Overview:
Ibris Elba will serve as the executive producer on the acclaimed book turned series, Things Fall Apart.
Idris Elba has officially joined the cast of the A24 TV adaptation of Things Fall Apart and will serve as an executive producer on the project. The series will center around Okonkwo, portrayed by Elba, one of literature’s most well-known characters. Okonkwo is a proud and fearless African warrior and leader determined to preserve his people’s culture despite British colonization. His resistance to change and rigid adherence to tradition lead to a poignant struggle as his world transforms around him, creating an intense and emotional narrative of strength, vulnerability, and inevitable change.
Things Fall Apart is Chinua Achebe’s first novel, written in English and published in 1958. It helped create the Nigerian literary renaissance of the 1960s. To date, this classic has been translated into 57 languages and has sold over 20+ million copies. Things Fall Apart is the first book in The African Trilogy, which tells the story of modern Nigeria over three generations, from the first colonial contact to urban migration.
Chinua Achebe (1930-2013) was a Nigerian novelist and poet admired as the father of modern African literature. He taught at Brown University and Bard College and received the Nigerian National Merit Award and the Man Booker International Prize for lifetime achievement.
In addition to his starring role, Elba will executive produce the series alongside Gina Carter under their production company, 22Summers. David Oyelowo and Amanda N’Duka will also serve as executive producers through Yoruba Saxon. Ben Forkner, Dayo Ogunyemi, and Achebe Masterworks are also involved in production. A24 is the studio behind the project; though a streaming platform has not yet been attached, the hunt for a writer is underway.
