The XFL, a twice-unsuccessful professional football alternative to the NFL fronted by WWE chief Vince McMahon, has been sold to Dany Garcia, Dwayne Johnson and RedBird Capital Partners for $15 million.
The new owners were selected as the winning bidder for the assets controlled by Alpha Entertainment, the parent company of the XFL. The transaction is subject to bankruptcy court approval at a hearing this Friday. Assuming that closing conditions are satisfied, the acquisition is expected to close on or shortly after August 21.
In announcing the deal, the projected new owners said they have secured “the ability to option live entertainment intellectual property for further expansion across sports, live events and original entertainment programming.”
The XFL, which had two single-season attempts to go up against the NFL, one in 2000 and the second this year, was fronted by McMahon and the WWE, which owned a 23.5% stake in the league. After starting its season in February, the XFL was forced to shut down due to COVID-19 in March. It filed for bankruptcy in April.
“For Dwayne, Gerry and myself, this property represents an incredible opportunity. It is the confluence of great passion, tradition and possibility” Garcia said. “Sports and entertainment are the foundations of the businesses I have built. Melding our expertise combined with our commitment to deliver exciting and inspiring unique content, has us all focused on developing the XFL brand into a multi-media experience that our athletes, partners and fans will proudly embrace and love.”
Johnson has a connection to the sport, having played college football at Miami.
“The acquisition of the XFL with my talented partners, Dany Garcia and Gerry Cardinale, is an investment for me that’s rooted deeply in two things – my passion for the game and my desire to always take care of the fans,” Johnson said. “With pride and gratitude for all that I’ve built with my own two hands, I plan to apply these callouses to the XFL, and look forward to creating something special for the players, fans, and everyone involved for the love of football.”
Jeffrey Pollack, president and COO of the XFL, called it a “Hollywood ending” to the process of seeking a sale.
Garcia and Johnson are co-founders of Seven Bucks Companies, a multi-platform enterprise pioneering original content for television, film, emerging technologies and digital networks.
RedBird was founded by former Goldman Sachs partner Cardinale. He has orchestrated a range of major sports deals over the past 20 years involving his clients and teams like the New York Yankees, Dallas Cowboys as well as leagues like the NFL.
The XFL was the latest in a long line of failed attempts to dislodge the NFL from its perch as the No. 1 sports league in America. Football fans have not tuned in en masse for leagues like the Alliance of American Football, the United States Football League or the World Football League. The first XFL season, in 2000, provided a brief summertime splash in the ratings for NBC, which was a part-owner of the league at the time, before quickly fading.
The latest iteration of the XFL differed from the first attempt in that it didn’t try to amp up the violence or present more scantily clad cheerleaders. Kickoffs, a routine feature of games that experts have linked to high rates of concussions, underwent a dramatic change in the XFL, with teams lining up close to each other so as to eliminate running-start collisions. Other innovations included microphones on the sidelines, enabling fans to follow the game in more detail.
Source: Deadline
HBO Max has set an August 20 premiere date for the first round of its previously announced stand-up specials as part of its Summer Comedy Festival programming lineup. Solo specials from Rose Matafeo, Beth Stelling, and James Veitch, as well as a multi-act special from the HA Comedy Festival, hosted by Anjelah Johnson, and featuring a lineup of America’s top Latinx comics, will all launch on that date. You can watch a preview here.
HBO Max has set five previously announced stand-up specials produced by Conan O’Brien’s Team Coco. Beginning in August, the platform will air hour-long specials from Conan alums Beth Stelling and James Veitch filmed before the production shutdown.
Hour long specials from Chris Redd and Moses Storm will be filmed and released at a later date along with two multi act specials hosted by O’Brien featuring Naomi Ekperigin, Solomon Georgio, Ismo and Tommy Johnagin.
HBO Max announced in December that it had greenlit a slate of five specials from O’Brien’s Team Coco, in addition to comedy specials from stars such as Tracy Morgan, John Early, Rose Matafeo and Ahir Shah.
