Comedian Amanda Seales (HBO’s “Insecure”) will debut her first hour-long comedy special on HBO early next year, it was announced today by Nina Rosenstein, executive vice president, HBO Programming. Taping Sunday, Nov. 25 at the Edison Ballroom in New York, AMANDA SEALES: I BE KNOWIN’ will be directed by Stan Lathan and produced by Jesse Collins Entertainment.
“Being a stand-up comic is an honor I don’t take lightly, because I consider humor to be a superpower that allows us to bear the weight of issues and concepts that otherwise seem so much bigger than us,” says Seales. “‘I BE KNOWIN’ is 37 years of finding the funny, culminating in an hour, and my HBO family being the place where I get to share it, makes this, my first special, even that much more special.”
A series regular as Tiffany on “Insecure,” Amanda Seales is currently touring with “Smart Funny & Black,” the live comedic competition show she created. A former MTV VJ with a master’s in African-American studies from Columbia University, she has guest-starred on “Black-ish,” written, produced and starred in two seasons of her scripted web comedy series, “Get Your Life,” and hosts her weekly podcast, “Small Doses.”
AMANDA SEALES: I BE KNOWIN’ will be produced for HBO by Jesse Collins Entertainment; executive producers, Jesse Collins, Amanda Seales; directed by Stan Lathan; written by Amanda Seales.
Though written and directed by Tyler Perry, Nobody’s Fool starts out bearing little resemblance to a Tyler Perry film. For one thing, it’s just called Nobody’s Fool, not Tyler Perry’s Nobody’s Fool. And instead of a clumsy melodrama, it’s a clumsy raunchy comedy about a sophisticated New York ad agent, Danica (Tika Sumpter), having to take in her trashy, mouthy, sexually voracious sister, Tanya (Tiffany Haddish), newly released from prison. Their odd-couple dynamic is further complicated when Tanya comes to believe that Danica, long-distance dating a man she’s never met in person, is being catfished.
Why, that all sounds like the setup for a normal R-rated comedy! But signs of Tyler Perryism start to creep in. Right in front of Danica is Frank (Omari Hardwick), the sensitive hunk who runs her favorite coffee shop, gives her free coffee and a rose every morning, and is clearly in love with her. Danica’s set on this “Charlie” fellow, though (if he exists) — and besides, Frank has been to jail, which goes against Danica’s list of requirements for her perfect man (which is an actual printed list).
The plot is full of inane contrivances. Frank immediately gives Tanya a job at his coffee shop. She’s required by her parole to attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings — and guess what, Frank’s cafe is where they are held! (It’s like Perry wanted to save money on sets by having everything take place in one spot.) Despite being New Yorkers, everyone owns a car and drives everywhere, because Perry forgot that he was finally making a movie not set in Atlanta (or, alternatively, does not know that New York is different from Atlanta). The catfishing thread is resolved with help from the actual guys from MTV’s Catfish show (Nev Schulman and Max Joseph), in a bizarre sequence that involves Chris Rock in a Jheri curl wig and a wheelchair. Whoopi Goldberg plays Tanya and Danica’s pot-growing and -smoking mother, but her only function in the story is to help the girls get along so that Tanya won’t come live with her.
But Haddish, who has already been in three movies this year and was tamped down or underused in all of them, is finally permitted to cut loose and be the vulgar sexpot she was in Girls Trip. She’s very much in her element, making the most of the weak dialogue that has her throwing herself shamelessly — indeed, proudly — at every man she meets. Unfortunately, Tanya is not the lead character (despite Haddish’s top billing) and doesn’t actually have much to do. The focus is Danica, who turns out to be the type of wishy-washy, clueless woman Perry excels at mis-writing.
At around the hour mark, the story reaches the point where it should be wrapping up. The catfishing thing was settled, and Danica is starting to come around on Frank (who continues to be perfect). That’s when the Tyler Perry we know shows up to turn the remaining 50 minutes (UGH) into an exasperating soap opera for dum-dums. The sisters have a petty falling out; Danica dithers tediously about Frank; the catfishing thing comes back AGAIN, only to be settled again, accomplishing nothing other than padding out the runtime another five minutes. There’s potential for discussion about how Danica succeeds in white society by stifling her blackness, referenced subtly (and then overtly) by Tanya being the only one to call her “Da-NEE-ca” while everyone else says “DAN-ica.” But like so many Perry ideas, that one is casually introduced and then forgotten.
It eventually dissolves into the usual Perry morass, where nobody onscreen is behaving like a real person and you spend the last half-hour tapping your foot impatiently while making the “move it along” motion with your hand. Or maybe that’s just me. At any rate, Nobody’s Fool is another demonstration of what often happens when a single person writes, directs, and produces a movie without input from anyone else: You get a rough draft. The theaters charge full price, though.
By Eric Snyder
This morning DL Hughley appeared on The Breakfast Club, and as expected, he spoke about several issues from politics, to Kayne West, to even the infamous tour he appeared on, The Original Kings Of Comedy. Check out the video below
Robin Thede is getting into business at ABC.
Thede, who recently hosted the late-night BET show, The Rundown with Robin Thede, is creating a comedy series set at ABC which she’d star in.
