Smithsonian Channel(TM)'s "Warrior Women With Lupita Nyong'o" premieres Monday, March 28

Smithsonian Channel(TM) is thrilled to celebrate Women's History Month and honor the power and impact of women throughout history with the premiere of Warrior Women With Lupita Nyong'o on Monday, March 28th at 8pm ET/PT. The documentary will also air on Smithsonian Channel(TM) in Latin America later this year.

The epic and emotional TV documentary features Oscar(R)-winning actress, author and producer Lupita Nyong'o as she journeys across Benin, West Africa to uncover the remarkable truth behind the women who helped to inspire the Dora Milaje of Marvel's blockbuster film Black Panther.

This is a story of both the past and the present shedding light on the powerful and complicated history of African female fighters that actually existed in West Africa and are still remembered there as the 'Agoji' - or as Europeans labeled them, the 'Amazons'. Lupita Nyong'o is about to discover these Warrior Women's incredible secrets.

Program Description:

In the 2018 Marvel film Black Panther, Lupita Nyong'o's character, Nakia, fights alongside the Dora Milaje, an elite female army defending the nation of Wakanda. While that African country is fictional, the special force unit guarding it has roots in a real all-female army that fought for powerful kings in the 17th through 19th centuries. Academy Award winner Lupita Nyong'o goes on an emotional and epic journey to Benin, West Africa to uncover the extraordinary, neglected story of the little-known but highly formidable Agoji warrior women, the fearsome warriors of the Kingdom of Dahomey. For centuries, this special army force protected the rulers of one of the richest kingdoms in Africa, Dahomey, until a bitter defeat in 1892 disbanded them forever... or did it? Follow Nyong'o on this immersive and epic journey into the past to uncover the real story of the remarkable female fighters that helped inspire the Dora Milaje.