Lupita Nyong'o and Danai Gurira's 'Americanah' Series Axed Due to COVID-19
The 'Americanah' mini-series adaptation by Lupita Nyong'o and Danai Gurira has been axed by HBO Max due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and scheduling conflicts.
According to Variety, the adaptation of the popular Americanah novel into a series has been cancelled entirely. The news comes after shooting for the production at the beginning of the year was delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic. HBO Max has decided that the project will no longer go forward after years of adaptation talks which secured a 10-part series with the television giant. Lupita Nyong'o and Dania Gurira were set to headline the project as both writers and executive producers.
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Written by famed Nigerian author, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Americanah was set to be Adichie's first novel to be adapted into a series by an American television network. Nyong'o initially wanted to adapt the book into a film but in 2018, revealed that it would be turned into a series. Avid followers of Adichie's writing waited with anticipation for the Americanah series along with cinephiles hungry for more Black productions. Emmy award-winner Uzo Aduba and British-Nigerian actor Zackary Momo were set to join the cast and Nigerian-American director Chinonye Chukwu was set to helm the adaptation. The devastating news has dashed this stellar cast's dream of coming together and producing another potential cultural phenomenon.
Americanah is a 2013 Novel from award winning Adichie. It tells the story of Ifemelu, an opinionated young Nigerian woman who falls in love with her classmate, Obinze, when they're still in high school. As the military rule in Nigeria intensifies, Ifemelu heads to America to continue her studies. Obinze is set to follow but is denied entry following the 9/11 tragedy. He instead heads to London where he encounters the difficult life that comes with being an undocumented immigrant.
Nyong'o and Gurira met through Eclipse, a stage play written by Gurira and performed in 2016 in America. The duo, who are originally from Kenya and Zimbabwe respectively, have intimated on working on several passion projects that spotlight Black voices. Americanah is reportedly one of several female-led shows that have been cancelled. According to Vulture, Nyong'o apparently pulled out of the series due to scheduling conflicts early in the year before the coronavirus pandemic breakout.
Fans shared their views on the recent news on social media:
This is such heartbreaking news. I hope that this doesn’t mean “Americanah” is completely dead. I had been looking… https://t.co/MI6XnADGyk— journey to the past©️™️ (@journey to the past©️™️) 1602785239.0
SOMEONE PICK UP AMERICANAH FROM HBO AND CAST A NIGERIAN WOMAN AS IFEMELU @netflix @PrimeVideo @hulu I LITERALLY DO… https://t.co/NzlfWsvWs4— Liv 🍅 (@Liv 🍅) 1602820775.0
@angeIabar "Lupita Nyong’o and Danai Gurira’s series adaptation of the Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie novel “Americanah”… https://t.co/zRIkNVv1Gz— amanda (@amanda) 1602784510.0
Need that Americanah movie adaptation ASAP— IB - Odogwu🦍 (@IB - Odogwu🦍) 1602724495.0
Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira’s ‘Americanah’ Series Scrapped at HBO Max – Variety | so disappointed in reading this.… https://t.co/DDFFDjCKqt— SciFimaven (@SciFimaven) 1602793751.0
