“Orange Is the New Black” alum Uzo Aduba has joined HBO Max’s upcoming limited series “Americanah” starring Lupita Nyong’o, a representative for WarnerMedia’s forthcoming streaming service told TheWrap.
Executive produced and written by Danai Gurira, “Americanah” is based on Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s best-selling novel of the same name and “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 (Zackary Momoh),” according to the streamer.
“Living in a military-ruled country, they each depart for the west. Ifemelu heads for America, where she finds academic success, but is forced to grapple for the first time with what it means to be black,” according to the film’s official description. “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. A highly lauded tale that has become a leader in the cultural conversation, ‘Americanah’ is an incredible exploration of the human experience that crosses three continents to give an empathetic, compelling view of the complex realities of race, politics, immigration and identity.”
Aduba will play Aunty Uju, Ifemelu’s “young aunt and confidant.”
The 10-episode limited series is executive produced by Gurira, who is writing the pilot and will act as showrunner, along with Nyong’o for Eba Productions, Plan B Entertainment, Andrea Calderwood for Potboiler Television, Didi Rea and Danielle Del for D2 Productions and Nancy Won.
HBO Max will launch in May and cost $14.99 a month, the same price as an HBO subscription on either HBO Now or through a pay-TV provider.
Variety first reported Aduba’s casting.