EPIX (SOON TO BE MGM+) PRESENTS Season Three of Godfather of Harlem Will Premiere January 15th.
Executive producer and Academy Award-winning actor Forest Whitaker will star in 10-episode season from ABC Signature.
Season Three is currently in production in New York.
Godfather of Harlem’s second season was EPIX’s best performing season of all time
The first two seasons are available to watch on the EPIX NOW app, anywhere you access EPIX and on HULU
Godfather of Harlem tells a story inspired by infamous crime boss Bumpy Johnson (Whitaker), who, in the early 1960s, returned from 11 years in prison to find the neighborhood he once ruled in shambles.
Season Three will find Bumpy Johnson continuing to battle for control of Harlem, with other aspirants to the throne, namely the Cuban Mafia from neighboring Spanish Harlem. Taking on the Cuban mob will put Bumpy, his loved ones, and his community in the crosshairs of not only the rival Italians, but ruthless Latin assassins and, ultimately, the CIA. Godfather of Harlem is a collision of the criminal underworld and the civil rights movement during one of the most tumultuous times in American history.
In addition to Forest Whitaker (The Last King of Scotland) as star and executive producer, Season Three cast members include: Vincent D’Onofrio (Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Daredevil), Ilfenesh Hadera (She’s Gotta Have It, Baywatch), Lucy Fry (Bright, Vampire Academy), and Antoinette Crowe-Legacy (Geechee, Passing) and Giancarlo Esposito (Breaking Bad, The Mandalorian).
Additional new cast members include Michael Raymond-James (Sweet Girl, Law & Order) as Joe Colombo and Jason Alan Carvell (NCIS: New Orleans, The Baker and the Beauty) as Malcom X.
Produced by ABC Signature, the series is executive produced by Chris Brancato, Paul Eckstein, Forest Whitaker, Nina Yang Bongiovi, James Acheson, Markuann Smith and Joe Chappelle. Swizz Beatz is executive music producer.
Godfather of Harlem’s second season was EPIX’s best performing season of all time, and the series broke records for any single title streams in a single day across EPIX’s digital platforms. The season two finale was EPIX’s best performing finale episode to date.
Today, BET announced Baby Tate, Big Boss Vette, Deetranada, Guapdad 4000, Jayson Cash, Ray Vaughn, Reuben Vincent, Sa-Roc, Sauce Walka and Topaz Jones as this year’s on-air cypher talent for “BET Hip Hop Awards.” The show will also unleash a digital-exclusive cypher featuring rising stars Armani Caesar, Kentheman, Nana, Navelle Hice, OT The Real, Yung Pooda, and several social cypher surprises that will compliment the on-air tentpole event. Additionally, BET is expanding its digital programming to bring fans the ultimate hip hop experience leading up to, during and post “BET Hip Hop Awards” 2022, with the premiere of hit series “Rate The Bars” Season 6 and the debut of two new originals, “A Series of Firsts” and “Finish This.” For the first-ever acclaimed podcast “Million Dollaz Worth of Game,” and DJ Envy will host the Nissan Digital Twitter Pre-Show for the second year in a row, interviewing luminaries and celebrated artists on the Red Carpet.
BET Social media channels will also bring you exclusive, and behind-the-scenes content in real-time; including the first-ever #RedCarpetMoment Spotlight Challenge brought to you by BET Social and Snapchat.
Viewers can visit the official site at BET.com/HipHopAwards, to get up-to-date info on this year’s trailblazing “BET Hip Hop Awards,” take a look back on past awards and peer into the future with hot new original digital series and offerings, including:
Showtime announced today that Charmaine Bingwa (The Good Fight) and Nkeki Obi-Melekwe (Tina -The Tina Turner Musical) will star, and Tony Kgoroge (Invictus), Sindi Dlatu (The River) and Bahle Hadebe (Bone of My Bones) will guest star in the highly anticipated new series KING SHAKA, an epic drama centered around one man’s personal journey from stigmatized childhood to legendary king. The CBS Studios production will shoot in the historic KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) South Africa province, the birthplace of King Shaka, and will be fully shot in South Africa. The series is produced with Propagate and Hill District Media and will debut on SHOWTIME in 2023.
