'Kash Money': Greed, deception, family drama with a touch of dark humour

A promotional poster for new Kenyan Netflix Original Series Kash Money.

Photo credit: Pool

TV shows are like long-distance bus trips. Once you are in, you are never  guaranteed a destination, it is merely suggested. Think of a journey that keeps going until the wheels fall off.

Unlike movies, which are more like short rides with a clear, definitive ending, TV shows take you hostage.

Personally, I struggle with them, but the world doesn’t revolve around me. A large group of people love the format, series are the cornerstone of all streaming services. Kash Money, though, piqued my interest.

The basics

Kash Money is a dramatic six-part dark comedy/thriller focusing on a powerful Kenyan family spiraling out of control after the mysterious death of its patriarch. It stars a lot of familiar, big-name Kenyan actors.

Synopsis

The Jenga family is thrown into chaos when their leader, Joe Jenga, dies under suspicious circumstances. Things get interesting after the will comes out, exposing  secrets and setting off a battle for power. There's  deception, hidden motives, and family dynamics that get complicated as the story progresses.

As I mentioned earlier, this is a star-studded cast; Morris Mwangi, John Sibi-Okumu, Sanaipei Tande, Amara Tari, Dedan Juma, Lenana Kariba, Maqbul Mohammed, Ronnie Kariuki , Oliver Litondo, Joey Muthengi, Shiv Singh, and newcomer Anastaciah Liz Wamoro. The show comes from Philippe Bresson and Grace Kahaki, seasoned directors and producers.

Where to watch

The six episodes are currently streaming on Netflix.

It’s Kenyan, there's crime and drama, some of you might groan and roll your eyes thinking it's the same thing we have been getting for years but here’s what makes it different.

What works

This is a stunning show. The cinematography is the first thing that grabs your attention. The framing is clearly deliberate, and the camera movements plus creative blocking help create some visually pleasing scene. Yes, some shots look like they belong in a music video, but for the most part, they look fantastic.

The hues are turned up to eleven, the DOP (director of photography) was having fun with this production. A lot of shots embrace a creative approach, for example, there's a top-down view of a rundown house that looks like it was inspired by a similar shot in John Wick 4.

Even simple scenes are well thought out, a basic conversation in a park is framed so well that it looks and feels cinematic.

The locations also play a huge role in adding depth to the characters. The ghetto feels and looks like the ghetto, the high-end areas look expensive, and everything in between feels authentic.

The production design, costumes, props, sets, and makeup, really help bring the characters to life. The wealthy look wealthy, the poor look poor, and every character’s style fully embraces their personalities. Sanaipei Tande’s white outfit in episode 2 and Lenana’s black outfits throughout the show are perfect examples.

A promotional poster for new Kenyan Netflix Original Series Kash Money.

Photo credit: Pool

Even small details, like an old radio in a poor home or a meal choice in a wealthy one make the world feel lived-in.

The performances, particularly from Sanaipei and Amara, give the impression that the story and directors allowed them to push their limits. Morris Mwangi has been on a roll lately, and while I still think this is typecasting, I like where the story takes his character. His arc starts off familiar but evolves into something more complex.

Maqbul Mohammed’s and Janet Mbugua’s characters are okay for now, but it’s clear there’s more to them based on the world that has been established. Lenana Kariba starts off looking like another case of typecasting as the love interest, but what they set up in the last episode is brilliant.

The father-daughter dynamic between Morris Mwangi’s character and his on-screen daughter is surprisingly natural. Their chemistry makes their scenes some of the most grounded in the show.

Dedan and his gang are a testament to how good makeup and direction can define a personality. He looks menacing but is also very entertaining.

John Sibi-Okumu? Well, we’ll get to him later.

It’s clear the show took inspiration from Knives Out, right down to casting a musician, just like Glass Onion did with Janelle Monáe. But where Kash Money does better is in its motivations. They’re clear—you don’t need to be a detective to figure out what each character wants, which is both a good and a bad thing.

I also liked that these characters aren’t sanitised. Most of them are just terrible human beings.

The episodes are short, running between 20 and 35 minutes, which helps keep things tight. I loved episode one and the general escalation of events after that.

The show uses a lot of episodic tropes I last saw in Netflix’s Beef, where every episode closes on a dramatic moment. It’s a smart way to keep the audience hooked. The storytelling is well paced, holding back key details until just the right moment. It doesn’t over-explain, which makes the reveals satisfying.

The ADR (automated dialogue replacement) is warm, deep, and clear.

It’s a thriller, but it knows when to embrace humour. The dark comedy doesn’t undercut the tension rather  it works with it. That balance makes it more engaging than a straightforward drama.

Other small things, the soundtrack, though excessive at times, is great, and the guns look cool. The gold ones were a nice touch.

The visual effects are okay, and I liked how influential the mobile phone is in the show. Lastly, overdramatic but good title card and titling each episode is a welcomed touch.

What could have been better

John Sibi-Okumu is a legendary actor, but his performance is over the top, exaggerated, almost cartoonish. His character reminded me of Frank Lucas in American Gangster, played by Denzel Washington.

What made Frank interesting was that he was controlled—calm, measured, and unpredictable. Sibi-Okumu’s character, on the other hand, feels one-dimensional. There’s no variation in how he interacts with different people. He doesn’t switch between charm and menace, he stays in one loud, intense mode, with a lot of overexpressions.

A promotional poster for new Kenyan Netflix Original Series Kash Money.

Photo credit: Pool

I also thought the relationship between him and the head housekeeper was a missed opportunity.

There are also other one-dimensional characters like Shadrack, the governor (Janet Mbugua) and Shiv. They don’t take away from the story, but they are noticeable.

The ADR is really good, but as a whole, it sounds too clean, too artificial. Outside of the dialogue, the world feels oddly quiet. There’s a lack of environmental sound. Outdoor scenes don’t have the usual ambient sounds, wind, distant chatter, little details that make a world feel alive. It’s the kind of thing you don’t always notice until it’s missing.

Episode 1 did something bold, risky choices that made me think, Okay, I like where this is going. Then, in Episode 2, they backtracked, they chickened out. And this pattern kept recurring. For a serialised production, this works well in keeping the audience engaged, but it also risks losing viewers’ trust.

There were a lot of moments at the end of an episode where I thought, They’re never going to follow through with this, and they didn’t.

Now, don’t get me wrong, this strategy works, as seen in Beef, but you need to know when to follow through to avoid the plague of predictability.

The last episode crams in a lot, big reveals, deaths, backstories, and loose threads. It feels like they suddenly realised they had too many pieces left on the board and tried to clear them all at once.

Some twists land, but others feel rushed. Certain characters, like the governor, don’t get proper closure. And the cliffhanger makes it clear they’re banking on a second season.

Other small issues, some dialogue in the first two episodes made me roll my eyes. A few lines were too cheesy.

Final thoughts

Kash Money is an impressive show, and I’ll admit I’m biased because I love looking at beautiful things, and this is a beautiful show. It looks great, the performances are strong (mostly), and it knows how to build tension.

The pacing is tight, the humour is well-placed, and the direction, writing, and production design bring to life some really interesting personalities.

Does Kash Money make me a believer in TV shows? Not really. But did I enjoy it?  Let’s just say I would recommend this to a foreign friend.

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Note: The results are not exact but very close to the actual.