News

Exclusive: Prolific producer and actor DeVon Franklin has set up two new scripted development projects at BET+ under his overall deal with CBS Studios, which is the studio for both.

The first project, Played, is a comedy in which Franklin would star. The second project, Closure, for BET and BET+, is a family drama inspired by the life of baseball Hall-of-Famer Andre Dawson turned funeral home owner. Franklin would executive produce both projects via his Franklin Entertainment.

Written by Devon Shepard (The Ms. Pat Show), in Played, Franklin stars as a TV personality in the comedy which chronicles the trials of a dysfunctional dater.

Here’s the official logline: “What if the life of a dysfunctional dater is punctuated by his conscience being a fully-produced talk show hosted by real-life tv personality and producer DeVon Franklin? Every time our guy is faced with one of life’s many dilemmas, he...

Exclusive: BET+ is developing a scripted drama series about the Los Angeles Police Department’s Mental Evaluation Unit, from Devon Shepard playwright Lina Patel and Nacelle Company.

Created by Shepard and Patel, the as-yet untitled project is about the Mental Evaluation Unit of the LAPD, which has a therapist ride with an LAPD officer to answer mental health calls.

The logline: After the officer-involved shooting of a mentally ill man, two women – a skeptical police officer and an idealistic clinician – are forced to work together at the razor’s edge where law enforcement meets mental health and the stakes at home and on the job are life and death.

The LAPD’s Meu (Mental Evaluation Unit) has been in existence for over four decades to assist patrol officers with mental health-related calls. According to the LAPD, the program uses a multilayered approach that includes triage by trained dispatchers,...

That’s a wrap on Bigger at BET+. Creator and showrunner Felischa Marye confirmed Monday that the series has been canceled after two seasons.

“We’re sad to announce that #BiggerOnBet will not get a third season. We know, we know. We can’t believe it either, but want to say to thanks to our #BiggerSeries Hive for being such loyal and passionate fans,” she tweeted. “We wanted to give audiences a hardcore funny comedy with a big heart, and our fans were there for it, so we thank you! We had a lovely dinner last week to end the year,...

ABC has given a big put pilot commitment to Family Affair, a single-camera family comedy with musical elements from husband-and-wife writer-producers Devon and Ranada Shepard, Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, Mary J. Blige, Universal Music/Polygram Entertainment and ABC Signature.

Written by Devon and Ranada Shepard, Family Affair centers on A-ron, a faded R&b star and committed bachelor whose life is thrown into a tailspin when he’s saddled with raising his sister’s four kids. A-ron is overwhelmed and underwater until he discovers that musical talent runs in the family. These kids can sing! With their sights set on success, A-ron’s about to learn that managing a music group might be hard, but raising four kids is even harder.

The Shepards executive produce with Jackson via his G Unit Film & Television, Blige and Bruce Miller via her Blue Butterfly, David Blackman and Daniel Inkeles for Universal Music/Polygram Entertainment and Noah Rosenberg.

Exclusive: The story of former Philadelphia police officer Jeffrey Walker is headed to the screen. The Nacelle Company, Stone Canyon Entertainment and producer Devon Shepard (Being Mary Jane) have optioned Walker’s life rights for possible TV or film development, with Stephen Belber (The Laramie Project) attached to pen the script.

Per producers, over the course of a 20-year career as a narcotics officer with the Philadelphia Pd, Walker, an African American, became co-opted by a system that harasses, unfairly arrests and often kills those in the very community from which he came. This is the story of Walker’s redemption, as he hits bottom and then begins the courageous work of helping dismantle that same system he helped to thrive. Walker’s story goes to the heart of our moment, in which people want answers to a problem we’re all part of: how did we get here, and where can we go now?...

Bet has announced the cast for “Bigger,” one of the first original series that will air on Bet+, the network’s upcoming streaming service.

The series, from executive producer Will Packer, will star Tanisha Long, Angell Conwell, Rasheda Crockett, Chase Anthony and Tristen Winger. Warren Burke and Terrence T. Terrell will also appear in recurring roles.