In Stelling’s HBO Max special Beth Stelling, Girl Daddy, Stelling riffs about family, society and the exes who have shaped her. Since her late-night TV debut on Conan, Stelling has released two comedy albums, filmed two half hour stand-up specials and has written for shows like I Love You America with Sarah Silverman, The Last O.G. on TBS, HBO’s Crashing and Another Period for Comedy Central. She was also an on-set writer and Associate Producer for the film Good Boys produced by Seth Rogan and Evan Goldberg.
In Veitch’s HBO Max special, James Veitch, Straight to VHS, Veitch, a former Apple Store Genius, explores technology, retro-gaming, and finding love through troubleshooting theory. His late-night TV debut on Conan in 2017 has garnered 26 million views to date on YouTube. Veitch was also a stand-out during O’Brien’s Conan & Friends tour in 2018.
Source: Deadline
D.L. Hughley Launches his book “Surrender White People; Our Unconditional Terms for Peace.” D.L. Hughley Hosts a FanRoom Live Event to Launch His Book
D.L Hughley celebrates the successful release of his latest book “Surrender White People; Our Unconditional Terms for Peace.” The national bestselling author will host fans on FanRoom, a live virtual platform to showcase his book. The book engages readers in a delightful discussion on race, racism, and racial inequality that helps readers to embrace the discomfort and examine the difficult, often polarizing content. D.L. Hughley is an American actor, political commentator, radio host, author and stand-up comedian. Hughley is best known as the original host of BET’s Comic View from 1992 to 1993, the iconic character on the ABC/UPN sitcom The Hughleys, and as one of the “Big Four” comedians in The Original Kings of Comedy, a film and tour by Spike Lee. His current podcast, D.L. Hughley Uncut airs on Pluto TV. He has been the host of CNN’s D. L. Hughley Breaks the News, a correspondent for The Jay Leno Show on NBC, and a local radio personality and interviewer in New York City. In early 2013, D.L. Hughley landed in 9th place on Dancing with the Stars. His relatability is the key to his success as a comedian, author, and actor.
FanRoom is the brilliant collaboration of an actor/producer, talent agent and celebrity event producer in response to the pandemic that stilled the entertainment industry. Fighting boredom, depression and isolation, the public is hungry for normalcy. Cedric the Entertainer, award-winning actor, producer, and comedian, Mich Faulkner, CEO of 123 Talent, and Jeff Krauss, President of event production and entertainment company IE Group, designed a new reality. They brought on producers, co-hosts, Chanel Omari and Jae Benjamin. Pooling their talents and resources, they created a solution for staying home and social distancing while getting an intimate entertainment fix for eager fans. Artists connect with fans in ways never possible before. FanRoom became an instant success.
If public fears contradict a value in place, even if everyone knows it is just not true, they stay with the story. Myths like the endearing tale of Christopher Columbus discovering America and having a Thanksgiving celebration with the natives is merely a folk tale, but it is a well-loved picture handed down as a bonding holiday. The public is reluctant to give up the pleasure of the vision, so they continue the holiday despite the truth. “It’s kind of our story in America”, Hughley said in a recent interview with the National Public Radio (NPR). Harper Collins says the new book is a humorous take on societal divisions that still sting. As a comedian, the legendary comic is an original member of the ‘Kings of Comedy,’ a quartet comprised of Hughley, Steve Harvey, Cedric the Entertainer, and Bernie Mac. Known for quick wit and intelligent banter, as an author, Hughley draws on the resourcefulness of his humorous side to effectively attract readers to deliver his message. He has written critically acclaimed books such as the New York Times Bestseller “How to Not Get Shot: And Other Advice from White People” and the “Black Man, White House: An Oral History of the Obama Years.” Hughley shares his deepest thoughts and emotions yet in this latest book. It cleverly lures the reader in and helps them immerse themselves in the tensions and complexities of contemporary America. The book has attracted considerable positive response during the sensitive “Black Lives Matter” controversies. To mark the launch, Hughley hosts fans and supporters on FanRoom Live.
We are delighted to bring D.L. Hughley closer to fans through innovative technology to overcome the paralysis of the Covid 19 Pandemic and allow the laughter to move gloom into a powerful regaining of joy. As a comedian, author, and radio star, “Hughley is one of the most astute and hilarious critics of politics, race, and entertainment in America” said Jeff Krauss, Co-Founder and Co-Creator of FanRoom Live. It is a private, intimate “meet and greet” for fans to interact with Hughley on August 6, 2020, at 7:00 PM PST, while social distancing.
