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'Americanah' with Lupita Nyong'o no longer happening at HBO Max

Lupita Nyong'o (L) and Danai Gurira arrive on the red carpet for the 90th annual Academy Awards on March 2018. The pair's planned "Americanah" adaptation will no longer be going into production. File Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI
Lupita Nyong'o (L) and Danai Gurira arrive on the red carpet for the 90th annual Academy Awards on March 2018. The pair's planned "Americanah" adaptation will no longer be going into production. File Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI | License Photo

Oct. 16 (UPI) -- HBO Max's television adaptation of Americanah, starring Lupita Nyong'o, with Danai Gurira writing and serving as showrunner, will no longer be moving forward.

Nyong'o, who was also executive producing with Gurira, had to exit the series due to a scheduling conflict after Americanah had its production start delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Americanah, based on the Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie novel of the same name, was first announced in September and was going to be released as a 10-episode limited series.

Nyong'o was going to star as Nigerian woman Ifemelu who leaves for America and has experiences with love, heartache, adversity and self-discovery.

Uzo Aduba, Corey Hawkins, Zackary Momoh and Tireni Oyenusi were also set to star.

Nyong'o and Gurira starred together in Marvel's Black Panther and previously collaborated on Broadway show Eclipsed. Gurira was going to be serving as a showrunner for the firs time.

Americanah was a passion project for Nyong'o, who originally planned to adapt the novel into a film.

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