Lupita Nyong’o and Danai Gurira’s long-awaited adaptation of Americanah, by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, has been scrapped by HBO Max. The series planned to start shooting earlier this year. But the producers pushed it back because of the coronavirus pandemic.
According to Variety, Nyong’o, unfortunately, had to leave the project due to scheduling conflicts. Americanah received a ten-episode straight-to-series order at HBO Max in 2019 after years of adaptation talks.
A long time passion project of Nyong’o’s, she had previously planned to adapt the novel into a film; in which she would star alongside David Oyelowo. She revealed in 2018 that the plans had changed to adapt it into a series instead.
Along with Nyong’o, the series would have starred Uzo Aduba, Corey Hawkins, Zackary Momoh, and Tireni Oyenusi.
It tells the story of Ifemelu (Nyong’o), a young, beautiful, self-assured woman raised in Nigeria, who as a teenager falls in love with her classmate Obinze (Momoh).
Living in a military-ruled country, they each depart for the west, with Ifemelu heading for America; where, despite her academic success, she has to grapple for the first time with what it means to be black.
Quiet, thoughtful Obinze had hoped to join her, but with post-9/11 America closed to him, he instead plunges into a dangerous undocumented life in London.
Americanah is just the latest TV dream that COVID has crushed. Several female-led shows have been cancelled across television; like Hulu’s High Fidelity, Showtime’s On Becoming a God in Central Florida, and Spectrum Originals’ L.A.’s Finest.
Netflix has been particularly trigger-happy; cancelling GLOW, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Altered Carbon, The Society, and several other female-led or POC-led shows.