Nigerian filmmaker Tega Idogho hopes Crossroads: The Blueprint, a new workplace web series from Onyx Network Media Production, will encourage conversations about toxic work culture and the experiences of people who feel trapped by their jobs.
The series, which premiered on YouTube in July, follows the pressures and conflicts of professional life and has drawn interest from Nigerian audiences, particularly corporate workers.
Directed by Idogho and produced by Manuel Aliandu, Crossroads stars Kayode Jnr Ojuolape in the lead role alongside Akorede Ajayi, Cassandra Leonard, Debby Felix and Michael E. Asuelime.
Speaking exclusively to The Nollywood Reporter, Idogho traced the origins of the project to personal conversations with Aliandu about their experiences working 9-to-5 jobs.
“The story actually grew out of conversations between the producer and me, rooted in our own lived experiences,” she said. “We often talked about how our 9-to-5 jobs seemed to demand so much of our lives, and the struggle to break free from environments that could sometimes feel toxic or consuming.”
That connection influenced Idogho’s decision to direct the series, allowing her to explore experiences she was familiar with rather than simply interpreting someone else’s story.
“I wasn’t simply directing someone else’s story; I was exploring experiences and emotions that I had lived through myself. It felt, in many ways, like I was telling a version of my own story, which made the project particularly meaningful to me.”
Creating a workplace that felt recognisably Nigerian was also important to Idogho, although she did not want the series tied to one particular industry or profession.
“Creating a workplace that felt authentic was very important to me. I wanted the world to feel recognisably Nigerian, but at the same time, I didn’t want to tie the story to one specific industry or workplace.”
The production team drew from research and conversations with people who had experienced different Nigerian office environments, paying attention to the pressures, interactions and workplace dynamics they described.
Ultimately, Idogho wanted the series to remain specific enough to reflect its Nigerian setting while allowing viewers from different professional backgrounds to identify with its characters.
“Ultimately, we weren’t trying to recreate one particular Nigerian workplace. We were trying to create a world that felt authentic enough to be Nigerian, but universal enough for anyone who has ever felt trapped, overwhelmed or conflicted by their work life to connect with it.”
That emphasis on emotional connection also shaped Idogho’s visual approach to the series. She describes the guiding principle as “emotional realism,” with decisions around staging, performances and cinematography designed around the feelings she wanted audiences to experience.
“Every visual choice had to serve the emotion we wanted the audience to experience. From the staging and performances to the camera framing and composition, everything was intentional,” she said.
The same attention went into casting. According to Idogho, the team developed the characters and their emotional arcs before auditions, giving them a clearer understanding of the personalities they wanted to find.
The decision to tell the story as a mini web series was also deliberate. Idogho said the format allowed the team to respond to changing viewing habits while maintaining the intensity of the story.
“We built this as a mini web series from day one to lean into the current appetite for high-intensity, short-form storytelling,” she said.
With each episode carrying an emotionally heavy story within a relatively short runtime, Idogho relied on visual storytelling to complement the dialogue.
“The episodes needed to move quickly without sacrificing the emotional depth of the characters,” she said, explaining that actions, performances, framing, composition and pacing were used to carry parts of the narrative.
Each episode was also designed to work independently while encouraging viewers to continue with the series.
“Every episode needed to feel complete in itself while also creating enough curiosity and emotional momentum to make the audience want to continue,” Idogho said.
The response to the first season has already influenced plans for a second season, which she says will feature longer episodes while retaining the visual style and emotional focus of the first.
For Onyx Network Media Production, Crossroads represents another step in its efforts to tell African stories for wider audiences, following the success of its UK-produced short film Blackman’s Reality.
For Idogho, however, the project also represents a personal milestone. Her decision to move to Nigeria to pursue directing, she said, was driven by her belief that it was where she was meant to be.
“I’m a strong believer in following God’s plan for my life, and I genuinely felt that this was where I was meant to be,” she said.
Directing Crossroads, she added, reinforced that decision by challenging her creatively and allowing her to work within a culture and environment she feels connected to.
“Directing Crossroads has reinforced that belief. It has challenged me creatively, pushed me to grow as a director and, most importantly, given me the opportunity to tell stories in an environment and culture that I deeply connect with.”
As the series continues to find an audience, Idogho sees its reception as an indication of the wider appetite for African stories made in Nigeria and capable of reaching audiences beyond the continent.
