Press "Enter" to skip to content

Posts tagged as “Kenya Barris”

Malcolm D. Lee and "Barbershop 3" Writers Kenya Barris & Tracy Oliver Reteam on Girls’ Trip Movie for Universal

By goodblacknews on July 2, 2015

Screenwriters Kenya Barris and Tracy Oliver are re-teaming with Malcolm D. Lee for the “Untitled Girls’ Trip Project” at Universal. This project marks the second time the trio have worked together after Barbershop 3, which is currently in production. 

Barris is the creator of the ABC comedy series Black-ish and is also writing a feature adaptation of the 1970s TV show Good Times. Will Packer will be producing Girls Trip through his Will Packer Productions banner.

Lee’s highest-grossing film stateside was The Best Man Holiday which made $71 million. Barbershop 3 will be released on February 19 next year.

Packer’s next two titles at Universal are Straight Outta Compton as Executive Producer, bowing August 14, and Ride Along 2, which opens on January 15 in 2016.

article by Anthony D’Alessandro via deadline.com

Academy Award Winner Common Joins "Barbershop 3" Cast

By goodblacknews on April 29, 2015
common

 Common has committed to star in the ensemble cast of Barbershop 3, the MGM sequel that New Line will distribute. He joins Ice Cube and Cedric the Entertainer, who are reprising their roles from the first two movies, and The Best Man franchise director Malcolm D. Lee, who’s helming. Cube Vision is producing and MGM will run production. Bob Teitel and George Tillman Jr. of State Street Pictures are the lead producers. The script is by Kenya Barris and Tracy Oliver.

Common has been busy since winning the Oscar for Best Original Song in the film Selma. He is starring in the Rob Reiner-directed Being Charlie as well as the David Ayer-directed Suicide Squad and the Martin Campbell-directed Hunter Killer.
article by Mike Fleming Jr. via deadline.com

ABC Gives Full-Season Orders to ‘Black-ish’ and ‘How to Get Away with Murder’; CBS Renews "Extant"

By goodblacknews on October 9, 2014

Blackish, Murder, Extant
According to Variety.com, television projects featuring African-American leads have fared extremely well this season.  ABC has given full-season orders to the Anthony Anderson/Tracee Ellis Ross comedy “Black-ish” and the Viola Davis vehicle “How to Get Away with Murder,” two of the highest-rated new programs on all broadcast channels.  CBS, in turn, has picked up summer sci-fi drama “Extant” for a second season.  “Extant” stars Halle Berry and is produced by Steven Spielberg.

“Murder” is the fall’s highest-rated new series in adults 18-49, and the premiere also set DVR playback records, gaining about 6 million viewers within the first three days of its airing. It is created and executive produced by Pete Nowalk (“Scandal,” “Grey’s Anatomy”). Shonda Rhimes (“Scandal,” “Grey’s Anatomy”), Betsy Beers (“Scandal,” “Grey’s Anatomy”) and Bill D’Elia (“Grey’s Anatomy,” “The West Wing”) also serve as executive producers.
“Black-ish” has come on strong as the fall’s top new comedy in 18-49 (2.9 rating) and total viewers (9.1 million) in same-day viewing estimates. This week, the show saw a 12% week-to-week increase in adults 18-49, retaining about 80% of its “Modern Family” lead-in. It was created by Kenya Barris and is executive produced by Anderson, Barris, Jonathan Groff, Larry Wilmore, Laurence Fishburne, Helen Sugland and E. Brian Dobbins.
article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson (follow @lakinhutcherson)

Tracee Ellis Ross/Anthony Anderson Sitcom “Black-ish” Gets Picked Up By ABC

By goodblacknews on May 12, 2014

Blackish
via Instagram

You may recall in February when we reported Tracee Ellis Ross had signed on for the cast of Anthony Anderson’s pilot for “Black-ish” on ABC. Well congratulations to the pair, since ABC recently announced they will be picking up the show for their 2014-15 TV roster.
As mentioned, the series will center around Anderson’s character, an “upper-middle-class Black man who struggles to raise his children with a sense of cultural identity despite constant contradictions from his liberal wife, old-school father and his own assimilated, color-blind kids.”
Ross recently shared the news with her 300,000+ Instagram followers:
“Yup we’re #Blackish …this is a dream and yet it’s reality! @kenyab_in_imax3d #KenyaBarris #LaurenceFishburne @AnthonyAnderson #LarryWilmore and MEEEEE …thank you ABC.”
The actress will play alongside Anderson as his liberal wife and also expressed:
“This is how I feel right now…#goodthingshappening.”
Laurence Fishburne is an executive producer of the show and make some re-occurring appearances as the old-school dad.  Anderson recently appeared in NBC’s short-lived comedy “Guys With Kids”. He’s also been tapped to host the NBC game show “Wall of Fame”. Tracee Ellis-Ross is arguably best known for her role as the ambitious Joan Clayton on the CW network’s “Girlfriends”. This will be ABC’s sixth comedy pilot this season and it’s second African-American themed drama pilot so far. We’re looking forward to some honest laughs.
article via madamenoire.com