FanRoom Live is a digital platform that connects actors, authors, comedians, athletes, and celebrities to their fans in an intimate platform of virtual events conducted like “town-hall” meetings. FanRoom Live events feature Q&A sessions, giving fans access never experienced before. Previous guests of FanRoom include Cedric The Entertainer, George Lopez, Richard Kline, and George Wayne the former Vanity Fair scribe. Up-coming talents who are set to be announced include Kurt Angle, Brant Daugherty, Jake The Snake Roberts, and Holland Roden to give the platform the power to overcome current challenges. D.L. Hughley brings the small-town feeling virtually as he introduces his book on FanRoom Live on August 6, 2020, at 7:00 PM PST. Tickets can be purchased for $25.00 on FunRoom Tickets for this event are available for purchase on the FanRoom Live website at www.fanroomlive.com.
The newest chapter of African American stand-up comedy has begun! Jonathan Slocumb’s Cuss Free Comedy, a new brand that provides a platform for African American clean comedians. It was announced today the launch of their new stand-up comedy show to be featured on SiriusXM top comedy family channel LaughUSA.
Jonathan Slocumb gets his shot to bring along a slew of diverse clean comedians such as; AJ Jamal, Rodney Perry, Small Fire, Ceto Rodriquez, Marc Patrick, Anthony Griffith and a host of others. Jonathan Slocumb’s Cuss Free Comedy will add diversity to the meaning of LaughUSA theme, Comedy For Everyone. Cuss Free Comedy is being featured on the mainstream platform of SiriusXM that reaches 37 million listeners monthly.
Speaking about the comedy show, Jonathan Slocumb, founder/co-owner of Cuss Free Comedy commented, “At the end of the day, everybody should laugh! And everybody should have the choice to enjoy the kind of comedy that they prefer. That’s what we’re here for. If you are uncomfortable or offended by the usage of profanity but want to laugh? CUSS FREE COMEDY is your Destination!”
Jonathan Slocumb’s Cuss Free Comedy dispels the notion that all black comedy is one dimensional. Also, mentioning that the absence of profanity leads to corny and not funny.
“There is nothing cheesy or campy about Cuss Free comedians,” stated co-owner Alvin Williams. “I’ve watched Jonathan Slocumb and other clean comedians work for decades in front of audiences of all ages from 18 to 85, joking about; family, work, relationships, marriage, kids and even politics to millions of people. Cuss Free comedians still bring the extreme funny, they simply don’t use profanity. Funny is and will always be funny” ended Williams.
If you want to listen to Jonathan Slocumb’s Cuss Free Comedy and don’t have SiriusXM. Don’t worry, visit www.CussFreeComedy.com and receive a Free Three-Month Trial.
You will be able to listen to, Jonathan Slocumb’s Cuss Free Comedy starting daily this Monday, August 3rd thru Friday August 6th at 5PM EST.
For more information about Jonathan Slocumb’s Cuss Free Comedy visit www.cussfreecomedy.com or send an email to cussfreecomedy@gmail.com
Former Happy Endings star Damon Wayans Jr. is reuniting with the cult series’ creator David Caspe and former writers Matthew and Daniel Libman for a half-hour bounty hunter action comedy, which has received a script-to-series commitment at NBCU’s streaming platform Peacock.
The project, starring and executive produced by Wayans Jr., falls under the first-look deal at CBS TV Studios for Wayans Jr.’ Two Shakes Entertainment, which has just been extended for another two years. CBS TV Studios is producing the untitled comedy with Universal Television where Caspe is under an overall deal.
Written by the Libman brothers, the action comedy revolves around a struggling married couple who become bounty hunters.
Matthew and Daniel Libman executive produce with Wayans Jr. and Kameron Tarlow of Two Shakes and Caspe via Shark Vs. Bear. Ian Durney will produce for Shark Vs. Bear.
Caspe and Matthew Libman have been childhood friends since elementary school, with Daniel, who is eight years younger than his brother, constantly hanging out with the older guys. Daniel went on to become his brother’s writing partner. The two worked on Adult Swim’s Robot Chicken before Caspe brought them over to ABC’s Happy Endings.
