Caleb Azumah Nelson to Direct BBC Adaptation of His Novel ‘Open Water’

A new BBC drama based on Caleb Azumah Nelson’s award-winning debut novel, Open Water, is in the works.

Azumah Nelson will serve as lead writer, director and executive producer on the eight-part series for BBC iPlayer and BBC One. The show will be produced by Mam Tor Productions (a Banijay U.K. company) and B-Side Productions.

Open Water follows Marcus, a retail worker trying to develop a career as a photographer. Effie is studying dance at university in Dublin. From the moment they meet, they feel an immediate, undeniable connection. But, as Marcus soon learns, Effie is in a relationship with Marcus’ friend Samuel. It’s a boundary that Marcus is unwilling to cross.

A synopsis reads: “A shared project, photographing and documenting Black creatives in London, draws them into each other’s orbit, but can their burgeoning friendship resist the pull of desire?”

“It’s been an absolute joy working alongside Mam Tor, B-Side and the BBC to adapt Open Water for the screen,” Azumah Nelson said. “I can’t wait for viewers not only to meet Marcus and Effie but to step into their world: their private, intimate spaces, their communities, their desires. I’m incredibly grateful to be telling this story at this time.”

Tally Garner, executive producer, Mam Tor Productions, added: “The incredible Caleb Azumah Nelson’s Open Water is the most profound and vital love story, and I am overjoyed to be bringing his beautiful and distinctive vision to the screen with Lindsay Salt, Rebecca Ferguson and Danielle Scott-Haughton at the BBC, and Matimba Kabalika at B-Side who are the perfect partners.”

Open Water was commissioned by Lindsay Salt, Director of BBC Drama. Banijay Rights will handle international distribution.