Bingwa stars as Isisa, a fierce and formidable warrior whose loyalty is thrown into question by a fateful encounter and Obi-Melekwe will star as the Locust Queen, the mysterious leader of a nomadic tribe of outcasts who uses her deep knowledge of the spiritual world to her advantage. Kgoroge is guest starring as Chief Senzangakhona, the proud leader of the Zulu people who denies Shaka’s birthright, Dlathu as Inyoni, a council leader and midwife, and Hadebe as young Shaka.
Bingwa stars in the Paramount+ series The Good Fight as Carmen Moyo and starred in the feature film Black Box. She will next be seen in KING SHAKA executive producer Antoine Fuqua’s Emancipation. Additional credits include Trees of Peace, Little Sista and Nekrotronic. Obi-Melekwe earned acclaim in her Broadway debut as Tina Turner in Tina – The Tina Turner Musical. She also appeared in the CBS series Bull and the SHOWTIME series SMILF.
Kgoroge starred most recently as police chief Khaya Meyer in the dark comedy series Recipes for Love and Murder. Additional credits include Imbewu: The Seed, Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom, Blood Diamond, Lord of War and Hotel Rwanda. Dlathu is best known for her work in the drama series The River as the villainous Lindiwe Dlamini and as Nomthandazo Buthelezi in Muvhango. She also worked alongside Whoopi Goldberg in the feature film Sarafina. Additional credits include Khululeka and Soul City. Hadebe started his career as a host on the series Yo, and later as a host on Epic Hangout. His credits include Deep State, Down the Zambezi, The Estate and Cash and Carry.
Rooted in actual events, KING SHAKA tells the story of the Zulu Empire founder Shaka (Charles Babalola) and his unlikely rise to power, uniting multiple tribes across vast stretches of Africa in the early 19th century to transform his power into legend, on par with history’s most seminal figures. The outcast son of a Zulu Chief, Shaka is a visionary who is prophesized to become a king like none before him. In ferocious battles that test the body and soul, in alliances that test the bonds of love and friendship, a complex sociological system plays out that renders the human cost front and center, for the victors as well as the vanquished, all in an effort to carve out a semblance of identity, fulfillment and ultimately, survival.
KING SHAKA is created and executive produced by Olu Odebunmi and Tolu Awosika, and executive produced by Antoine Fuqua, Bridget Carpenter, Propagate’s Ben Silverman, Howard T. Owens and Rodney Ferrell. Seith Mann, who is directing the pilot, and Spencer Medof are also executive producers. Scott Greenberg is a producer, and Michael Callas is producing for Hill District Media. Gugulethu Zuma-Ncube and Pepsi Pokane also produce.
As part of the production investment in South Africa and the KZN province, nearly 1,000 locals have been hired for jobs across all facets of the production, including cast, crew, performers and craftspeople. In addition, the production is working in concert with leading South African production services company Film Afrika to help facilitate filming in the region. They are also working closely with the KZN Film Commission and with career-building training programs such as SA Film Academy (SAFA) and the Academy of Creative Excellence to provide production internships and other opportunities.
Coolio, the Grammy-winning Compton rapper who was behind the global hit “Gangsta’s Paradise,” has died. He was 59.
His manager, Jarez Posey, said that Coolio died Wednesday afternoon at a friend’s house in Los Angeles. “He went to use the bathroom and never came out,” he said. No cause of death was given.