The 30-minute, 10-episode series follows a single black woman who is dealing with the threat of marriage to a boring-in-bed boyfriend and the sudden, random death of a college acquaintance. The tragedy drives her ambitious group of friends to take a deeper look at their stagnant lives, asking themselves: is there something bigger and better in life?

Also Read: Bet to Launch Streaming Service With Tyler Perry's Backing

“Bigger” was created by Felischa Marye and executive produced by Packer and Devon Shepard who also served as the showrunner.

“Bigger” recently wrapped production this summer in Atlanta.

Bet Networks has set the cast for their forthcoming original comedy series Bigger from executive producer Will Packer. The scripted series will star Tanisha Long, Angell Conwell, Rasheda Crockett, Chase Anthony and Tristen Winger. Bigger recently wrapped production this summer in Atlanta. The 10 half-hour episodes will debut on the network’s streaming service Bet+ later this fall.

Set in the East Atlanta neighborhood of Little Five Points, Bigger follows a single black woman who is dealing with the threat of marriage to a boring-in-bed boyfriend and the sudden, random death of a college acquaintance. The tragedy drives her ambitious group of friends to take a deeper look at their stagnant lives, asking themselves: Is there something bigger and better in life?

“I’m excited about bringing this cast of some of the most talented new voices in television to this great new medium,” said Packer.

Here are the actors’ character...

Apa has signed Devon Shepard, the current showrunner and executive producer of Will Packer’s Bigger on Bet.

Shepard’s other recent credits include serving as co-executive producer on The Neighborhood, serving as showrunner on Comedy Central’s Legends of Chamberlain Heights, as well as Bet’s Being Mary Jane starring Gabrielle Union.

His resume also includes TV Land’s The Soul Man, Showtime’s House of Lies, as well as Weeds, Everybody Hates Chris, and MadTV. Shepard recently launched his own production banner, Running with Scissors, headed by George Gore and Matt Ochacher, which is currently developing the Aaron Gunner series Fear of the Dark written by Gar Anthony Haywood that centers on a black private investigator in Compton. The Kwame Kilpatrick story about Detroit’s beloved mayor who’s currently serving a lengthy prison sentence due to corruption as a limited series at Bet as well as the...

In Today’s TV News Roundup, “Dirty John” has an official premiere date and Variety has obtained an exclusive clip from the upcoming season finale of “Carter.”

Dates

Bravo’s new limited series “Dirty John” is set to premiere Nov. 25 at 10:00 p.m. Et/Pt. The show, which stars Connie Britton and Eric Bana, is based off of a popular true-crime podcast of the same name hosted by Los Angeles Times reporter Christopher Goffard. In the podcast, Goffard narrated the cautionary romance between Debra Newell (Britton) and the charismatic conman John Meehan (Bana), which spiraled into a web of deception and terror that almost tore the family apart. Universal Cable Productions, in association with Los Angeles Times Studios and Atlas Entertainment will produce the show, alongside show creator Alexandra Cunningham and director Jeffrey Reiner. Bravo also released a trailer for the series, which can be seen below.

Showtime has...

Saturday Night Live alum Finesse Mitchell will take the stage in his first stand-up special Finesse Mitchell: The Spirit Told Me To Tell You, premiering Friday, October 19 at 10 Pm Et/Pt on Showtime.

Directed by Devon Shepard and shot at the Alex Theatre in Glendale, California, the hour-long special will feature Mitchell taking on everything from L.A. life and staying out of the club to juggling the non-stop demands of marriage, fatherhood and “adult-ing.” You can watch a first-look clip below.

Mitchell became known during a three-year run on Saturday Night Live, creating hilarious characters like “Starrkeisha” and impersonating actor Morgan Freeman and rapper 50 Cent. His other TV credits include Tyler Perry’s Meet the Browns, Mad Families (opposite Charlie Sheen and Tiffany Haddish), Roadies on Showtime, Media and A.N.T. Farm. His feature film work includes Who’s Your Caddy, The Comebacks, Mad Money and Barely Lethal,...

