Kenyan actress Lupita Nyong’o who spent time in the city of Lagos in February in preparation for her role in the TV adaptation of Chimamanda Adichie’s critically acclaimed novel ‘Americanah’ has exited the TV series.
According to reports, a scheduling conflict caused by the global pandemic is responsible for her departure.
Nyong’o has always been intrigued by the novel since she read it in 2013 and planned to adapt it as a film. She was to play the lead character, a Nigerian woman Ifemelu who leaves for America and encounters racism while dealing with love and heartaches.
The shooting of the limited TV series was scheduled for early this year but the pandemic forced production to shut down. The series would have been Nyong’o debut on American TV.
Other international TV stars like Uzo Aduba, Danai Gurira and Corey Hawkins were part of the cast.
As a result of the scheduling issues, HBO Max dropped the series.
‘Americanah’ is the latest to be scrapped by the studio as they deal with budgets and erratic scheduling.
Vanessa Obioha