HBO Max Picks Up Limited Series “Americanah” Starring Lupita Nyong’o And Danai Gurira

Lupita Nyong’o and Danai Gurira’s adaptation of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s best selling book “Americanah” has been picked up by HBO Max.

According to Variety, the 10-episode limited series will star Nyong’o with Gurira writing the pilot and tapped as the showrunner.

The series marks a reunion for Nyong’o and Gurira, who starred together in the Marvel blockbuster “Black Panther.”

Both Gurira and Nyong’o will serve as executive producers on the project. Nyong’o acquired the rights to the adaptation in 2014 and project has been in the works since it was announced that the pair would be teaming up for it in 2018.

Americanah follows a beautiful, confident young woman, Ifemelu, raised in Nigeria, who falls in love with her classmate Obinze. She later heads for America, where she is forced to grapple with her identity and what it means to be Black. Meanwhile, Obinze, unable to join Ifemelu in America, follows a dangerous path in London.

“Through Americanah, Chimamanda brought the African female voice into mainstream consciousness in an unprecedented way,” Gurira said in a statement via Variety.

While Nyong’o added in a statement, “Americanah has been a passion project for me since I read Chimamanda’s beautiful novel in 2013. It’s a tale that is simultaneously timely and timeless. HBO Max is the perfect partner to bring this profound and celebrated story to life, and I’m thrilled that Danai will bring to the project her intelligence, wit, and understanding of the stories and the worlds of Americanah.”