EbonyLife partners with Will Smith, Jada Pinkett’s Westbrook on TV and film productions

Mo Abudu

Media entrepreneur, Mo Abudu, has announced that her EbonyLife will be partnering with Will Smith and Jada Pinkett’s Westbrook on three projects.

Abudu announced the news on Instagram on Tuesday.

Dada Safaris, one of the series lined up follows four bestfriends who follow a leap of faith after finding themselves at career dead ends. The Gods, on the other hand, follows the tale of married Cambridge professors who set out to find the cause of a surge in natural disasters but discover ancient African gods.

Are We Getting Married? is a romantic comedy set in the US follows the story of a girl from a wealthy Nigerian family who falls in love with a nerdy African-American.

“Hello beautiful people, I come bearing more good news!!❤️❤️ Westbrook Studios and EbonyLife Studios are partnering on a multi-project slate of co-produced film and television projects each connected to the African continent. This deal is the first of it’s kind for Westbrook Studios in Africa.

“Under this partnership, our two studios will produce two series and one film project, ranging from a cosmopolitan female dramedy to an Afrofuturistic adventure series. The projects include ‘Dada Safaris’, ‘The Gods’ and ‘Are We Getting Married?’” her post reads.

Westbrook Studios SVP, Head of International TV & Film, Eli Shibley said: “As we set out to focus our initial slate of international content for the Studio business across a diversified set of key territories and regions, the creative energy and world class artistry coming out of Africa is absolutely undeniable.

“We are thrilled to be working with a best-in-class producer like Mo and her EbonyLife team, to tell stories that uniquely celebrate African characters, perspectives and resonate with fans of great film and television around the world.”

Sony Pictures Television’s (SPT) international production division signed a two-year exclusive first look deal with Nigeria’s EbonyLife Media for scripted content on February 4.

The deal follows a multi-title deal EbonyLife signed in 2020 with Netflix to produce films and series. In 2020, EbonyLife also signed a deal with AMC Networks to produce futuristic show ‘Nigeria 2099.’

This is the second deal that SPT has done with EbonyLife, following a three-project co-development/production deal in 2018. The first project announced as part of that deal is a series inspired by the story of the Dahomey Warriors.