AKWAEKE
Portraits by Texas Isaiah.
FX is in early development on a series based on Akwaeke Emezi’s debut novel “Freshwater,” Variety has learned exclusively.
The series focuses on Ada, a Nigerian student in her final year of college who finds out that she has three spirits living in her subconscious. They eventually take control of her, threatening to ruin her life and sanity.
Emezi will write and executive produce the project along with Tamara P. Carter. FX Productions will produce with Kevin Wandell and Lindsey Donahue overseeing the project for FX.
“Freshwater” has drawn notable praise for Emezi. The novel is a finalist for the NYPL Young Lions Award, the Lambda Literary Award for Transgender Fiction, and the Edmund White Award for Debut Fiction. Emezi is repped by the Wylie Agency and Sloss Eckhouse.
Carter was previously a writer on the HBO series “The Leftovers” as well as the Freeform series “The Fosters.” Her debut short “The Paris Project” aired on Vice in 2017. She is repped by Verve, Energy Entertainment, and Sloan Offer.