Indelibly associated with West Coast hip-hop and gangsta rap, Coolio reached worldwide success in the mid 1990s with three of his albums — It Takes a Thief (1994), Gangsta’s Paradise (1995), and My Soul (1997) — crossing over into the mainstream, driven by a clutch of more chart-friendly singles, including “Fantastic Voyage,” “1, 2, 3, 4 (Sumpin’ New)” and “C U When U Get There.” The single “Gangsta’s Paradise,” featuring R&B singer L.V., was boosted by its appearance in the 1995 Michelle Pfeiffer drama Dangerous Minds and went on to sell over 5 million copies worldwide.
Coolio composed the theme song for the 1996-2000 Nickelodeon sitcom Kenan & Kel, starring Kenan Thompson and Kel Mitchell; voiced the character Kwanzaa-bot on Futurama; and appeared in such movies as Dear God (1996), Batman & Robin (1997), Submerged (2000) and Stealing Candy (2003).
“This is sad news. I witness first hand this man’s grind to the top of the industry. Rest In Peace @Coolio,” rapper-turned-actor Ice Cube tweeted.
“Coolio was the West Coast Flavor Flav. He loved telling everyone that. We was supposed to perform together this Tuesday. #RIP my friend,” tweeted
A number of other hip-hop artists and entertainment figures have also responded to Coolio’s death.
Born Artis Leon Ivey Jr. in Monessen, Pennsylvania, on Aug. 1, 1963, Coolio grew up in Compton, California. In interviews, Coolio has said he became a fan of hip hop after hearing “Freedom” by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. He was taken by the flow of rapper Melle Mel and said he tried to imitate his style. He was also hugely inspired by LL Cool J and Ice T. He penned his first song at 15.
A regular performer in the Los Angeles rap scene, Coolio joined the group WC and the Maad Circle in 1991 and recorded the album Ain’t a Damn Thang Changed.
He would then go solo and in 1994 signed with Tommy Boy Records which would release his debut studio album It Takes a Thief. The album, which featured classic G-funk beats of the era mixed with Coolio’s more lighthearted take on the gangsta lifestyle, would peak at No. 8 on the Billboard 200, eventually reaching platinum status, and spawned the hit single “Fantastic Voyage.”
The radio-friendly “Fantastic Voyage,” which sampled the 1981 song of the same name by Lakeside, would hit No. 3 on the Billboard singles chart and give the rapper his first crossover hit. F. Gary Gray, who would later go on to direct Friday, The Fate of the Furious and Straight Outta Compton, directed the music video for “Fantastic Voyage.”
Building upon the success and notoriety of It Takes a Thief, Coolio released his second album, Gangsta’s Paradise, in November 1995. At a time N.W.A. members Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, and Eazy-E and Ice T were dominating the charts but attracting official opprobrium for glorifying gangsta culture, Coolio was able to find success with chart-friendly music that featured less confrontational lyrics.
Produced by Coolio, Christopher Hamabe, Devon Davis, Doug Rasheed and Bryan “The Wino” Dobbs, Gangsta’s Paradise‘s lyrics delved into the grimmer aspects of street life but maintained a sense of hope. It was a commercial and critical hit, achieving 4 Mics out of 5 in The Source‘s review. The album featured the singles “Gangsta’s Paradise,” “1, 2, 3, 4 (Sumpin’ New)” and “Too Hot.”
Released in August 1995, “Gangsta’s Paradise” interpolates Stevie Wonder’s 1976 song “Pastime Paradise” and begins with a line from Psalm 23:4 — “As I walk through the valley of the shadow of death” — before Coolio adds, “I take a look at my life and realize there’s nothin’ left.” The song was a breakout global hit, soaring to No.1 on the Billboard Hot 100, and reaching the top spot in over 25 countries.
The song featured in the John N. Smith high school drama Dangerous Minds and the accompanying music video, directed by Antoine Fuqua, featured Michelle Pfeiffer reprising her role from the film. The music video has accrued over 1 billion views on YouTube.
The legacy and cultural impact of the “Gangsta’s Paradise” was wide-reaching, and it inspired a parody “Amish Paradise” by “Weird Al” Yankovic which initially Coolio objected to, but in later years the rapper admitted he regretted his early opposition. To this day, the song is included in many Greatest Songs of All Time lists.
