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HBO Gives Series Order to Comedy From YouTube Star Issa Rae

By goodblacknews on October 17, 2015
'Insecure' hails Larry Wilmore and Rae, the star of the popular web series 'The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl.'
Issa Rae (AP Images/Invision)

Issa Rae is bringing her misadventures to HBO.  Insecure, the YouTube star’s comedy pilot, has been picked up to series at the pay cabler.  The half-hour comedy examines the friendship of two modern-day African-American women and their uncomfortable experiences and racy tribulations.

Rae stars as Issa Dee opposite Yvonne Orji (Love That Girl!), who will play Issa’s best friend, Molly. Although she is very successful professionally in the corporate world, Molly is not so successful in her love life.
Jay Ellis (The Game) also stars as Lawrence, Issa’s depressed and unemployed boyfriend who has been trying to get his act together for the past four years. Lisa Joyce (Boardwalk Empire) rounds out the ensemble as Frieda, Issa’s liberal and empathetic co-worker at an educational non-profit firm.
Prentice Penny (Brooklyn Nine-Nine) will serve as showrunner on the series, exec producing with Michael Rotenberg, Dave Becky and Jonathan Berry. Rae and Larry Wilmore co-created the project and the wrote the pilot together. She will co-executive produce, while he will serve as a consultant. Wilmore is now behind the desk on Comedy Central’s The Nightly Show, which came after Insecure was put in development at HBO in 2013.
Melina Matsoukas directed the pilot.  Rae is known for her award-winning web series, The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl, which has helped her amass 200,000 subscribers and 20 million views on YouTube. She is repped by UTA, 3 Arts Entertainment and John V. Meigs Jr.
Insecure‘s series pickup comes as part of television’s continued efforts to increase diversity, which have proved successful for networks like Fox (Empire) and ABC (Black-ish).
Insecure joins HBO’s expanding comedy slate that includes Girls, Veep, Silicon Valley, Togetherness, Ballers, The Brink, Doll & Em, the upcoming final season of Getting On and the TV movie finale of Looking.
article by Kate Stanhope and Lesley Goldberg via hollywoodreporter.com

Keegan-Michael Key & Jordan Peele Set Fox Comedy With Vine Star King Bach

By goodblacknews on October 13, 2015

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Key & Peele (photo via Getty Images)

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Andrew Bachelor aka King Bach (photo via deadline.com)

Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele have set up a followup TV series project to their hit Comedy Central sketch show Key & Peele — a single-camera undercover cop comedy starring top Vine personality Andrew Bachelor aka King Bach. Key and Peele are executive producing the project which, in a competitive situation, has landed at Fox.

Written by Key & Peele writer-producer Alex Rubens, the untitled comedy is loosely based on a King Bach Vine and stars Bachelor as an undercover cop who grew up on the streets and goes back to his old neighborhood to take down the bad guys who bullied him when they were kids. Rubens, Key and Peele executive produce.

As his exuberant alter ego King Bach, Bachelor has become Vine’s biggest star, boasting 14 million followers and 5.1 billion loops. The Groundlings alum has parlayed his Vine success into a rising acting career with recurring roles on The Mindy Project, House Of Lies and Black Jesus. He also appeared on Key & Peele. 
This is Key and Peele’s first TV series project since they recently ended their successful Comedy Central sketch comedy series Key & Peele, which the duo created, executive produced and starred in. The series, which ran for 5 seasons, has garnered 9 Emmy nominations, including best sketch variety comedy series and best supporting actor in a comedy series, Key, this year. Peele, Key and Rubens have shared two Emmy nominations in the writing for variety series category.
Key, Peele and Rubens recently worked together on the upcoming New Line feature Keanu, which Key and Peele produce and star in and Peele and Rubens wrote. Key and Peele also have been developing a new installment of thePolice Academy franchise at New Line, a feature based on their popular Substitute Teacher skits at Paramount with Rubens co-writing, and a comedy with Judd Apatow at Universal. Individually, Peele is set to write and direct Blumhouse’s horror film Get Out, while Key stars in Mike Birbiglia’s latest movie Don’t Think Twice and is part of the voice cast of The Angry Birds Movie.
article by Nellie Andreeva via deadline.com

 