Tracee Ellis Ross Lands Lead Opposite Anthony Anderson in ABC Comedy Pilot

By goodblacknews on February 23, 2014

Via Vibe
(Photo via Vibe)

One of our favorite girlfriends, Tracee Ellis Ross, may be heading back to primetime TV.  According to Deadline, Ross landed a lead role in an untitled ABC comedy pilot, which was written by Kenya Barris (The Game) and previously called Black-ish.  The pilot also stars Anthony Anderson, and will mark Ross’ return to TV since BET shelved her family comedy Reed Between the Lines.
Here’s a synopsis of the show:

An upper-middle-class black man (Anderson) struggles to raise his children with some sense of cultural identity despite constant contradictions and obstacles coming from his liberal wife (Ross), old-school father (reportedly Laurence Fishburne), and his own assimilated, color-blind kids.

The pilot is being produced by ABC studios, Fishburne’s Cinema Gypsy and Principato Young, and recently Larry Wilmore (The Bernie Mac Show) was brought on as executive producer/showrunner.
article by Britni Danielle via clutchmagonline.com

ABC’s Anthony Anderson/Kenya Barris Pilot Adds Larry Wilmore As Showrunner

By goodblacknews on February 4, 2014

wilmoreWhat do you do when you have a show about what it means to be black in today’s society that is in a need of a showrunner? You turn to an expert. ABC’s untitled Anthony Anderson/Kenya Barris comedy pilot (formerly Black-ish) has tapped The Daily Show’s senior black correspondent Larry Wilmore as executive producer/showrunner. Written by Barris and loosely based on his personal experiences, the project centers on an upper-middle-class black man (Anderson) who struggles to raise his children with some sense of cultural identity despite constant contradictions and obstacles coming from his liberal wife, old-school father, and his own assimilated, color-blind kids. Wilmore tackled similar issues on his Fox comedy series The Bernie Mac Show. The Anderson/Barris pilot hails from ABC Studios, Laurence Fishburne‘s Cinema Gypsy and Principato Young, with Wilmore executive producing alongside Anderson, Barris, Cinema Gypsy’s Fishburne, Helen Sugland and Tom Russo as well as PYE’s Peter Principato, Paul Young and Brian Dobbins. Fishburne may also guest star.
article by Nellie Andreeva via deadline.com

Tyra Banks to Produce Television Comedy for ABC

By goodblacknews on October 15, 2012

Tyra Banks ABC Comedy FiveheadEXCLUSIVE: America’s Next Top Model executive producer/star Tyra Banks is making her first foray into scripted series with Fivehead, a single-camera comedy for ABC based on her teen years. Banks is co-creating/executive producing Fivehead withKenya Barris (Fox’s I Hate My Teenage Daughter), a childhood friend and longtime business partner with whom Banks also co-created America’s Next Top Model, now in its 19th cycle.

Fivehead, produced by ABC Studios, chronicles the impressionable teenage years of Banks in the halls of her high school and at home, focusing on her family and the long journey that took Banks from awkward teen to one of the world’s most recognizable supermodels. “In high school, if you have glasses, you’re a ‘four eyes’, if you have braces, you’re a ‘metal mouth’ but if you had my forehead? You’re a FIVEHEAD,” said Banks.
Barris and Banks will co-create together the characters and the story for Fivehead, and Barris will write the script. The two first met when they were 6-year-olds and attended school together, which gives Barris a first-hand account of the very times Banks and he will be reminiscing about in Fivehead. “To be able to witness her career was wild, but to be able to watch Tyra grow up was nothing short of nutty,” said Barris. “I am blown away by the opportunity to tell not just a great story but a story that I remember so fondly.” Banks is repped by WME. Barris is repped by Paradigm and Principato-Young.
article by Nellie Andreeva via deadline.com