Hulu Lands Amy DuBois Barnett’s Novel ‘If I Ruled the World’

Hulu has acquired the rights to pioneering media executive Amy DuBois Barnett’s debut novel, “If I Ruled the World,” to be adapted into an hour-long drama series.

“If I Ruled the World” is inspired by Barnett’s experiences as the first black woman to lead a major mainstream magazine in the US. Barnett was editor-in-chief of Ebony, Teen People, and Honey magazines, and deputy editor of Harper’s Bazaar.

In 2024, after a competitive auction, ‘If I Ruled the World’ was sold in a major deal to Flatiron Books. The novel, out Tuesday, is described as “a fast-paced, juicy debut that takes a behind-the-scenes look at the cutthroat world of hip-hop music and the glamorous magazine scene of the late 1990s, written by the ultimate insider.”

Veteran producer and top studio executive Emma Watts (at Paramount Pictures and 20th Century Fox) and Lee Daniels (“Empire,” “Precious,” “The Deliverance”) are producing the TV adaptation, which Watts brought to Daniels after reading the manuscript. Daniels is co-writing the pilot with Barnett.

“If I Ruled the World” focuses on Nikki Rose, a young magazine editor – and the only Black editor on staff – as she navigates the volatile intersection of hip-hop, fashion and editorial culture in the Y2K era.

“But after her boss tells her one too many times that ‘black girls don’t sell magazines,’ she quits to take over Sugar, a struggling hip-hop music and lifestyle magazine with untapped potential,” according to a synopsis. “Nikki is thrown into a whole new world of wealth, decadence and debauchery and has just six months to save Sugar – and her own dreams.”

The story follows as Nikki tries to prove she’s smart enough to take the lead – spending all night in the office partying with New York City’s most influential bad guys.

There’s a lot of drama in this area, but as the synopsis teases, “her most dangerous challenge is evading Alonzo Griffin, her very married, very powerful ex-lover and former boss, who is determined to destroy both her and Sugar.”

Barnett will also executive produce. She is repped by Anonymous Content, Kaplan Perrone and Park Fine & Brower.

Daniels is represented by AA and Hansen, Jacobson, Teller, Hoberman, Newman, Warren Richman, Rush, Kaller, Gellman, Meigs & Fox, LLP Watts is represented by CAA and Ziffren Brittenham LLP.