‘Salt’: New Talk Show For Black Christian Millennials Debuts on YouTube This Sunday

By goodblacknews on October 10, 2015

"Salt"
Co-hosts of “Salt” (photo via youtube.com)

Salt, a new half-hour, bi-weekly talk show focused on the ups and downs of being Christian millennials of color during a time when media spaces are often populated with inauthentic “reality” TV shows, is scheduled to debut Sunday, Oct 11 at 8:00 p.m. ET on YouTube.
Hosted by Michelle Jenkins, Yeira De Leon, J. Jones, and L.A. Bonds, Salt will engage in no-holds-barred conversations ranging from news of the day to beauty, fashion and colorism in the Black community. The four outspoken women will also keep it real about their own personal relationships. Whether married, single or somewhere in between (think Netflix and Chill), Salt wants to add its flavor to your Sundays.
With a focus on faith and Christianity, Salt’s goal is not just to entertain. According to a statement released exclusively to Newsone, the women also want to “win back the lost”:
Salt’s overarching goal is to provide an alternative perspective that not only promotes a relationship with Christ, but the “cool” life to be had when you do.  To be young and a Christian has been for so long deemed “unpopular”, but what if someone showed you that is simply not true. That choosing to follow Jesus is not a restriction, but a freedom!  The show, which is filled with so much truth, love, fun, and personal experience, hopes to capture the young minds of today who are being inundated with conflicting information from everywhere. 
The growing media continues to push and help shape the thoughts of young adults today, so rather than find an opportunity to live within this media construct, SALT seeks to create their own lane to win back the lost. The Bible tells us to be the SALT and the light of the world and that is what we intend to do.
With the rise of social media, millennials seem to be more vulnerable than ever to self-hatred, depression, lack of self-confidence, bullying, and suicide. Moreover in the news, young men and women of color are increasingly becoming targets of a love-less system. But with every poor illustration and message of hopelessness, we want to project a message of hope and empowerment. When our viewers watch SALT, we want them to be inspired to share their voice and their faith with the world. We hope to encourage them with our stories and ultimately help restore their hope. Everyone needs a hero, so in one way or another, we point our viewers back to ours, Jesus!
Appealing to more than a Christian base may prove tricky for the show. Even though it’s important to have diversity of thought represented in media spaces, not having faith in Jesus does not make one “lost” any more than having faith in Jesus makes one found. There are agnostic, atheist and Muslim millennials. There are millennials who identify as spiritual beings not restricted by religion.
So, can a show grounded in “God’s truth and the Gospel of Jesus,” according to SoulFeedTV’s stated purpose, have wide-spread appeal among an increasing secular millennial demographic that is uninterested in being “saved,” no matter how fun the hosts make it seem?
We guess you’ll have to pour a little Salt on your Sundays at 8:00 p.m. ET on YouTube to find out.
To see a trailer for the show, click here.
article via hellobeautiful.com

Laurence Fishburne to Star in Nelson Mandela Miniseries ‘Madiba’ for BET

By goodblacknews on October 4, 2015

Laurence Fishburne Nelson MandelaLaurence Fishburne is set to play the lead role of Nelson Mandela in Madiba, a miniseries for BET Networks executive produced by the late South African hero’s grandson Kweku Mandela. The six-hour mini, directed by Kevin Hooks (Prison Break), is based on two Mandela books, Conversations With Myself and Nelson Mandela by Himself. Named after Madiba, the Thembu clan to which Nelson Mandela belonged, the project tells the story of a younger Nelson Mandela during the early-60s as he deals with the political unrest engulfing South Africa.

