Super exciting news! Shonda Rhimes and Betsy Beers’ Shondaland has joined ABC Signature Studios to acquire rights to Luvvie Ajayi’s New York Times Bestselling book I’m Judging You: The Do Better Manual (Henry Holt & Co) as a comedy series! The project will be under Shondaland’s deal at ABC Studios and its cable division, ABC Signature.
Ajayi originally gained popularity for her humor site, AwesomelyLuvvie.com, where she reached an even bigger audience while recapping episodes of Shondaland’s drama, Scandal, where she eventually gained the attention of Rhimes. Ajayi published her debut book, I’m Judging You in September 2016 and it shot to number 5 on the New York Times Bestseller list. Her inspiration came from a journalist plagiarizing her work and when confronted, alleged that he wasn’t aware her work should be credited. In an effort to implore people like him to “do better,” Ajayi set off into writing the book, page-by-page and chapter-by-chapter.
Shondaland has been looking to expand its portfolio into comedy and this pairing will be perfect! Congrats to Luvvie and we look forward to your Shondaland journey! You can find more information about I’m Judging You here!