I asked this question on twitter and I have been inundated with notifications from fans who have missed the show.
Many reminisced their favourite scenes and lines and ultimately voted Buju as their favourite character in the series. Buju became the Face of XOXO (mentioned “Ex O Ex O” not “HOHO”, not “ZOZO” –insert laughing smiley) and as someone described him on twitter, “he is a whole mood”.
It was an interesting production to belong to. For most of the Actors, XOXO broke their screen-virginity. The vibe was good. About ninety percent of the lead cast were not aspiring actors or models; most were living their normal lives and schooling.
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How all these novices were assembled to create an Award-Winning Television Series is still bewildering. I was cast into XOXO by the Writer and Producer, Eddie Seddoh Jnr (@bosanskigrad). I worked with Eddie during my days at Charterhouse. He was the Creative Director at Multiple Concepts Advertising. Over time, I got to know he wrote several trending TV Ads and the popular TV Series, ‘Things We Do For Love’.
Well, it took a while for that to sink in because Eddie wasn’t your usual flashy creative guy who needed a joint or glass to stir up his creativity. His khaki pants and shirt over a pair of loafers mixed with his ‘someway’ American accent- and he’s good to go.
For about a year, anytime Eddie saw me in the office he will say, “herh you Pasino eh, I for give you some script make you act give me”, I will urge him on and smile away. Circa 2011, Eddie wrote and produced the ‘Be my Guest’ movie which starred Chris Attoh and Nadia Buari but he didn’t even offer me a “walker-pass” role. E pain me. Other works of Eddie include the TV series “LXG”, and recently, “YOLO”.
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Though I graduated with a degree in Political Science and Theater Arts from Legon, I never acted on stage. I was quite unsure if I wanted to be on TV, acting movies. There was however no hesitation when I finally got a script from Eddie and I was “Roy” (@pasinoman).
Harold Amenyah (@haroldamenyah) was Josh. We were in the same University. That guy oozed of Showbiz and Stardom. It was comfortable acting with him. The other guy, we didn’t know him. He introduced himself as Elkannah and I had a good laugh. I thought it was a nickname. Elkannah was Buju (@buju_mahogany).
We soon got into character and shooting our first episode was smooth. Lots of behind the scenes fun. At a point, we had to delay the shoot for about 30 minutes – during the office scene when Akua and Marlene walked in on Roy, Buju and Josh, Buju was supposed to admire the ladies and just say “wow, drop-dead gorgeous” – it took over 20 attempts to get anything close to right. The crew eventually decided to figure it out on the editing bench because we didn’t have all day.
Initially, we didn’t fully understand the project but we enjoyed the energy on set and went with the flow. Telecommunications giant, MTN, noticed us and came on board as the major sponsors. This was when we realized that this acting thing was sweeter than the nice Nungua waakye we scrambled for on set; we could actually make some money on the side too.
Xoxo was nice and people loved it. At the end of the third season, the rumours were officially confirmed that the contract with our major sponsor had expired, not to be renewed. Most of us went back to our private lives because we didn’t really want to be Actors beyond XOXO. It was a unique vibe.
Post XOXO, I witnessed a significant boom in my Professional Events MC Services. I have taken photos with fans from different countries, and I have also been allowed to buy waakye and not queue because some people recognized me.
The cast and crew still keep in touch and some of us have grown what was, into deep friendships today. My favourite characters were Akua, played by Pearl Darkey (@pearlpkd), and Parker (@Vini_chase08).
It’s been about six years since we ended Season 3. In our conversations, we always wonder if ever Season 4 of XOXO is released, will it still be people’s favorite?
What was your fondest @XOXOtvseries scene?
FB/Twitter/ IG: @Pasinoman
Email: Pasifred@gmail.com
Website: www.FredBJ.com