VIDEO EXCLUSIVE: Abby Ajayi On Writing & Directing Black Characters For ‘Riches’

Riches follows the story of cosmetics mogul Stephen Richards’ family as they deal with his death and the drama, secrets and lies that surface.

Executive producer and writer of the series Abby Ajayi recently sat down with uInterview founder Erik Meers to discuss black representation on the show.

“There aren’t very many shows like this in the U.K., but actually my starting point was telling a story about a black family and family business, and once we located it in cosmetics and hair, it became very much about talking about the politics and aspirational element of that,” Ajayi said. “The sense of being representative or inclusive is in its DNA. It’s a black family so there’s going to be a lot of black people on the screen. It’s about black hair and beauty. I write to see myself on screen and I always have. Inevitably, I will often and routinely write black characters. I think audiences have been clamoring for representation. I grew up in the center of London which is one of the most diverse cities on the planet. Audiences are clamoring for reflections of what they know to be true and certain. I couldn’t write a show set in London that wasn’t what I know to be true. I think it is just realistic.”

Ajayi also revealed her favorite scene to write.

“There were a couple, but one of the first ones was the opening speech in the pilot – Stephen’s speech where he says, ‘We have been here a long time,'” the director and writer said. “I think that speech was sort of intention setting, theme setting about what this show is about. It’s about black ambition and black agency. We got Hugh [Quarshie] to do it and he brought a real Shakespearean quality to this summation about what this family means to him and what he has achieved.”

Riches is available to stream on Prime Video now.