Madiba will be produced and financed by Toronto-based Blue Ice Pictures and also produced by UK-based Left Bank Pictures and South Africa’s Out of Africa Entertainment in association with Fishburne’s Cinema Gypsy Productions. Blue Ice Pictures president Lance Samuels executive produces alongside Kweku Mandela of Out of Africa and Daniel Iron, Neil Tabatznik, Steven Silver, Andy Harries, Marigo Kehoe and Loretha Jones.
Pre-production will begin later this year, with production slated for early 2016 in South Africa.
nelsonmandelabyhimselfconversationswithmyslef“Nelson Mandela’s journey of political activism and leadership is deeply inspirational and we are proud to have the talented and award-winning actor Laurence Fishburne join Madiba to tell this triumphant story” said Stephen Hill, President of Programming, BET Networks.
Fishburne executive produces and co-stars on the ABC comedy series Black-ish and will be seen next summer in Batman vs Superman: Dawn Of Justice. He recently signed on to star in the A&E remake of Roots and is in production on Sony’s romantic sci-fi drama Passengers starring Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence.
There have been a number of feature and TV movies about Mandela, with the Nobel Peace Prize-winning anti-apartheid activist and political prisoner-turned-president portrayed by such actors as Morgan Freeman, Sidney Poitier, Idris Elba, Dennis Haysbert, Terrence Howard and Danny Glover.
article by Nellie Andreeva via deadline.com

‘Power’ Producer 50 Cent Signs Overall Deal with Starz

By goodblacknews on September 29, 2015
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“Power” producer Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson (COURTESY OF GREGORY PACE/BEI/REX SHUTTERSTOCK)

Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson has signed a two-year exclusive premium television pact with Starz, the cabler that is home to his drama series “Power.”  Under the deal, Jackson will develop new projects for the network through his G Unit Film & Television, Inc. shingle and continue as executive producer on “Power.”
“Starz has been the perfect partner to make ‘Power’ the success that it is and I am looking forward to developing many more record-breaking series with them,” said Jackson.
Starz has been proud of the success of “Power”; the second season finale in August set a series record for its episode premiere viewership performance (2.39M viewers Live+3). A 10-episode third season ordered in June and production began earlier this month at the series’ home base at Steiner Studios in Brooklyn.
“Curtis is a wonderful hands-on producer and actor on ‘Power’ and we look forward to expanding his roles behind-the-camera with Starz over the next two years,” said Carmi Zlotnik, managing director of Starz.
“Power” creator Courtney Kemp Agboh signed her own overall deal with Starz in June. In addition to Kemp Agboh and Jackson, “Power” exec producers are Mark Canton, Randall Emmett and Gary Lennon.
article by Whitney Friedlander via Variety.com

Steve Harvey Inks Overall Production Deal with Endemol Shine North America

By goodblacknews on September 28, 2015

Steve harvey Endemol Shine
Steve Harvey (PHOTO COURTESY OF ENDEMOL SHINE)

Endemol Shine North America, which produces the nationally syndicated daytime talk show “Steve Harvey,” has signed an overall production deal with Steve Harvey and his East 112th Street Productions shingle, Variety has learned.
Under the new pact, the company and Harvey’s production banner will develop original programming in the unscripted, scripted and digital spaces. East 112th Street Prods. will now be based at Endemol Shine North America’s L.A. office.
“We are thrilled to be extending our relationship with Steve Harvey, arguably the hottest personality in TV right now,” says Cris Abrego and Charlie Corwin, co-chairmen and co-CEOs of Endemol Shine North America. “We’ve enjoyed a great relationship with him on our hit, Emmy Award-winning daytime talk show for several years now and we’re excited to explore new programming opportunities with Steve and his team at East 112th Street across a wide variety of platforms and genres.”
Harvey commented: “I’m truly excited to bring East 112th Street Productions to Endemol Shine, where I’ve enjoyed a great partnership with my talk show over the last four years. Cris, Charlie and the team at Endemol Shine offer us the opportunity to expand our vision for East 112th Street globally and we’re already exploring a number of potential projects together that I can’t wait to see get off the ground.”
East 112th Street Prods. is led by president Gerald Washington and director of development Donna-Marie Reid.
Washington, who also serves as president of The Steve Harvey World Group, added, “Our team has enjoyed a tremendously successful year across TV, radio, print and other platforms and Steve’s brand has never been stronger. We believe our partnership with Endemol Shine is going to take us to the next level.”
In addition to his daytime talker, now in its fourth season, Harvey also hosts “Family Feud” and ABC’s summer game show “Celebrity Family Feud” with both Harvey and Washington serving as executive producers on the latter. On the radio front, Harvey also hosts the “Steve Harvey Morning Show.” Coming up, he will host and executive produce NBC’s kid talent show “Big Little Shots,” along with exec producer Ellen DeGeneres.
article by Elizabeth Wagmeister via Variety.com