She wrote the script for the show which “is inspired in part by her childhood growing up dirt poor in a trailer park.” The potential series will “explore how a difficult upbringing shaped Robin Sanders (Thede), a famous and successful financial advisor, and will vacillate between the character’s adulthood and childhood as it examines how your past always pops up in the present.”
Sony Pictures TV is the studio.
Kay Cannon, Doug Robinson and Alison Greenspan are exec producers alongside Thede and her producing partner, Lavern McKinnon.
Source: Shadow & Act/Deadline
Leslie Odom Jr. is set to star in a comedy with a put pilot commitment at ABC that boasts Kerry Washington among its executive producers.
The untitled multi-camera series focuses on Leslie (Odom Jr.) and Hope, joint pastors at a young, hip, diverse church in Los Angeles. Through their services, online streams and books, they are experts at uniting people across different races, genders, orientations and opinions. But when it comes to uniting the people in their blended family, they are way out of their comfort zone and as a result, the teachers often find themselves the pupils. The series is inspired by the experiences of real-life pastors Touré Roberts and Sarah Jakes-Roberts.
“I am grateful to be working with such an all-star team of fearless and creative people,” Washington said. “And, I am excited that we have gathered together to tell a story that is inspiring, relatable, provocative and hilarious.”
Saladin Patterson will write and executive produce the project, with Odom Jr. and Pilar Savone also executive producing along with Washington. Roberts and Jakes-Roberts will co-executive produce. Washington and Savone will produce via Washington’s Simpson Street production banner. ABC Studios will produce, with Simpson Street currently under an overall deal at the studio.
“Kerry Washington is one of the most formidable artists of my generation,” Odom Jr. said. “We’ve been searching for the better part of two years to find an idea about which we both felt passionate enough to dedicate ourselves. I’ve gone to Touré’s church for over fifteen years. He is a unique, contemporary, and very necessary voice. We are thrilled that ABC is allowing us the opportunity to bring Touré and Sarah’s modern views to an even wider audience in what will be a joyful and hopeful 30-minutes every week.”
Odom Jr. received widespread acclaim for his breakout role as Aaron Burr in Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Broadway hit “Hamilton,” which earned him a Tony Award. Since then, he has appeared in films like Kenneth Branagh’s “Murder on the Orient Express” and recently completed production on two other features: the first being “Only” starring opposite Freida Pinto from writer-director Takashi Doscher; the second being the as-yet untitled feature film directorial debut from recording artist Sia. Odom Jr. will also star in the film “Needle in a Timestack” written and directed by John Ridley.
In addition to her acting work on hit shows like “Scandal,” Washington has considerably built up her producing slate in recent years. Via Simpson Street, she is currently in development on “Goldie Vance,” a family film franchise for Fox, directed by Rashida Jones, as well as the films “City of Saints & Thieves” with Will Packer Productions, “The Mothers” with Warner Bros, “The Perfect Mother” with Pascal Pictures, and “24-7” with UnbeliEVAble Entertainment and Universal Pictures. On the TV side, Simpson Street and Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine are developing a limited series adaption of “Little Fires Everywhere” for Hulu, as well as several other projects. The Simpson Street-produced series “Five Points” debuted on Facebook Watch this summer.
Patterson is currently the showrunner on the TBS series “The Last O.G.,” starring Tracy Morgan and Tiffany Haddish. He also worked as a co-executive producer on “The Big Bang Theory” and as a consulting producer on “Two and a Half Men.” His other credits include “Psych,” “The Bernie Mac Show,” “Frasier,” and “The PJs.”
Washington is repped by CAA, Washington Square Arts, and Hansen Jacobon. Odom Jr. is repped by CAA, Untitled Entertainment, and Jackoway Tyerman. Patterson is repped by CAA and Jackoway Tyerman. Roberts and Jakes-Roberts are repped by Fox Rothschild.
Source: Variety
As we have been reporting for several years, it looks like Bad Boys For Life is official, and check out the announcement made by Will Smith on social media a little over an hour ago (above).
Forest Whitaker has been set by Netflix to star in Jingle Jangle, the David E. Talbert-directed holiday musical about a cobblestone world that comes to life. Whitaker will play Jeronicus Jangle, a once-great inventor and toy maker who has lost his belief in himself and his inventions, but stumbles upon a second chance and a magical invention, when his granddaughter comes to town for the holidays. If he can get the thing to work in time for the holidays, it will change their lives forever.
The Oscar-winning actor is coming off Black Panther, Rogue One: A Star Wars Storyand Arrival. He previously starred opposite Theo James in Netflix’s How It Ends, and this fall he plays crime boss Bumpy Johnson in the EPIX series Godfather Of Harlem. He also recently made his Broadway debut in the Michael Grandage-directed Hughie.
Talbert set Jingle Jangle at Netflix late last year in a pitch deal and he’s written a script that Netflix scheduled to start shooting in 2019. The film will be released by Netflix in 2020. The filmmaker is coming off Almost Christmas and El Camino Christmas, latter for Netflix. Talbert is currently in development on an original half-hour comedy for ABC, produced by LeBron James and Gabrielle Union. He previously directed First Sunday and Baggage Claim.
