NYFA / ALUMNI / SCREENWRITING / ABBY AJAYI
Abby Ajayi
SCREENWRITER
Graduated from NYFA NY Campus in 2011
Abby Ajayi is a British-Nigerian screenwriter, director, and showrunner best known as the creator, writer, and executive producer of Riches—a critically acclaimed six-part drama about a Black British family’s beauty empire, which premiered in 2022 on ITVX (UK) and Amazon Prime Video (U.S.). She was also a writer and co-producer on the Emmy-nominated Netflix limited series Inventing Anna, and her U.S. television credits include The First Lady (Showtime), Four Weddings and a Funeral (Hulu), and Shondaland’s How to Get Away with Murder, where she contributed as a writer and story editor across seasons three and four.
Ajayi is currently developing several high-profile projects, including an adaptation of The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz for Hulu/Onyx Collective, starring Mahershala Ali, and a remake of The Bedroom Window for Studiocanal.
She began her career at the BBC as a script editor on iconic British series such as EastEnders, Casualty, and Doctors. Her first writing credit came on The Story of Tracy Beaker, followed by The Future WAGs of Great Britain for Channel 4’s Coming Up scheme—early work that showcased her sharp storytelling and flair for character-driven drama.
Related
Content
