GhanaWeb Feature by Isaac Dadzie
Do you remember your childhood days when you would come back from school, turn on the big, black, big-headed TV, and tune in to GTV just to soak in your favourite shows?
As Ghana’s national broadcaster, GTV was once the beating heart of our weekends, school breaks, and family evenings – those moments when the TV set glued everyone together in the room.
These shows were more than entertainment; they were community, identity, moral lessons, laughter, and tears, all wrapped in local flavour.
Recently, the Ashanti Regional Minister, Dr Frank Amoakohene, in an online engagement with the GTV official Facebook account, brought up some nostalgic shows Ghanaians would love to see back on the airwaves.
Let’s remember some of them below:
By the Fireside
By the Fireside was a children’s educational-entertainment show that mostly aired in the 1980s. It revolved around folklore, music, dance, and culture.
Children would gather, often around the storyteller, and watch as children acted out parts of the folktales, singing, dancing, laughing, with the lessons wrapped in the tale.
One of its central stories was about Kweku Ananse, Ghana’s legendary trickster spider — bringing oral storytelling into living rooms across the country.
Obra (Ɔbra)
Translated as “Life” in Akan, Obra was one of the flagship drama series of GTV. Obra explored everyday human experiences, such as cheating, poverty, love, betrayal, family, and society.
With stars like Maame Dokono (Grace Omaboe), David Dontoh (Ghanaman), Joe Eyison (Station Master), among others, the show mixed comedy and drama, had moral richness, and felt like it was talking directly to people.
Cantata
Cantata was a Sunday show consisting of drama fused with music, gospel, and/or church choir performances, themes of faith, love, and community.
It had a cast filled with greats: Abrobe, SK Oppong, Abena Acheampong, Florence Danso, Akumaa Mama Zimbi, and more.
Thursday Theatre
This was one of the few English-language GTV dramas (as opposed to Akan or other local languages).
Thursday Theatre showcased works by students and emerging actors, featuring thought-provoking dramas, and it introduced many actors who later became household names.
Osofo Dadzie
This was a top-rated Akan television drama series aired on GTV in the 1970s and 1980s, especially between 1985 and 1989.
It was performed by the Osofo Dadzie group, a drama and concert group that was very popular in Ghana at that time.
The broader objective of Osofo Dadzie was to “expose the evils of Ghanaian society,” including political corruption, greed, nepotism, and bribery.
Some notable characters were Osofo Dadzie (Nathaniel Frimpong Manso), Super OD (Asonaba Kwaku Darko), Kwadwo Kwakye, Fred Addae, Bee Kissi, Mercy Ofei, and SK Oppong.
The theme song for the program was “Woyaya” (Wɔyaya in Ga, meaning “We are going”), which was written by Teddy Osei and Sol Amarfio of Osibisa, a popular Ghanaian Afro-rock band.
Greetings from Abroad
Greetings from Abroad was a show hosted by Nana Adwoa Awindor. It showcased stories of Ghanaians in the diaspora: what life was like out there, their connections back home, what they had achieved, and what challenges they faced.
For many households, this was a window into how things were outside Ghana, how migrants were doing, family ties, remittances, and cultural identities.
It brought a sense of knowing “us” and “them” in a way that was hopeful and often very emotional.
Concert Party/Key Soap Concert Party
These were big stage shows, often with humour, musical sketches, live audiences, and sometimes satire. Concert Party was widely loved, and notable names like Nkomode, Bob Okala, etc, shone here.
These shows were everything to Ghanaians.
What they had was strong writing, believable characters, and emotions. Many great actors and creatives got their start in these shows. And no Ghanaian would go without remembering what life was like then.