The film is produced by Mike Jackson, John Legend, David E. Talbert, Lyn Sisson-Talbert, and David McIlvain. Ty Stiklorius is exec producer.
Whitaker is repped by WME and Brillstein Entertainment Group.
Source: Deadline
NBC is developing All Fancy, a half-hour starring comedian Anjelah Johnson and executive produced by Kevin Hart and Superstore star America Ferrera.
Written by Emilia Serrano, the multi-camera All Fancy is inspired by Anjelah Johnson’s life and stand-up. The series is seen through the point of view of Veronica Jimenez (Johnson), a newly successful 30-something Mexican-American woman who often goes against cultural and social expectations, creating chaos and comedy within her marriage, business and extended family.
The project hails from Universal Television in association with Hart’s Hartbeat Productions, Yellow Brick Road and Take Fountain Productions. Executive producing are Serrano, Hart, John Cheng and Carli Haney via Hartbeat as well as frequent collaborators, Ferrera via Take Fountain and Weinberg via Yellow Brick. Johnson is co-executive producing.
“The show is seen through the eyes of Anjelah Johnson who is one of the funniest and freshest voices in comedy right now,” Hart and Cheng said in a statement. “What we love about her is that she’s able to provide the audience with diverse and relatable stories by drawing from her own authentic life experiences, which is exactly what defines a Hartbeat Production. We are so excited to be working with her, America, Emilia, and NBC.”
MADtv alumna Johnson previously worked with Hart on his Laugh Out Loud streaming service. See below a skit they did together.
“Anjelah’s hilarious and singular voice has always spoken directly to me, and more importantly, to a whole generation of Latina women pursuing ambition, love and purpose. I am honored to be working with Anjelah and Emilia,” Ferrera said.
Touring comedian Johnson, who is of Mexican and Native American descent, guest-starred on Ferrera’s ABC dramedy series Ugly Betty, which Weinberg executive produced. Her credits also include series The Shield and Curb Your Enthusiasm,features Our Family Wedding, Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel, Enough Said and Mom’s Night Out as well as comedy specials for Comedy Central, Netflix and Epix. See a sample of her standup below the post.
“Eleven years ago I began telling my story through stand-up comedy gigs and I’m so excited for the opportunity to finally share it on TV,” said Johnson. “Emilia is the perfect partner to help bring this show to life and I’m honored to work alongside cultural tastemakers like America and Kevin. Introducing a character like Veronica to the world is so important as a Mexican-American in today’s climate and I hope viewers will both relate to her and laugh with her.”
Serrano has mainly focused her career on writing Latinx stories and characters. She’s currently a Supervising Producer on an untitled Latinx comedy for Netflix and recently sold two Latinx feature comedies to Sony’s Columbia Pictures with Noah Hawley’s 26 Keys and Amy Pascal’s Pascal Pictures producing and Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions. She is repped by ICM Partners, 3 Arts and Felker Toczek.
Ferrera is repped by CAA, B Company Management and Peikoff Mahan. Hart is repped by UTA, 3 Arts and Schreck Rose Dapello & Adams. Johnson is repped by UTA and Lichter Grossman.
Source: Deadline
After an auspicious directorial debut on the 2014 comedy Top Five, Chris Rock is getting back behind the camera. He will direct Kevin Hart in Co-Parenting, a Will Packer-produced comedy for Universal Pictures.
Script is being written by Yamara Taylor (black-ish) and the film revolves around a stay at home dad who raises the kids while his star CEO wife serves as the breadwinner. The man finds himself in emotional and public turmoil when his wife kicks him to the curb, and they engage in a bitter divorce and custody battle.
The film is based on an original idea by Rock and Hart. Packer will produce through his Will Packer Productions banner, alongside Hart and his Hartbeat Productions partner John Cheng, and Rock for his Chris Rock Enterprises.
Universal Executive Vice President of Production Kristin Lowe will oversee with Chen and Carli Haney serving those roles for Hartbeat.
Rock is represented by ICM Partners, Untitled and Morris Yorn Barnes; Hart is repped by UTA, 3 Arts Entertainment and Schreck Rose; Taylor is CAA and 3 Arts.
Regular collaborators Packer and Hart — whose companies have Universal deals — are coming off the hit Night School. Co-Parenting, which aspires to mix comedy with emotion the way that Judd Apatow and James L. Brooks do so well, gives Hart another opportunity to show his chops as an actor. He’ll next do that in January, when STX releases the Neil Burger-directed The Upside. Hart stars alongside Bryan Cranston and Nicole Kidman in the remake of French smash Les Intouchables.
Rock is coming off the Adam Sandler Netflix comedy Week Of, and he recently wrapped Dolemite, the Craig Brewer-directed film that stars Eddie Murphy as the iconic blaxploitation star. He’s also shooting the FX series Fargo.
Source: Deadline
Today, Hulu announced that Jessica Williams, Nikesh Patel, Rebecca Rittenhouse and John Reynolds have been cast in the upcoming limited romantic comedy series Four Weddings and a Funeral. See below for casting details and a link to bios and headshots.