The Libman brothers have worked as writers/producers on the Caspe-created Happy Endings and Marry Me, Showtime’s Black Monday, which Caspe co-created with Jordan Cahan; as well as the upcoming NBC comedy series Kenan, which Caspe joined earlier this year as executive producer/showrunner and the Libmans co-exec produce. Additionally, with the Libman brothers and Cahan, Caspe co-created the YouTube Premium series, Champaign, IL starring Adam Pally, Sam Richardson and Jay Pharaoh. Matthew and Daniel Libman’s additional credits include include The Mick.
Since its launch two years ago, Two Shakes Entertainment has sold a number of high-profile projects under the company’s CBS TV Studios deal. That includes Glamorous, which went to pilot at the CW during the 2018-19 development season and came close to a series order, and The Turners, a half-hour single-camera family doctors comedy, which was set at ABC with penalty this past season. The company has also recently launched a podcast development slate, independent of its CBSTVS deal.
As an actor, Wayans Jr., consistently among the most sought-after comedy actors for pilots over the last decade, recently starred on the CBS series Happy Together. Earlier this month, he reunited with his Happy Endings co-stars and Caspe for a charity online special.
More than other streamers, Peacock has been focused on comedy series both on the original and library acquisition side with shows like the Saved by the Bell and Punky Brewster reboots; Girls5Eva, from Tina Fey and Meredith Scardino; Rutherford Falls, from Mike Schur and Sierra Ornelas; as well as the upcoming launches of The Office and Brooklyn Nine-Nine.
Source: Deadline
Peacock is developing a teen comedy drama about Black teenagers in L.A. from Real Husbands of Hollywood creator Chris Spencer and Grown-ish writer Chad Sanders.
How To Survive Inglewood is created and written by by the pair, who will exec produce alongside Morgan Freeman and Lori McCreary of Revelations Entertainment. Matt Milkovich is producing for Revelations Entertainment
UCP, a division of Universal Studio Group, is the studio.
The comedy drama follows Black teenagers trying to get through the absurd, treacherous, and embarrassing obstacles that come with adolescence. After moving from the suburbs to Inglewood, the Sanders family will find that teenage years are universally magical, confusing, scary, and hormonal, but in this new environment, the emotional swings are crazier because the stakes are higher.
Chris Spencer and Chad Sanders (left) were recently set to write the Universal Pictures-Will Packer Productions sports drama One and Done.
The project joins the nascent streamer’s development slate, which also includes projects including Straight Talk, a Jada Pinkett Smith-fronted couples comedy from Kara Brown and Rashida Jones, a reboot of Queer As Folk and a project based on SNL sketch MacGruber.
Bill McGoldrick, President of Original Content at NBCU Entertainment Networks and Direct-to-Consumer, recently told Deadline that its originals strategy is designed to be scaled up as it scales up its user base, which as of this morning hit about 10M.
Spencer is represented by CAA, Steve Smooke, Parallel Entertainment’s JP Williams and Del Shaw Moonves’ Abel Lezcano and Chris Namba. Sanders is represented by Headshell Management’s Oronde Garrett and Del Shaw Moonves’ Chris Namba. Freeman and McCreary are represented by CAA’s Fred Specktor.
Source: Deadline
A Black Lady Sketch Show‘s Dime Davis has made history by becoming the first Black woman nominated for an Emmy for directing a variety show.
This is yet another nom for the groundbreaking HBO series featuring Black female comedians, led by creator Robin Thede. Monday, the series earned nominations for Outstanding Variety Sketch Series and Outstanding Guest Actress In A Comedy Series (Angela Bassett).
Davis joins Debbie Allen in breaking barriers for Black female directors. Even though Allen was nominated for directing in 1989, her nomination was for her own special, and the category was Outstanding Directing for a Variety or Music Program. Davis’ nomination pushes the needle even further by opening the door to more Black women directing series to be seen and recognized by the industry.
This year, the Emmys have nominated the most Black talent yet, topping 2018’s record number of Black nominees. Thirty-three Black actors have been nominated, with at least one Black actor in nearly every category. On top of that, Reginald Hudlin has been tapped as the first Black executive producer of the Emmys telecast.
