Genevieve Nnaji joins the London-based BBC One thriller Wahala. The six-part series is based on Nikki May’s debut novel about three Anglo-Nigerian friends whose lives are disrupted by dark secrets. Photo Credit: BBC Studios/Instagram
If you have sorely missed watching Genevieve Nnaji on your screens, we have got the most pleasant news for you.
The BBC has announced the casting for “Wahala,” a new drama series adapted by BAFTA-nominated writer Theresa Ikoko. Produced by Firebird Pictures for BBC One and iPlayer, the production features a stellar female-led cast. Joining Nigerian screen icon Genevieve Nnaji are Adelayo Adedayo, Deborah Ayorinde, Cush Jumbo, and Susan Wokoma.
Based on the bestselling debut novel by Nikki May, “Wahala” is a six-part thriller that follows three Anglo-Nigerian friends—Ronke, Simi, and Boo—living in London. Their long-standing friendship is thrown into chaos when a wealthy and charismatic new acquaintance, Isobel, enters their lives. As the story unfolds, long-buried secrets and past traumas surface, threatening to shatter their carefully constructed worlds.
Wahala by Nikki May is a friendship thriller exploring identity and betrayal among Nigerian-British women in London. The novel, which won the Comedy Women In Print New Voice Prize, is the source material for the upcoming BBC series. Photo Credit: goodreads
Part of what makes the story feel so layered is the fact that Nikki May drew inspiration from her own experience navigating Nigerian and British identities as a biracial woman. She has shared that the idea for the novel first came to her during a lunch at a Nigerian restaurant in London, and that personal grounding carries through the story’s exploration of race, ambition, friendship, and womanhood.
With production now underway, this is the perfect time to pick up a copy of the book or revisit it before the series arrives. It offers a grounded yet gripping look at the bonds between women and the trouble that ensues when those bonds are tested.
