Advanced Television

BBC Studios content partnership with EbonyLife

November 29, 2021

BBC Studios Drama Productions has announces a development partnership with Nigerian television pioneer Mosunmola Abudu, founder and CEO of global entertainment network EbonyLife Media. The deal was brokered by CAA.

The deal will see BBC Studios Drama Productions develop a new action-adventure series with Abudu’s EbonyLife Media. The 6 part drama, titled RECLAIM, is written by BAFTA Breakthrough Brit Rowan Athale (The Rise, Strange But True, Little America). It is based on an original idea by Abudu, Heidi Uys and Bode Asiyanbi.

Priscilla Parish, Head of Drama, BBC Studios said: ‘I am thrilled to announce this collaboration with EbonyLife. Mo Abudu has an extraordinary track record in bringing previously unheard stories to a wide audience. Reclaim’s breath-taking action-adventure is underpinned by thoughtful and timely themes and declares our shared intention to create stories which have both local and international resonance. Rowan Athale is the perfect writer to bring this story to life, having written both commercial hits and arthouse breakouts. I cannot wait to start production on this event series’

Athale said: “It is a great pleasure to be working with Mo Abudu and BBC Studios on RECLAIM. The moment I heard Ebonylife’s pitch, I knew I had to join the team. I am excited and honoured be writing RECLAIM, and I look forward to sharing our ground-breaking series with a global audience.”

Abudu, CEO of EbonyLife added: “RECLAIM is our first big-budget, global series, set partly in the UK. It is a dream come true for two reasons – first, it is a partnership with BBC Studios; second, the project will debut under EbonyLife Productions UK. We set up EbonyLife in London because our global strategy includes expansion to the UK and the United States. As Nigerians and Africans, we should see ourselves as world citizens and our storytelling, locations and networks should extend to every corner of the globe. I am delighted with this opportunity to extend our reach into the UK with a great story and a formidable partner.”

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