Small Screen: Peacock Wins ‘Bel-Air’ Bid, Plus A New Mentorship Program From Sophia Chang Looks To Uplift Women Of Color
Pearlena Igbokwe - Phillip Faraone/WireImage
Broadcast: Kellyn Parker has been brought on to join Disney Television Studios’ ABC Signature as its new Vice President, Comedy Development, in which he will work to identify and develop new talent and material and will be directly involved in the development of new programming ideas from their original pitch through series. Parker comes to ABC Signature having previously served as Comedy Central’s Vice President, Original Programming & Development since 2016, overseeing such series as South Side, New Negroes, Taskmaster, Gorburger and the network’s Colossal Clusterfest.
Lee Min-ki and Nana are set to star in Oh! Master, a new drama series for MBC. Lee takes on the role of a successful screenwriter who chooses not to date while Nana plays an actress who is especially known for starring in Korean romantic comedies, but in reality is an amateur when it comes to dating. Directed by Hyun Sol-ip with writing from Jo Jin-gook, Oh! Master is slated for a March 2021 premier.
ABC Signature has recently announced new developments related to the Black-ish franchise, renewing their contract with Mixed-ish co-creator and former Black-ish writer Peter Saji and announcing plans for a third spinoff of the hit series with Old-ish. Peter Saji extends his relationship with ABC Signature, which he has been with since 2007 when he participated in the Disney/ABC writer’s program, after signing a new multiyear overall deal. Jonnie Davis, President of ABC Signature, called Saji “a spectacular talent,” stating that “keeping him at ABC Signature,” was “a huge priority,” as he “has written some of the most evocative and important episodes of Black-ish, and hit a real home run…with Mixed-ish.” In addition to striking a new deal with Saji, ABC made official its plans for Old-ish, a Black-ish spinoff focused on Dre’s (Anthony Anderson) parents, Earl “Pops” Johnson (Laurence Fishburne) and Ruby Johnson (Jenifer Lewis), as they move into a gentrified Los Angeles neighborhood and try to rekindle the love in their marriage. Kenya Barris will write the new series and executive produce alongside Fishburne (who also executive produces for Black-ish), Anderson and E. Brian Dobbins of Artists First, with Lewis acting as a producer. The new series is a co-production from ABC Signature, Fisburne and Helen Sugland’s production banner, Cinema Gypsy, and Barris’ Khalabo Ink Society.
NBCUniversal has promoted Pearlena Igbokwe to Chairman of Universal Studio Group, where she will oversee television production. Igbokwe had previously served as the President of Universal Television, overseeing several hit comedies for NBC including The Good Place and Superstore, as well as dramas such as Good Girls and New Amsterdam. Prior to joining NBCU, the executive had spent 20 years with Showtime.
Sophia Chang - Gary Gershoff
Cable: Sophia Chang is launching Unlock Her Potential, a new mentorship program aimed at boosting women of color creatives aspiring for careers in entertainment. Inspired by a Black woman who attended a recent lecture of the screenwriter’s and asked how to find a mentor, Chang has stated that the goal of the program is to “force America’s gaze,” and to help put women of color “in decision-making positions.” Elaborating on the necessity for such a program, Chang noted the fact that “mentorship programs for women,” tend to be open primarily to “a white women majority,” limiting the opportunities for women of color. With over 100 mentors- including directors Charles Stone III and Jim Jarmusch- the program is free and open to women of color of all ages who are at least 18-years-old for an hourlong mentorship session each month on a variety of topics, including television and film as well as other disciplines such as music, science, finance and fashion. Women of color who are interested in the program can sign up on Chang’s website. In addition to launching her new program, Chang is also working on a pilot for FX titled The Baddest Bitch in the Room, an upcoming dramedy inspired by her memoir that focuses in part on her upbringing and her work managing the Wu-Tang Clan; as noted in her book, the mentors she had during her time with the group formed an important support network for her.