On the back of the huge success of “Gangsta’s Paradise,” “1, 2, 3, 4 (Sumpin’ New)” reached No. 5 Billboard Hot 100, and “Too Hot” peaked at No. 24.
Gangsta’s Paradise, the album, peaked at No. 9 on the Billboard 200, and would go on to double platinum status with sales north of 2 million in the U.S. alone, becoming the rapper’s best-selling record. Buoyed by the hit singles, the album also broke through internationally, reaching the top 20 in major markets like Germany, Australia and the U.K.
In 1996, he won the Grammy for best rap solo performance for “Gangsta’s Paradise,” written with Kylian Mash, and received another nomination for Record of the Year. In a stirring rendition at the 38th Annual Grammy Awards, Coolio and L.V. performed the song with a full live orchestra and gospel choir.
The next year, Gangsta’s Paradise was nominated for best rap album. His first of six career Grammy noms was for best rap solo performance for “Fantastic Voyage.”
At the zenith of his success, Coolio’s third studio album, My Soul, quickly followed in August 1997. Despite warm reviews, the record, the rapper’s last on Tommy Boy, failed to recapture the success of Gangsta’s Paradise, and peaked at No. 39 on the Billboard album chart, reaching gold status. The lead single from the album fared a little better, with “C U When U Get There,” which featured the distinctive sample of “Canon in D Major” by Johann Pachelbel, hitting top 20 in the U.S. and numerous countries around the world. The follow-up single, “Ooh La La,” however failed to chart in the U.S. but did internationally.
Coolio would go on to release five more studio albums — Coolio.com (2001), El Cool Magnifico (2002), The Return of the Gangsta (2006), Steal Hear (2008) and From the Bottom 2 the Top (2009) — all independently released, but his star was on the wane as gangsta rap became less popular.
Outside of music, Coolio had a long list of film and television credits, often appearing as himself in genre films and comedies. He was the subject of the 2008 reality show Coolio’s Rules, which lasted six episodes.
He is survived by his six children.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
Actor, comedian, producer, and real estate investor Mike Epps is an Indianapolis native on a mission to revitalize his childhood street in the newly greenlighted HGTV series Buying Back the Block (wt). Mike and his wife, television producer and design enthusiast Kyra Epps, who’ve already transformed an abandoned firehouse on the block into their stunning new family home, will continue improving the neighborhood and restoring a sense of community with more property renovations. The duo will update each house, adding modern amenities and keeping the original charm, to create affordable and beautiful places for families to buy or rent. Driven by his passionate vision, Mike will be hands-on as he oversees the projects, including the overhaul of his grandmother’s house, alongside his expert construction team. The three-episode series is slated to air in summer 2023.
“Kyra and I are restoring two homes on the block, one was my grandmother’s house from the 1960s,” said Mike. “Our kids will see us work firsthand, nail by nail, to rebuild these homes and our community. Our goal is to inspire legacy and family for generations to come.”
“Our two little ones are growing up on the same block as Mike did in the ’70s,” said Kyra. “Over the last two years, Mike and I realized that we needed to be close to our families more than ever. We decided to spend more time in Indianapolis so our children could understand the importance of family and their family history. I am excited to bring my design style to the neighborhood for future families to experience.”
Buying Back the Block (wt) is produced by GoodStory Entertainment.
Three friends stumble onto a bomb of information when they uncover a cloning operation in the first trailer for the Netflix film They Cloned Tyrone.
The film stars John Boyega as Fontaine, Teyonah Parris as Yo-Yo, and Jamie Foxx as Slick, a trio who after hopping an elevator down to a hidden lab, discover a government conspiracy that’s “not just a theory.” Now, the trio has to find out how to crack the “major league” government-sponsored experiment they suddenly find themselves in knowledge of.
