Uche Ikejimba Unveils Dramas Love Stories’ & ‘Alex From Oil & Gas’

EXCLUSIVE: Uche Ikejimba, the producer behind the Nigerian version of Big Brother, has revealed a duo of upcoming scripted projects as part of her upcoming slate.

Through her Blink Africa imprint, the Nollywood writer, producer and showrunner has lined up drama series Lagos Love Stories and Africa Magic drama Alex From Oil & Gas, both of which look into wild stories of modern romance in Nigeria. She is also working up a documentary about women called Ashes for 2026, and longer term is eyeing a debut film project.

Ikejimba said Lagos Love Stories will provide a glimpse into “all the crazy love experiences” of a major West African metropolis, adding, “People say one of the worst places you can find love is Lagos — and this is about their love stories.”

The ten-part, hour-long series will follow ten relationships in the Nigerian capital. It’s being billed as “Euphoria meets Insecure meets Gen Z meets Emily in Paris,” according to Ikejimba, who counts Shonda Rhimes as her TV inspiration. “I’m such a stalker, god forgive me,” she laughed. “I’ve watched practically all her shows. She makes her shows very human, and creates characters you can see yourself in.”

Lagos Love Stories will focus on similar topics, such as resilience, heartbreak, lust, sacrifice, pain, deceit and betrayal. It will explore the “chaos and drama” of each relationship, according to a development synopsis. “We will see the adventures and misadventures, funny and not so funny moments and how each character tries to connect, grapples to survive and hopefully thrive despite the ridiculous demands and pressures of the city and its people,” it adds.

Series is still at development phase, but shooting is planned for June. Ikejimba, whose work has so far been entirely focused on Africa, has been looking at expanding her work into the U.S. and a Lagos Love Stories community project in New York later this year is providing a foot in the door, she told Deadline.

Alex From Oil & Gas, meanwhile, will broadcast over three days this week on MultiChoice-owned DStv’s cable network Africa Magic and Showmax to tie in with Valentine’s Day (February 14). It tells the story of a high-flying working woman, Tonye, who meets Alex, a man who works on an oil rig. They begin an intense relationship via social media. However, when she mistakenly opens the laptop of her colleague, Nnamdi, she is shocked to see all of her communications with Alex and realizes she is being catfished. Despite the deceit, the chance of love remains and Ikejimba called it a “feelgood rom-com.”

A veteran scripted producer, Ikejimba also counts Showmax’s first original legal drama, Agu, among her drama credentials. Last year, she directed Africa Magic drama series Manfriend. She has been lauded for dramas such as Unmarried and Dilemma, and is also lining up a 39-part thriller series that begins shooting next month. An earlier series, Truth, won the Africa Magic Viewers Choice Award (AMVCA) for Best TV Series in 2020.

However, Ikejimba has proven something of a Swiss army knife producer, capable of deftly flicking into different modes and tackling genres at the opposing ends of the programming spectrum. She is arguably best known as one of Nigeria’s most successful reality TV producers, through the likes of dating show Shoot Your Shot, competition series Come Play Naija, social taboos format What Will People Say and Big Brother Naija, the Nigerian version of the Banijay competition format.

Her work on an all-stars-themed Big Brother season helped the show record more than one billion online impressions during a ten-week run in 2023. She is a line producer on the main show and producer on the reunion seasons. She has been nominated six times in a row for the AMVCAs for various shows.

“I never wanted to stick to one genre, because I enjoy drama and I enjoy reality. I enjoy making TV,” said Ikejimba. “I call myself lucky because as a general manager of production, I managed different kinds of productions and built strength and technical know-how.”

“Through that, I was able to meet a few people who think I’m good at everything,” she added, perhaps only half-joking. “Africa Magic and Showmax have been my hub. They think I’m great at it, so why not do everything?”

Ikejimba lifted the lid of her new scripted shows ahead of an anticipated tenth season of Big Brother Naija. The popular reality competition is to return this year, though there has been no official confirmation from the broadcaster. Ikejimba, who produces the series, said the show is “everything — a lifestyle” in Nigeria, uniting demographics and directing public conversation.

