Just one year after conquering the literary world with her debut novel Love in Colour: Mythical Tales from Around the World, Retold, Bolu Babalola has set her sights on a new realm within the media space: television. And she’s bringing all of her pop culture takes and romance expertise along for the ride.
On 23rd July, Babalola announced that her next big venture is a new pilot for Channel 4. Titled At Your Big Age (a nod to the popular Black colloquialism describing someone who should be too grown for nonsense), the developing series will follow a group of Black Brits trying to survive their twenties. The story revolves around Sade (Ronkẹ Adékoluẹjo from Netflix’s Been So Long), a 25-year-old determined to thrive, not survive adulthood. It’s easier said than done, but she’s got good people around her — best friend Dela (Racheal Ofori), the level-headed Tayo (CJ Beckford), and Zeke (Michael Workeye), the guy she’s secretly been pining over for ages.
Years in the making in a practical way but also ways that aren’t visible. Creator, writer & exec! To be able to breathe life into my dream like this is a blessing.❤ to my incredible producer @theamyannette & director @nosaferatu my GANG. My cast are supertars. Glory be to God! pic.twitter.com/zaksRjXO6c
— Bolu Babalola (@BeeBabs) July 23, 2021
“Years in the making in a practical way but also ways that aren’t visible,” Babalola wrote of the news on her Twitter account. “Creator, writer & exec! To be able to breathe life into my dream like this is a blessing.”
Given the British-Nigerian writer’s obvious talent when it comes to storytelling (have you seen her tweets?), At Your Big Age has the clear potential to be the Black coming-of-age story that the culture has been waiting for with bated breath, particularly the parts of the diaspora that have long be ignored in mainstream narratives. With stories like those in Love in Colour and in her developing Channel 4 series, Babalola is laser focused on highlighting those oft-disregarded perspectives and showing their necessity, no matter how messy and complicated they can be.
“[I hope to bring] more joy, more hope, more genuine connection,” Babalola said of her work in a recent conversation with Refinery29. “I really want people to know that when they’re watching or reading something that was created by me, they know they’re going to come away from it feeling good.”
“Black women deserve to feel good,” she continued. “We deserve to feel good when there’s darkness in the world. If I can contribute to people being able to see the world with some light, it would be an honour.”
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