‘Empire’ Returns Big, Draws Second-Best Rating to Date; ‘Rosewood’ Starring Morris Chestnut Solid

By goodblacknews on September 24, 2015

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“Empire” Season 2 (Photo via CHUCK HODES/FOX)

UPDATE: In rush nationals ordered by Fox, “Empire” was revised up to a 6.7 in adults 18-49 and 16.2 million total viewers for its second-season premiere. In the demo, that puts it ahead of its two-hour finale average from March (6.5) and only a bit behind that night’s second hour (6.9).
Fox juggernaut “Empire” showed no signs of slowing down in its sophomore season, returning Wednesday to its second best ratings to date. The network dominated the opening Wednesday of the season overall, with its “Rosewood,” the only series premiere on the night, benefiting from pre-“Empire” tune-in to deliver solid scores.
ABC’s comedy block returned strong, with “The Middle” and “The Goldbergs” on par with last year and “Modern Family” and “Black-ish” a hearty second to “Empire” in the 9 o’clock hour. CBS’ “Survivor” was down a bit but remains potent kicking off its 31st edition.
According to preliminary national estimates from Nielsen, “Empire” averaged a huge 6.5 rating/20 share in adults 18-49 and 16.0 million viewers overall — beating the ratings for all but the show’s final episode from last season. Its 9 p.m. episode on finale night in March averaged a 6.9/21 in 18-49 and 17.62 million total viewers (and its two-hour finale night average of 6.5 matched last night’s premiere).
The show had seen its overall audience grow with every episode during its first season, but that amazing streak came to an end on Wednesday.
Compared with last season’s premiere in January, “Empire” on Wednesday was up by 71% in 18-49 (6.5 vs. 3.8) and by 62% in total viewers (16.0 million vs. 9.9 million). This is the biggest improvement from season 1 premiere to season 2 premiere for any scripted series since Fox’s “House” in 2004 and 2005.

The demographics score for “Empire” more than doubled the next highest-rated program on the night (3.1 for ABC’s “Modern Family”) and it’s 38% higher than the No. 2-rated series of premiere week (4.7 for CBS’ “The Big Bang Theory”). The only entertainment series on television to have drawn a higher 18-49 rating for an episode this year is AMC’s “The Walking Dead.”

And in total viewers, “Empire” also towered over the Wednesday pack. Its 16.0 million was more than 6 million viewers higher than runner-up “Survivor” on CBS (9.6 million).
“Empire” was also a social-media superstar last night, with 1.3 million tweets sent during the episode — making it the most-tweeted one-hour broadcast drama series on record (since Nielsen began tracking about four years ago). Perhaps most impressively, and a true indication of the show’s wide appeal and reach, the tweets generated 63 million impressions.
The most-tweeted minute occurred at 9:30 p.m. with 32,363 tweets after Anika (“Boo Boo Kitty”) was dancing.
Leading off Wednesday for Fox was medical drama “Rosewood” (2.4/9 in 18-49, 7.3 million viewers overall) starring Morris Chestnut. Though it hadn’t generated much buzz leading into the season, it clearly found an opening-night audience. The 2.4 rating in 18-49 makes it the young season’s No. 4-rated series premiere, behind “Blindspot,” “The Muppets” and “Life in Pieces.” It saw a big jump in the second half-hour (2.7 vs. 2.1 at 8 p.m.), a clear sign of pre-“Empire” tune-in.
Elsewhere, ABC had to be pleased with its returning comedy block: “The Middle” (2.1/8 in 18-49, 8.2 million viewers overall), “The Goldbergs” (2.4/8 in 18-49, 7.6 million viewers overall), “Modern Family” (3.1/10 in 18-49, 9.3 million viewers overall) and “Black-ish” (2.4/7 in 18-49, 7.3 million viewers overall). “Middle” and “Goldbergs” were identical to their demo premieres of last year and topped their final nine episodes of last season.
“Modern” and “Black-ish” were down as expected, lower by 18% and 27% respectively from last year’s opening Wednesday when the competition on Fox was considerably softer (“Red Band Society” did a 1.1 in 18-49). The 2.4 for “Black-ish” matches the show’s highest rating to date opposite an episode of “Empire.”
Closing out the night, “Nashville” (1.3/4 in 18-49, 5.0 million viewers overall) was within a tenth of its year-ago premiere.
CW aired “America’s Next Top Model” (0.4/2 in 18-49, 1.4 million viewers overall) and the finale of “A Wicked Offer” (0.2/1 in 18-49, 0.5 million viewers overall). “Arrow” and “Supernatural” kick off their seasons on Oct. 7.
article by Rick Kissell via Variety.com

