT?” game, a chance-based twist that shakes up life inside the house early. An eleventh contestant arrives late in the episode, unsettling the group dynamic, and the hour closes on the season’s first elimination vote.

Attendees at the screening included premiere host Jay Onair, Snapchat’s Janine Anthony, former TikTok Sub-Saharan Africa content operations lead Ekikere Udofia, Elozonam, and Gbenga Kayode, who directed both Big Brother Africa and GRIT.

Oyinkansola Owoyemi, who founded Faaji Productions, spoke briefly at the event about what the show is meant to represent: “GRIT is resilience. It’s about pushing forward and achieving something despite the odds. That’s the spirit we’ve poured into this show. We’ve created something truly incredible, and I can’t wait for people to experience it.”

GRIT is Faaji Productions’ first series. Owoyemi started the company with the goal of building reality formats that hold up against international competition rather than getting boxed in as regional content, betting that African unscripted TV can carry the same production value and emotional stakes as anything coming out of other markets.

The show heads to Faaji Productions’ YouTube channel July 3rd, with new episodes rolling out from there.