In the two-minute teaser, the trio is first seen, guns in hand, goofing off in an elevator before walking out into a room filled with testing and experiment equipment occupied by a single man in a lab coat.
“What kind of shit is this?” Slick whispers, gun raised before telling a trembling Yo-Yo “don’t touch shit.”
But when Fontaine gets ahold of the man and demands to know who he is, the stranger utters a vague, nearly ominous, reply. “We’re everywhere,” he responds, his voice echoing.
Set to The Gap Band’s “You Dropped a Bomb on Me,” the remainder of the trailer unveils the wild series of events all three suddenly find themselves involved in — their calls being recorded, whereabouts being videotaped — that hurtles them towards the answer behind a funky, wide-ranging plot.
“Somebody is doing experiments on us,” Yo-Yo says.
But as the trio tries to follow the trail in attempt to uncover what is actually going on in this mystery caper, their detective skills are put to the test as the group discovers being the heroes is a little more complicated than it looks.
The trailer ends with the group getting a glimpse of what they’ve uncovered in a lab: a body wrapped in foil, its face obscured by the camera angle. “I don’t know what that was,” Fontaine utters. “But that wasn’t me.”
Directed by Juel Taylor and co-written by Taylor and Tony Rettenmaier, They Cloned Tyrone is produced by Foxx, Taylor, Rettenmaier, Charles D. King, Stephen “Dr” Love, Kim Roth and Datari Turner with Poppy Hanks, Jack L. Murray, Dana Sano and Mark R. Wright serving as executive producers.
The release date has yet to be announced.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
Rihanna has slyly affirmed that she will be performing at the Super Bowl LVII Halftime Show in Feb. 2023. Roc Nation also officially confirmed the singer’s participation through a statement released on Sunday.
The singer shared a picture of an NFL-branded football on her Instagram. The post came amid reports that the singer was “in talks” to headline the next Halftime Show.
The game, which typically draws one of the biggest single TV audiences of the year, is scheduled to be played at the State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz. on Feb. 12.
“Rihanna is a generational talent, a woman of humble beginnings who has surpassed expectations at every turn,” said Jay-Z in the official announcement. “A person born on the small island of Barbados who became one of the most prominent artists ever. Self-made in business and entertainment.”
Although having Rihanna as a Halftime headliner is a logical conclusion on the Roc Nation front, the singer has not released an album since 2016. She has commented vaguely about two different albums in the years since (and been photographed coming in and out of recording studios), with one being described as a dancehall album. However, details remain scarce.
Regardless, the announcement was enough to rile up fans of the R&B singer, who hope her primetime appearance means a new album is finally on the way. Rihanna was also offered to headline the 2019 Halftime show but turned down the offer in a decision to show solidarity with Colin Kaepernick.
“We are thrilled to welcome Rihanna to the Apple Music Super Bowl Halftime Show stage. Rihanna is a once-in-a-generation artist who has been a cultural force throughout her career,” Seth Dudowsky, NFL’s head of music, said in a statement. “We look forward to collaborating with Rihanna, Roc Nation and Apple Music to bring fans another historic Halftime Show performance.”
The Apple Music Super Bowl Halftime Show will be telecast and produced by DPS. Roc Nation and Jesse Collins serve as executive producers and Hamish Hamilton serves as director. Roc Nation is also serving as the strategic entertainment advisors of the live performance.
“Rihanna is an incredible recording artist who is a favorite for many millions of Apple Music customers around the world,” said Oliver Schusser, Apple’s vice president of Apple Music and Beats. “We’re excited to partner with Rihanna, Roc Nation and the NFL to bring music and sports fans a momentous show — what an incredible artist for the inaugural Apple Music Super Bowl Halftime Show.”