AMC Networks has hired Rafael Gomez as its new Head of Business Affairs, in which he will handle oversight responsibilities for the development and execution of programming agreements. In his new role, Gomez will lead AMC Networks’ negotiation team in agreements with writers, producers, directors and actors for network brands AMC, BBC America, SundanceTV, IFC and AMC Studios, as well as in deals with non-AMC studios and streamers. No stranger to the responsibilities of his new role, Gomez previously acted as the Senior Vice President of Business Affairs for Peacock while with NBCUniversal and was also previously the Head of Business Affairs for Original Programming at USA Network and Syfy.
Showtime has renewed Lena Waithe’s hit Chicago-based drama series The Chi for a fourth season following growing ratings numbers across all platforms. Executive produced by Waithe, Justin Hillian (who will return as showrunner for the upcoming season), Common, Aaron Kaplan (via Kapital Entertainment), Derek Dudley and Shelby Stone (via Freedom Road Productions), Rick Famuyiwa and Jet Wilkinson, The Chi is produced by Touchstone TV.
Crunchyroll and Adult Swim are developing Shenmue, a new anime based on the SEGA franchise of the same name. In a journey that takes protagonist Ryo Hazuki away from his family dojo in Yokosuka, Japan, Hazuki searches for his father’s murderer and discovers that there is more than meets the eye with this crime, with the involvement of supernatural elements intervening throughout his quest for vengeance. In addition to the original game’s creator, Yu Suzuki, acting as an executive producer, Shenmue will be directed by Sakurai Chikara with animation from Telecom Animation Film and production management from Sola Entertainment. The upcoming series will air on Adult Swim’s Toonami in the United States and will be available for streaming worldwide outside of mainland China and Japan through Crunchyroll.
Bela Bajaria - Joe Scarnici / Stringer
Streaming: Mara Brock Akil recently signed a multiyear overall deal with Netflix to create new original content for the streaming platform. News of Brock Akil’s agreement with Netflix coincides with the recent arrival of her critically acclaimed series Girlfriends, which became available on Netflix on September 11. Said Brock Akil of the new deal, the two share “the same goals- telling human stories for a global audience.” The creator and showrunner went on to say that she will continue to “paint portraits and murals of women, Black people and anyone else whose story is missing from this golden age of television.”
Bel-Air, the upcoming dramatic reboot of the hit sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, has officially found a streaming home, as NBCUniversal’s Peacock has put out a straight-to-series order for the first two seasons. Directed and co-written by Morgan Cooper, who created and directed a viral trailer for the dramatic reimagining last year, the upcoming series is co-executive produced by Cooper, Will Smith, Quincy Jones, Benny Medina, Andy and Susan Borowitz and Chris Collins, who will also co-write alongside Cooper and serve as showrunner. Bel-Air comes from Westbrook Studios, Smith’s production banner, and Universal TV, which produced the original comedy series.
Netflix has promoted Bela Bajaria for its newly created position of Vice President of Global Television, where she will oversee scripted, unscripted and limited series in English and local languages. Bajaria came to Netflix in 2016 from Universal Television and has been performing oversight for local-language productions of both scripted and unscripted content for the streaming service since March 2019 as its Vice President of Local Language Originals, overseeing series for Netflix in Europe, the Middle East, Turkey, Africa, India, Asia and Latin America. The executive has been behind the development of several hit series, including Netflix’s The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt and Master of None, as well as Brooklyn Nine-Nine (Fox) and The Mindy Project (Fox/Hulu); in addition, Bajaria was behind the move of the popular thriller series You from Lifetime to Netflix.
John Ridley and Carlton Cuse are developing a series adaptation of Sheri Fink’s Pulitzer Prize-winning book, Five Days at Memorial, for Apple TV+, a new limited series following the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Set inside of a New Orleans hospital over a span of five days, the series will focus on the difficulties imposed upon the hospital’s workers, including flooding, loss of power and surging heat inside the building, plus the impossible decisions those issues forced the staff to make. Produced by ABC Signature, both Ridley and Cuse will act as showrunners for the upcoming series and will co-write while splitting co-executive producing duties with Fink.