First Lady Michelle Obama to Appear on Disney Jr.'s "Doc McStuffins" to Honor Child Health Day

By goodblacknews on September 24, 2015
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Doc McStuffins will feature first lady Michelle Obama in an Oct. 5, 2015, episode. (YOUTUBE SCREENSHOT)
First Lady Michelle Obama is joining forces with Disney’s animated young children’s program about a veterinarian for toys, “Doc McStuffins.” The first lady’s appearance will coincide with Child Health Day as she invites Doc and her friends to the White House.
This special episode of “Doc McStuffins” premieres Monday, October 5 (9:00 a.m., ET/PT).  During Doc’s visit, Obama appoints her the official toy doctor of the White House. To see a clip, watch below:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bB0TPhWtpGk&w=560&h=315]
article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson (follow @lakinhutcherson)

Kevin Hart Set As First Guest On ‘The Daily Show with Trevor Noah’

By goodblacknews on September 23, 2015
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Comedian Kevin Hart (GUSTAVO CABALLERO/GETTY IMAGES)

“The Daily Show with Trevor Noah” has set comedian Kevin Hart as the guest for its Sept. 28 premiere.
Comedy Central’s flagship series returns next week with South African comedian Noah succeeding Jon Stewart behind the anchor desk. Other guests lined up for premiere week include New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, musician Ryan Adams and Whitney Wolfe, founder and CEO of Bumble.
Noah’s debut will add even more heat to the late-night landscape, which has become decidedly more competitive in the past few weeks with Stephen Colbert’s launch on CBS.
Trevor Noah, Steve Bodow, Jen Flanz, Tim Greenberg, Jill Katz and Adam Lowitt are executive producers of “Daily Show.” Chuck O’Neil, who just earned an Emmy for his work on Stewart’s final season, returns as director.
article by Cynthia Littleton via variety.com

National Book Award Nominee Ta-Nehisi Coates to Write Black Panther Comic for Marvel

By goodblacknews on September 22, 2015
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The cover of Black Panther No. 1, to be published next year, drawn by Brian Stelfreeze. (MARVEL ENTERTAINMENT By GEORGE GENE GUSTINES)

Ta-Nehisi Coates can be identified in many ways: as a national correspondent for The Atlantic, as an author and, as of this month, as a nominee for the National Book Award’s nonfiction prize. But Mr. Coates also has a not-so-secret identity, as evidenced by some of his Atlantic blog posts and his Twitter feed: Marvel Comics superfan.

So it seems only natural that Marvel has asked Mr. Coates to take on a new Black Panther series set to begin next spring. Writing for that comics publisher is a childhood dream that, despite the seeming incongruity, came about thanks to his day job. “The Atlantic is a pretty diverse place in terms of interest, but there are no comics nerds,” besides himself, Mr. Coates said in an interview.

His passions intersected in May, during the magazine’s New York Ideas seminar, when he interviewed Sana Amanat, a Marvel editor, about diversity and inclusion in comic books. Ms. Amanat led the creation of the new Ms. Marvel, a teenage Muslim girl living in Jersey City, based on some of her own childhood experiences.

“It was a fruitful discussion,” he recalled.

Ta-Nehisi Coates (GABRIELLA DEMCZUK FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES)

After that event, Marvel reached out, paired Mr. Coates with an editor, and discussions about the comic began. The renewed focus on Black Panther is no surprise. Created in 1966, he is the first black superhero and hails from Wakanda, a fictional African country.

“He has the baddest costume in comics and is a dude who is smarter and better than everyone,” said Axel Alonso, the editor in chief of Marvel. The character not only adds to the diversity of Marvel’s comics; he will do it for their films too: Black Panther is set to make his big-screen debut next year in “Captain America: Civil War,” followed by a solo feature in 2018.