This is the first year that Apple Music will serve as a sponsor for the halftime show, replacing the NFL’s longtime partner Pepsi. The NFL announced the move last week at midnight, which had fans hypothesizing that Taylor Swift would be a potential headliner due to Swift’s connection to the hour (Her forthcoming album is called “Midnights”). That was later disproved by sources close to Swift, who spoke to both People and TMZ and alleged that, although she had been approached by the NFL in the past, the pop phenom had turned down the offer.
In May, Pepsi officially renounced its title as a halftime show sponsor, choosing to walk away from a decade-long association that transformed the event from a lineup of primarily rock musicians like Bruce Springsteen and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers in favor of a new group of artists aiming at the younger generations that advertisers and the NFL seek to court. The NFL was said to be seeking significantly higher annual payments for the sponsorship rights. According to a press release issued by the league, the contract with the software company is a multi-year deal.
Apple has in recent months shown a greater interest in sports. Its streaming platform has started new deals with Major League Baseball and Major League Soccer to show games to subscribers. Sports rights have long been the province of traditional media companies like Fox, Disney, Paramount Global and NBCUniversal, but technology companies like Apple and Amazon have made a bigger play for those rights as they seek to bring in consumers to their broadband subscription-video services. Amazon, for its part, is now a major NFL partner thanks to its control of rights to “Thursday Night Football.”
Earlier this year, the Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show assembled a star-studded crew of artists including Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige, and Kendrick Lamar. The performance achieved five Creative Arts Emmy nominations and won three Creative Arts Emmys, including outstanding live variety special — a first-ever for the Halftime show.
Past Super Bowl Halftime Show performances include the Weeknd, Jennifer Lopez, Shakira, Justin Timberlake, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Bruno Mars, Prince, Madonna, and more.
Apple Music will be offering sneak peeks of its Halftime ideas via its social handle on TikTok, Instagram, and Twitter.
Source: Variety
HBO has released the first teaser for its video-game adaptation The Last of Us, and it looks to be very true to the game’s tone.
Scored to Hank Williams’ “Alone and Forsaken,” the teaser showcases a series of bleak landscapes and tense situations as it sets up the show’s post-apocalyptic world. There are only a few desperate-sounding lines of voice-over, the last being a whispered “Save who you can save.” The teaser (watch it below) also revealed a 2023 premiere date for the show.
The Last of Us is set 20 years after the destruction of modern civilization. It centers on Joel (Pedro Pascal, The Mandalorian), a hardened survivor of the apocaplypse, who’s hired to smuggle a 14-year-old girl named Ellie (Game of Thrones alum Bella Ramsey) out of an oppressive quarantine zone. The seemingly small job becomes a brutal journey as they come to depend on each other for survival.
Ordered to series in 2020, the show comes from Craig Mazin (Chernobyl) — who has an overall deal with HBO — and Neil Druckmann, the game’s writer and creative director. HBO and Sony Pictures TV produce the series with PlayStation Productions, Word Games and The Last of Us developer Naughty Dog.
The cast also includes Gabriel Luna, Merle Dandridge, Nico Parker, Murray Bartlett, Nick Offerman, Storm Reid, Jeffrey Pierce, Anna Torv, Lamar Johnson, Keivonn Woodard, Graham Greene, Elaine Miles, Ashley Johnson, and Troy Baker. Dandridge, Johnson and Baker all did voice work on the video game; Dandridge will reprise her role as Marlene in the show, while Johnson and Baker — who voiced Ellie and Joel — will play different roles.
Mazin and Druckmann executive produce with along with Carolyn Strauss, Evan Wells, Asad Qizilbash, Carter Swan, and Rose Lam.
Watch the teaser for The Last of Us below.
Reuters- McDonald’s Corp has been ordered by a U.S. judge to defend against media entrepreneur Byron Allen’s $10 billion lawsuit accusing the fast-food chain of “racial stereotyping” by not advertising with Black-owned media.
In a decision on Friday, U.S. District Judge Fernando Olguin in Los Angeles said Allen could try to prove that McDonald’s violated federal and California civil rights laws by deeming his networks ineligible for the “vast majority” of its advertising dollars.
