Arese Ugwu has almost always done things differently. The author and producer is no stranger to trying new things: in 2016 when she wrote and self-published her debut romantic comedy financial literacy book, no one, even her greatest supporters, truly understood what she was trying to do. She launched a ground-breaking book tour and rallied unprecedented sales from a community that was completely locked in, and simultaneously launched ‘The Smart Money Woman’ into the cultural zeitgeist. Accolades and incredible corporate partnerships soon followed. Now she is breaking the rules again. Ugwu, in this interview speaks on the challenges and breaking new ground with the Smart Money Woman Season Two; the defining moments of her career thus far; diving into new facets of herself and what it means to show up as her complete self on set and in her writing. Kenneth Athekame brings the excerpts:
The Smart Money Woman Season One was a huge success, and for most people – quite a surprise. How did it feel getting to number one on Netflix in so many countries? It was the first non-Netflix Original title to cross over outside of Nigeria I believe?
It was incredible. I wasn’t necessarily surprised – we put a lot of effort into making the show and in the first and second [Netflix] rollout, so we were prepared for it to do well, but the response across board was insane.
It came out in the same week as ‘Squid Game’ right?
It did! Which I still can’t believe to be honest. There was so much fanfare for over 12 weeks, and the feedback from the fans was everything. There are all these emotional associations we get with movies and films, and it’s extra gratifying that we get to be a part of that. It’s an incredible privilege to be in people’s lives and in their hearts in that way.
So, the new season. What would you say your biggest challenge was?
It was such an amazing experience – many setbacks of course. Bringing the cast and a lot of our crew back was so fulfilling – seeing how everyone has challenged themselves and grown. We promoted some cast members and brought in new folks. I would say – scaling so quickly was an adventure. We made some hiring errors that led to some costly production issues, and we were shooting in the first window where the Naira skyrocketed against the dollar and diesel prices doubled but we rallied and I have to shout out the rest of our producing team here – Isoken, Akin and Lala were phenomenal throughout. The stories we could tell!
It certainly took a while to come out. I’m sure I’m not the only one who is wondering why?
The fans were furious, but ultimately understanding. I’d like to note that from an international perspective, this isn’t that long from when we shot to our prospective release. It took a while to get the financing required to scale season two to where it needed to be, but we really spent a lot of time waiting…
So why?
The short answer is one I’m sure most filmmakers right now can relate to – Distribution. We weren’t able to reach a deal with a streamer that was reflective of the value we had created on screen.
That must have been hard – how did you handle it?
Listen, initially I thought I would be devastated. We had put so much in, actual hard cash but I think it was hardest explaining to our creative partners that we would not, in fact, be going to an international streamer. It was definitely upsetting, but one thing I’m going to do is bet on myself. I thought it through and figured barring the upfront cash, not a lot would change. We have always had to figure out our own marketing, and we bring our community with us. And look, Nigeria is hard right now.
But YouTube?
Exactly. It’s not the first place you think of for prestige content, but a lot is changing. Convincing our investors wasn’t a walk-in-the-park [laughs]. And like I said, we projected that offering it for free on YouTube, we’d reach a much larger audience.
What have you learnt?
Everything is a challenge and it’s how you rise to it that matters. Sounds cliche but it’s true. Challenging myself to write the book even when I didn’t know I could. Facing personal and professional setbacks that had me questioning everything I know. I became increasingly uncomfortable with being called an expert, but committing to the process showed me the power of sharing your journey even while you’re still on it. I still fight fear and uncertainty every day— I fight to choose courage over fear. Everyone’s journey looks different! But I think ultimately, we can learn together, and it’s something we strove to show in season two especially in the writing. All the characters have setbacks and they come back from them, sometimes, they repeat the same mistakes – because that’s what happens. Sometimes, we get the same lessons until we actually learn it.
The show is also unapologetic in its celebration of ambitious women. Is this something that’s important to you?
Black content across board is victim to some very specific tropes. And while some tropes are rooted in truth, I am particularly exhausted of the narrative both in international content and in Nollywood – that ambitious women who love their work are somehow sexless, bitter and miserable. ‘Having it all’ may not be the idealised concept we think it is, and what that looks like to different women will vary wildly, but I refuse to platform stores where women have to choose between professional and romantic fulfilment.
So, what’s next?
So much! I can’t disclose a lot right now but we have a series and a feature in financing right now as well as another feature development. I am extremely excited about our slate and can’t wait to share what we have been working on.
Can we hope for Season Three?
Haha! You’ll just have to wait and see.
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