With the world in its current volatile, uncertain state, it’s difficult to know where to look for inspiration and guidance. In the Cartoon Network/MAX series “IYANU“, the show creators seek to be a source of empowerment and empathy. Based on the Dark Horse comic book series of the same name, “IYANU” chronicles the journey of a teenage orphan girl with no recollection of her past, who suddenly discovers that she has abilities that rival the ancient deities of her people. On its face, the seriemay come across as a action-packed fantastic Saturday morning romp. But “IYANU” possesses aspects of political thriller and timely messages for a society in flux.

“I would say ‘IYANU’ is a love letter to my daughter,” said the comic book and series creator Roye Okupe. “Before I had her, I always thought about what would if I had a baby girl, what would be something…that I could sit down on the couch with her and watch, that she would be both entertained but also inspired by where she came from and her heritage.”

Okupe is referring to the Nigerian setting and influences that fill “IYANU’s” fictional setting of Yorubaland. It’s a vibrant, but flawed society that also draws from African mythology. “I literally got chills reading it, seeing the images,” reveals Emmy-winning staff writer Kerri Grant. “I love the story, and I’m a big lover of mythology. I actually studied mythology in school. So to see African mythology in a story [which is] so often overlooked…I just knew I wanted to be a part of it.”

“IYANU” Creators Got Specific and Personal to Tell a Universal Story

Though Yorubaland and Iyanu’s adventures are fictional, and based on a culture perhaps thousands of miles away, “IYANU” seeks to tell a globally relatable tale.

“We get told as writers a lot [that] the more specific your story, the more universal it is.” Grant explained. “And the reason for that is because, even though this is such a specific story with very unique and distinct characters, lands, culture, customs, all of the things, it is ultimately an epic tale. It’s a hero’s journey, and it’s about a girl, a young girl coming into her powers and finding her place in the world, and then the community around her.”

Series co-creator and story editor Brandon Easton told Temple of Geek combined the African influences in “IYANU” with the media he grew up loving. “We have a lot of influences that may substitute for my own emotional thoughts and feelings or biases, stuff like ‘Star Wars‘ or ‘Lord of the Rings‘, ‘Blade Runner‘, things of that nature. There’s even a great moment people may remember from ‘Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade‘. So, for me, my job was to make sure that I didn’t in any way taint or distract from what Roy had originally created.”

“Representation is important,” said associate producer Shari B. Ellis. “Children of all ages will see themselves in these characters.” Supervising director Vincent Edwards balanced Okupe’s source material and crafting a universal story by making Yorubaland fantastical and immersive. “When you get that suspension of disbelief, when they’re immersed in that world, then the storytelling and the messaging is so much more impactful because it feels more life-like.”

Creators Hope Viewers Receive Empowerment and Empathy from Series

The creative team behind “IYANU” succeeds at creating a lush, action-packed, and tender-hearted story. Yet their goal with the series goes beyond merely creating riveting entertainment for all ages to enjoy.

Samuel Kugbiyi, who voices the character “Toye” in ther series, shared, “What I hope young people walk away with is that you can be empowering in different ways. Like Toye, for example, he wants to read books and he wants to tell stories, and that becomes very useful in the season as you watch it on.” Kugbiyi couldn’t elaborate beyond that so as not to spill any spoilers for the season. But he did elaborate on the importance of the different types of empowerment the series champions. “It shows that there is a place for everyone, whoever you are, or however you express yourself or come into your own power. It’s useful to someone else, and it’s valuable to the world.”

Above all, Okupe hopes that empathy is the takeaway for children that watch “IYANU”. “It’s actually connected to her powers, like the more empathy she [Iyanu} has, the more powerful she becomes. And I think we live in a world right now that could use a lot of empathy. Right now…everything is about me or my family or my group or my race or my ethnicity. There’s a lot of division because we don’t have empathy for each other. It’s not a thing that I’m throwing around there saying that empathy is easy to have, but I think it’s necessary to have for us as a human race. For us to even exist.”

Okupe continued:

So I really hope people see how Iyanu, who gets these powers, becomes a special person. But instead of being celebrated, she’s exiled. She’s pushed out…for these great powers that she’s been given. Then she has a choice that, with these powers, am I going to use it to improve myself, or, selfishly, better myself, or am I going to use it to save the world, quite literally.

And for her, as a 14-year-old, that’s a very crucial thing to even consider… but then she does decide that, being a hero isn’t about saving people that like you. It’s not about saving people that agree with you, or look like you, or come from where you come from. It’s about doing the right thing regardless of what the other person thinks about me.

With a message as elegant and necessary as the above, “IYANU” is a series not to be missed. “IYANU” premiered Saturday, April 5th at 9:30 AM on Cartoon Network. It is available to stream next day, Sunday April 6th, on MAX.