The Lupita Nyong’o-led adaptation of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Americanah has been a long time coming. Back in 2014, the Oscar-winning actress took to Instagram to announce that she’d acquired the rights to adapt the acclaimed novel.
It was initially announced that the book would be made into a film, with David Oyelowo set to star alongside Nyong’o. Well, in the past couple of years, a lot has changed. The book will now be made into a limited series for HBO Max, and David Oyelowo will not be starring.
The engrossing story:
Written in 2013, Americanah tells the story of a young Nigerian woman, Ifemelu, who immigrates to the US to attend university. The novel, Adichie’s third, traces Ifemelu’s life in both countries, threaded by her love story with her secondary school sweetheart, Obinze.
The impressive crew:
The 10-episode series will be written and showrun by the talented Danai Gurira (Black Panther). The first two episodes will be directed by Chinonye Chukwu, who recently became the first black woman to win Sundance’s biggest prize for her acclaimed movie, Clemency.
The incredible cast:
Joining Nyong’o will be Harriet’s Zackary Momoh playing Obinze; Orange Is The New Black’s Uzo Aduba playing Uju, Ifemelu’s aunty; Straight Outta Compton’s Corey Hawkins playing Blaine, Ifemelu’s present-day boyfriend; and Tireni Oyenusi playing Uju’s son, Dike.
When does it drop?
The series will premiere on HBO Max, the upcoming WarnerMedia streaming service, which is set to launch on May 2020. No exact release date has been announced for Americanah, but we are hoping a teaser or trailer drops sometime soon.