Source: Shadow & Act
Here’s a hot one. Universal Pictures, Insecure star and creator Issa Rae and Oscar winner Jordan Peele (Get Out) are teaming on Sinkhole, a thought-provoking genre movie that engages with questions of female perfection and identity.
In a low-seven-figure deal, Universal beat out more than 10 studio bidders and multiple talent and filmmaker packages for screen rights to Leyna Krow’s short story, which is about a young family that moves into its dream home despite the gaping sinkhole in the backyard. The mysterious sinkhole manages to fix broken and destroyed things. However, the story asks, what if that thing is a person?
The project is being developed as a potential star vehicle for the in-demand Rae. The multi-hyphenate, whose Insecure scored eight Emmy nominations yesterday, will produce with Universal and Peele’s Monkeypaw. Producers are Peele and Win Rosenfeld for the latter and Rae, Montrel McKay and Sara Rastogi for Issa Rae Productions.
Universal’s Senior Vice President of Production Sara Scott will oversee the project on behalf of the studio and the project will fall under Monkeypaw’s five-year deal with the major. Peele and Universal hit it out of the park with genre pics Get Out and Us. The studio has also teamed up with Rae in recent years on movies The Photograph and Little.
Writer Krow is from Spokane, WA, and the story is set on the street she lives on. She was initially inspired to write the piece when a group of local writers were asked to write short fairytales on the theme “I Married A Monster.” She wanted to explore the notion of female perfection and was particularly interested in the ways society and cultures can promote the concept of women as imperfect or broken. Her story has the trappings of a grounded, psychological sci-fi/horror, but the subplot is a commentary on the human condition through the lens of female identity.
Krow is executive producing alongside Alex Davis-Lawrence from literary journal Moss, in which the story was originally published. As a development project, there’s no shoot date yet.
Rae is represented by UTA, 3 Arts Entertainment and John Meigs. Peele and Monkeypaw are represented by CAA and Morris Yorn. Krow is represented by Alexandra Kordas at 42 and Dean Bahat at Ziffren.
Source: Deadline
In a surprise announcement, Netflix revealed that seven classic shows, including “Girlfriends,” “Sister Sister” and “Moesha,” will become available on the platform between Aug. 1 and Oct. 15.
The announcement was made on Netflix’s Strong Black Lead Twitter account, which is devoted to promoting shows and films on the platform featuring Black characters and stories. All seven of these shows have made a profound impact in the industry in terms of representing Black voices.
The shows announced include “Moesha,” coming Aug. 1; “The Game” Seasons 1-3, coming Aug. 15; “Sister Sister,” coming Sept. 1; “Girlfriends,” coming Sept. 11; “The Parkers,” coming Oct. 1; and “Half & Half” and “One on One,” both premiering on Oct. 15. The tweet also includes a video featuring many of the shows’ stars and creators, such as Tracee Ellis Ross, Tia and Tamera Mowry, Essence Atkins and Mara Brock Akil.
Actress Marsai Martin is continuing to build her Hollywood empire and adding talk show host to her list of credits. The Black-ish star is set to host her own talk show appropriately titled Tiny Talk Show on Quibi — and as the title suggests, it is literally tiny.
Produced by Art & Industry, Tiny Talk Show is the billed as the world’s smallest functional talk show. The set will be a one-sixth scale of an actual set that reflects the mission of the show itself: intimate, revealing, and devoted to subjects with a lot to say. Marsai will ask her guests some big questions and steer us through this new world as we discover sometimes the littlest voices are the loudest.
Martin will serve as executive producer under her Genius Entertainment banner alongside Josh Martin and Carol Martin. Michelle Caputo and Shannon Hartman for Art & Industry, Alex Diaz, Daryn Carp and Nicole Dow will serve as producers.
Martin has earned seven NAACP Image Awards and 2 BET Awards for her role as Diane Johnson on ABC’s Black-ish. She also made history as the youngest person to serve as an executive producer on a major Hollywood film with Little, which she conceptualized, pitched and starred in. Martin signed an overall deal with Universal with her Genius Productions which uplifts diverse and young voices.
She is repped by WME, Morris Yorn and Barnes and Oronde Garrett.
Source: Deadline