“For different demographics, it serves something different: It’s a social experiment for the young, and for some other demographics, it’s entertainment. At the core, it about the the dynamics of people in a house, acting however they choose to.”

As for her approach to the show, “You have to ensure that the next season is not repeat of the last one,” she said. “What is trending? What are people watching, what is the slang of the day and what is the music they listening to? With that, you can adapt to the nuances and get to the mind space of where they are. You also remember it isn’t broken, so you don’t need to fix it.”

‘Television addict’

Ikejimba came into the industry under the wing of African TV champion Mo Abudu. She had initially planned to focus on writing for magazines and papers, but began producing syndicated daily talkshow Moments with Mo after responding to an ad and then joined a TV maker company managing productions before landing her own commissions and setting up Blink Africa. “I grew up a television addict,” she said. “I watched everything, and these days I’ve watched almost everything on the streaming services. Growing up in my neighborhood, I used to organize performances and dances, and it made me realize I never want to be in front of the camera. I wanted to make the thing for the others and let them run with it.”

Her first series, the 360-part soap Hustle for Africa Magic, was well received and Big Brother came calling soon after. She is now considered among Nigeria’s top showrunners, writers and producers, with a formidable track record over a decade-long run. Her first feature film co-production, Phantom, was well received in 2023, and she reveals she is working on her first full feature project, which is probably two years away from fruition. Training up a new generation of filmmakers is another priority.

Those new filmmakers will be crucial to the future of Nollywood, Nigeria’s entertainment market where, in Ikejimba’s words, “there is no template because we like to freestyle, in everything from music in television.” Given the lack of investment in Nigerian entertainment when compared with Hollywood or Bollywood, its champions show great pride in its development, and Ikejimba recalled how its producers “built this industry” through grit and determination. “We raised the funds for it and we were seeking work for it. I know how hard it is to survive. Korea has a lot of money behind it; I owe my mum and dad money. You get the funds together how you can, but we are very ambitious and that is why Nollywood is not going anywhere.”

The TV market has been under strain, for sure. South Africa-based Showmax can count of backing from the likes of NBCUniversal and Canal+, and its MultiChoice stablemate Africa Magic remains very active, but global some streamers have failed to follow through on initial promise. Prime Video’s exit from the original market, which we revealed last year, was particularly damaging to local creatives. On the brighter side, Netflix recently named Kaye-Ann Williams as its new scripted content chief, while Ben Adamasun used the recent MIP Africa to unveil a trio of new movies along with a Blood Legacy series from Blood & Water producer Gambit Films and reality show Love Never Lies: South Africa.

“When Amazon pulled out, it was a problem,” said Ikejimba. “We were creating a level playing field with other players around the world and then all of a sudden they were gone. However, that for me is the only hitch that has affected this journey, and as resilient people, we found other avenues to sell our products. There is always a door open somewhere. It is very hard to book a good actor right now because they are all working. There was news saying Netflix was pulling out, but they have said that is untrue, and shows are still going to be licensed. They are still engaging, shows are coming out daily and people are working on their shows.”

Citing her TV hero, Bridgerton creator Rhimes, she pointed out the differences between Nollywood and mature markets such as the U.S. and UK, where “the next five years are fixed, and “the next ten” are mapped out with a certain degree of clarity. “Here, we’re pitching,” she said. “I wake up generally and I don’t know what the futures hold. I’m hoping, wishing and praying for a meeting. One person called me who had four TV shows, but the economic dynamics of the world changed and all of that was cancelled. It set me back.”

However, Ikejimba’s ability to quickly turn productions around has become vital to several channels and producers, and kept her in consistent work. “In a year, I never know what’s going to happen, except the things I planned to shoot myself,” she added. “Every year for the past ten years has been busy. I have worked every month of the past decade.”

Ikejimba’s future will be all about opening doors around the world, bringing through new local talent and continuing to make hits in Nigeria. “My team in Africa can run my business whether I’m there or not these days,” she said. “I just have to get used to handing off now.”