In the early 2000s, ‘Things We Do For Love’ was one of the TV series that kept Ghanaians glued to their TV sets hoping to get soaked in a world that was all too familiar, enjoyable and yet distinct.
It remains one of the rare shows Ghanaians have enjoyed thoroughly since its broadcast.
The acclaimed show was created following the popularity of a youth-targeted programme called, ‘Speak Easy’ on Joy FM at the time. This was disclosed by the Director of the series ,Ivan Quashigah, on Showbiz A-Z, on Joy FM, Saturday.
“While the show (Speak Easy) was going on, one Chief of Party of John Hopkins University Centre for Communications, who had come to Ghana, asked why don’t we add drama to the show.”
“So, it was that brief that gave birth to the radio version of Things We Do for Love…Things We Do For Love, I must say was born in Joy FM’s studio,” he revealed.
But like a lot of new projects, many big names at the time were hesitant to write for the show, thus Mr Quahsigah said he had to go on a search for writers.
He was reminded of a young writer, Eddie Seddoh Jnr, who had been pushing for one of his works to be produced.
The Farmhouse Productions CEO, told the host George Quaye, that he called Mr Seddoh into his office and tasked him to write a script for the show on radio.
After brainstorming on how to make the show, which direction it should take, characters among others, the beloved Ghanaian TV series was born.
“So when we produced the radio version and we were playing it, my idea for the radio was that it should be so realistic that people listening to it would visualise it,” Mr Quashigah said.
For the audience to achieve a realistic vision of the story they were listening to, the producer added engaging sound effects like footsteps, car driving among others to help with the storytelling.
“When we opened the phone lines, the calls were ‘like why can’t we see it on TV?’ and that inspired us to go and shoot for TV,” Mr Quashigah said.
The renowned Director said he took the opportunity to direct the series especially since he had trained as a film Director at the National Film and Television Institute.
When it comes to casting, Mr Quashigah believes he may be blessed with the ability to see through people, which aids him in selecting a perfect cast for his shows.
For ‘Things We Do For Love’, the Director said he had all the casts audition for every role on the show stating “I spent a lot of time looking at a lot of young people.”
Actor Adejetey Anang was one individual Mr Quashigah said could execute well every role he was handed and thus, the intention was to give him the most difficult role to play, ‘Pusher’.
“He didn’t really like the idea,” Mr Quahsigah said, revealing that the young man wanted to play other roles instead. “But, I said no this is the part I want him to do.”
Today, Ghanaians have come to love the actor for his talent and the genesis of that love for many people is seeing Mr Anang play ‘Pusher’.
For actor Majid Michel, who played ‘Shaker’ in the series, the role was created for him after having him audition unexpectedly.
Mr Quashigah revealed that Mr Michel had only escorted his sister to audition for the show. But he was tasked to audition as well.
“We liked what he did but we didn’t have any part for him so we created Shaker for him,” he added.
Two decades later, Ghanaians continue to admire the series and continue to reminisce about the scenes they enjoyed watching and their favourite characters.
In October 2017, Farmhouse Productions put the episodes of ‘Things We Do Love’ on YouTube for fans to binge-watch.
A month later, the production house released one of its other beloved series YOLO (You Only Live Once).
The series follows the lives of some young people in a community while preaching the essence of a safe sex among others.
One of the lead characters, Cyril, was introduced as the son of Pusher and Enyonam from Things We Do For Love.
Source: MyJoyOnline.com
