Yvonne Orji to develop series based on Yaa Gyasi's 'Transcendent Kingdom'

Nigerian-American actress, Yvonne Orji is taking the lead in developing a series based on the novel, Transcendent Kingdom, by Ghanaian writer Yaa Gyasi for Sony Pictures Television.

This comes after Orji signed a two-year first-look agreement with Sony Pictures Television, during which she will develop scripted shows for streaming and cable, according to a recent article published by Deadline on Tuesday, April 22, 2024.

Orji gained widespread recognition for her performance as Molly in the HBO Max series Insecure, for which she was nominated for an Emmy in 2020 for Best Supporting Actress.

Orji most recently starred in The Blackening, a horror-comedy, and Vacation Friends 2, a 2021 Hulu comedy sequel to Vacation Friends. Prior credits include voice acting in the comedy Night School by Malcolm D. Lee and the Netflix animated series My Dad the Bounty Hunter. Furthermore.

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Transcendent Kingdom, the second novel by Gyasi, delves into the complex life of Gifty, "a neuroscientist in training studying the behaviour patterns in mice as they relate to depression and addiction. Bouncing back and forth between her present-day life in the Bay Area and her childhood as a first-generation Ghanaian growing up in rural Alabama, Gifty is on both a methodical and a spiritual journey to make sense of the suffering she’s seen all around her," according to Deadline.

Orji's venture into production is not new. She has two highly regarded stand-up specials to her credit and was an executive producer for the HBO Max reality series My Mom, Your Dad. With the release of Transcendent Kingdom, Orji makes a daring move and proves that she is a formidable force in the background.