The Theory Of Breakfast Is A Masterclass In How To Avoid Heartbreak

When you hear that a producer named their series ‘The Theory of Breakfast’, you would either expect a cooking show or if you understand the Nigerian parlance, a show about heartbreak.

The latter is correct, and this brand new series airing on Africa Magic dives headfirst into serving ‘breakfast’ from the first episode.

The series follows long-time best friends – Laolu and Ebitimi – as they navigate their friendship amidst newly discovered romantic feelings, but it’s also not that simple.

The Theory of Breakfast starts with Ebitimi’s parents refusing to “gree for each other”. Chief dedicated himself to his wife, Dior, for over 30 years, and she left him to be with another man. Before this decision, Chief had bent over backwards to give her an open marriage. They successfully managed this for twelve years until she ran away with someone else for three years, only to return after the fling ended. She somehow expected her husband to accept her with open hands, but he instead delivered divorce papers. She didn’t love him, but he had also fallen in love with someone else.

The second breakfast came from on-again-off-again lovers, Vodka and Mandela. Vodka is an insecure lady who is always throwing tantrums and causing scenes if she catches him even ten feet away from another woman. After putting up with her ridiculous behaviour for a while and nearly missing out on a business deal, he broke up with her, much to her surprise.

After four episodes, it’s clear that the show will still serve more breakfast. Every episode ends in Laolu’s voice, sharing the latest lesson about the art of serving or receiving ‘breakfast’ and singles better bring out their notepads to jot things down.

Despite the show being about Laolu and Ebitimi, viewers have yet to experience their stories, but the writers have begun to lay down some clues about what viewers can expect. At the moment, what’s clear is that Laolu maintains a close-knit relationship with Ebitimi’s parents. She has also harboured a crush on her ‘bestie’ for many years, but she’d rather die than admit it.

On the other hand, Ebitimi has been abroad for the past three years and only returned to get engaged. While Vodka thinks the engagement would be to Laolu, his mother knows it would be to someone else.

Viewers can tell he also cares about Laolu and harbours some deeply buried love for her, but that won’t stop him from getting engaged to his ‘Yankee’ girlfriend.

There are other components and people like Vodka’s father, who is in a secret relationship with Ebitimi’s mom, Vodka’s nemesis, and wants to be in bed (literally and figuratively) with Laolu.

The show is in every sense of the word – MESSY. Still, that’s the drama viewers signed up for. The story is very convoluted, and everyone is connected to or involved with everyone in one way or another. The acting is top-notch, with cast members like Uzoamaka Onuoha, Lord Frank, David Eyo, David Riyo, Rykardo Agbor, Moet Abebe, and others.

So far, the technical execution has been exceptional. Although, it would be lovely to see the costume team step up Laolu’s wigs to match her Lagos ‘big girl’ status.

The plot is engaging to the point that trying to figure out technical errors would be difficult for the average viewer. As expected, the show is not perfect, but with only four episodes in, it’s safe to say that Theory of Breakfast is at least a solid 8/10 in execution.

If you prefer to rate it yourself, catch up on old episodes on CatchUp via DStv Stream or Showmax. Then, watch new episodes every Monday and Tuesday at 8:30 pm on Africa Magic Showcase.