Allen accused McDonald’s of relegating his Entertainment Studios Networks Inc and Weather Group LLC, which owns the Weather Channel, to an “African American tier” with a separate ad agency and much smaller ad budget, depriving them of tens of millions of dollars of annual revenue.
While not ruling on the merits, Olguin cited allegations that Entertainment Studios had since its 2009 founding tried repeatedly and unsuccessfully to obtain a contract from McDonald’s, whose “racist” corporate culture harmed Allen.
“Taken together, and construed in the light most favorable to plaintiffs, plaintiffs have alleged sufficient facts to support an inference of intentional discrimination,” Olguin wrote.
In a statement on Tuesday, McDonald’s lawyer Loretta Lynch maintained that the Chicago-based company viewed the lawsuit as “about revenue, not race,” and believed the evidence would show there was no discrimination.
“Plaintiffs’ groundless allegations ignore both McDonald’s legitimate business reasons for not investing more on their channels and the company’s long-standing business relationships with many other diverse-owned partners,” she said.
Allen, in a statement, said the case was “about economic inclusion of African American-owned businesses in the U.S. economy. McDonald’s takes billions from African American consumers and gives almost nothing back.”
The lawsuit said Blacks represent 40% of fast food customers, but McDonald’s spent just 0.3% of its $1.6 billion U.S. ad budget in 2019 on Black-owned media.
In May 2021, McDonald’s pledged to boost national ad spending with Black-owned media to 5% from 2% by 2024.
Olguin dismissed an earlier version of Allen’s lawsuit last November, finding no proof of intentional and purposeful discrimination against his companies.
The case is Entertainment Studios Networks Inc et al v McDonald’s Corp, U.S. District Court, Central District of California, No. 21-04972.
Lena Waithe’s Hillman Grad Productions and Pharrell Williams’ i am OTHER have partnered on a new series for HBO Max.
The half-hour, single-camera comedy, titled “Rollin,’” is in development under Hillman Grad’s overall deal with Warner Bros. Television Group.
According to the official logline, the series centers on “an easily corruptible newbie skater and her ragtag rink crew who find drive and deliverance on the hardwood at an ATL skating rink known for its good music, food, vibes, and stellar stunts. They soon discover that walking away from your past is easier said than done — but as all skaters learn, when you fall down, you must get back up.”
Calaya Michelle Stallworth (“Fear the Walking Dead,” “Daybreak”) will write and executive produce the series, which is in the script development stage.
Waithe and Hillman Grad CEO Rishi Rajani are on board the project as executive producers, alongside Naomi Funabashi, the company’s president of film and TV. Pharrell Williams and Mimi Valdés will also executive produce the show via their i am OTHER banner, with the company’s Shani Saxon serving as a co-executive producer. Hillman Grad executives Rocio Melara (VP, film and TV) and Sylvia Carrasco will help oversee the day-to-day on the series under the leadership of Funabashi.
Last year, Hillman Grad announced that they’d inked an exclusive multi-year overall deal with WBTVG — moving from Amazon in a highly competitive situation — to produce new television programming for all platforms, including HBO Max, external streaming services, cable and the five broadcast networks. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The first project announced under the new pact was the scripted drama adaptation of “Hoop Dreams,” inspired by director Steve James’ documentary. Aaron Rahsaan Thomas (“S.W.A.T.”) is set to executive produce and write that show.
Since its inception in 2015, and under the leadership of Waithe and Rajani, Hillman Grad has risen to become one of the most prominent companies in entertainment, with a mission to “create art that redefines the status quo by amplifying and celebrating the stories and voices of diverse, historically marginalized communities across all industries.” The new projects join Hillman Grad’s lineup of popular TV shows, including Showtime’s “The Chi,” which was renewed for a sixth season last month, and the upcoming BET+ original dramedy series “Birth of Cool.”
Source: Variety
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