Bolu Essien’s Becoming Abi Loosely Based On Personal Experience

Bolu Essien’s Becoming Abi is loosely based on her personal experience working in one of Nigeria’s most prestigious digital advertising agencies.

The six-part dramedy tells the story of Abi played By Essien, as she goes through the fires of building a business and scaling up a harsh and demanding industry. It explores themes of love, betrayal, workplace politics, career-growth among others.

The series features veteran acts like Idowu Philips, Biodun Stephen, Stan Nze, Akah Nnani, Seun Ajayi, Juliana Olayode, Ifeanyi Kalu Opeyemi Akintunde, among others; and will premiere globally on Netflix on October 28, 2022.

Speaking of the series Essien said, “My inspiration comes from God and that is how I get inspired to write stories that are either based on personal experience or simply fictional. We spoke to a couple of brands and luckily Gala, Glover, Supa Komando and Essenza supported us. I was very particular about directing this in the exact tone I wanted it to be – drama with a hint of realistic comedy, and when it’s downright unrealistic, you can tell it’s Abi’s mind playing tricks on her. AT Evolving Lights Studios, we want to tell unique and relatable stories, and platforms like Netflix allow us to show the world what we are capable of,” the actress told Pulse.ng.

Becoming Abi is Essien’s first foray in a creating, writing, producing and co-directing a TV series. Her short film Things That Broke Us has been showing on DSTV since last year, and her insightful documentary Scars of Honour which highlights de-stigmatization of caesarean section births in Nigeria, has been generating conversations amongst people since its release earlier this year.