When Netflix, a major streaming service, declined to collaborate with Nigerian author and filmmaker Arese Ugwu on a greater scale, she disclosed how she nearly broke.
The 39-year-old author revealed that she had asked Netflix for sponsorship in order to expand her 2021 TV series, The Smart Money Woman, after it became popular on the streaming service and Africa Magic, but the streaming behemoth rejected her request.
During a recent visit on the Afropolitan podcast, Ugwu said she was surprised to be rejected for a second season of her TV show after the first season was produced successfully.
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“We produced Season 1 of The Smart Money Woman and received great feedback on Africa Magic and Netflix,” she stated. For 13 weeks, we ranked in the top 10 on Netflix. Then, in an attempt to expand and improve the initiative, I asked Netflix for support, but they surprisingly declined. I nearly crumbled after that rejection.
Ugwu also mentioned her ambition to become a well-known director rather than merely a writer whose work has been made into a movie.
“My goal is to become a well-known filmmaker. She remarked, “I feel like some people still think of me as the girl who wrote a book that was made into a television show.”