It's going to be legend -- wait for it -- dary. The new, animated Legends of Chamberlain Heights TV show premieres on Comedy Central Wednesday, September 14, at 10:30pm Et/Pt, following the 20th season premiere of South Park, but you don't have to wait until then to watch it. The first two episodes are now available on the Comedy Central app, cc.com, and On-Demand.Don't worry about Legends of Chamberlain Heights being cancelled anytime too soon. Comedy Central renewed it for a second season, back in July. The comedy is executive produced by Bento Box Entertainment's Scott Greenberg and Joel Kuwahara, along with co-creator Brad Ableson and showrunner Devon Shepard. Co-creators Quinn Hawking and Josiah Johnson produce. The voice cast stars Quinn Hawking as Jamal, Michael Starrbury as Milk, and Josiah Johnson as Grover.Read More…...

Comedy Central has faith in their upcoming animated series, Legends of Chamberlain Heights. The cable channel has handed out a second season renewal, nearly two months before the comedy show is supposed to debut.Legends will launch on Wednesday, September 14th. The premiere will follow the 20th season debut of South Park.Here's the renewal press release and a teaser:Comedy Central(R) Announces A Second Season Renewal For "Legends Of Chamberlain Heights" At Comic-conExecutive Produced by Bento Box Entertainment, Showrunner Devon Shepard and Co-Creator Brad Ableson with Producers and Co-Creators Quinn Hawking and Josiah JohnsonFirst Season Set to Premiere September 14 at 10:30 p.m. Et/Pt, Following "South Park"Read More…...

Comedy Central has renewed “Legends of Chamberlain Heights” for a Season 2, two months ahead of the series premiere, the network announced at San Diego Comic-Con on Thursday. “Legends of Chamberlain Heights,” produced by Bento Box Entertainment, is an animated series that centers on three high school freshman basketball benchwarmers: Jamal, Grover and Milk. The series will premiere Wednesday, Sept. 14. Bento Box co-founders Scott Greenberg and Joel Kuwahara serve as executive producers on the series, along with co-creator Brad Ableson and showrunner Devon Shepard, with co-creators Quinn Hawking and Josiah Johnson producing. Also Read: Jessica Williams Bids Tearful Farewell to 'Daily Show' (Video) “This.

Filmmaker Justin Simien is set to adapt his own acclaimed 2014 comedy feature "Dear White People" into a ten-episode Netflix half-hour comedy TV series.

Netflix has given the project a straight-to-series order with the action following a diverse group of students of color as they navigate a predominantly white Ivy League college where racial tensions are often swept under the rug.

The series is a send up of 'post-racial' America that also weaves a universal story about forging one's own unique path. Simien will write the series and direct the first episode, with production kicking off later this year for a 2017 debut.

It's unclear if any of the movie's original cast will be onboard, but Devon Shepard, Stephanie Allain Bray and Julia Lebedev are set to executive produce.

Source: The Live Feed...

Another movie-to-tv adaptation is in the works — but this time, it’s coming from the indie world.

Netflix announced Thursday that it’s ordered 10 episodes of Dear White People, a half-hour comedy series based on writer/director/producer Justin Simien’s Sundance award-winning satire. (The full trailer for the movie is embedded below.)

RelatedStar Wars’ John Boyega to Headline Netflix’s Watership Down Series

The logline for the series — which Simien will write (and also serve as director on the pilot episode) — is as follows: “Set among a diverse group of students of color as they navigate a predominantly...

Netflix has given a straight-to-series order to “Dear White People,” based on the 2014 movie from writer/director Justin Simien. Set amidst a diverse group of students of color as they navigate a predominantly white Ivy League college where racial tensions are often swept under the rug, the 10-episode, half-hour series is described as a sendup of “post-racial” America. Simien will write the series produced by Lionsgate TV, and will direct the first episode. Devon Shepard will executive produce with Stephanie Allain Bray and Julia Lebedev, who also produced the film. Also Read: Netflix Now Lets Customers Control Phone's Data Instead of Capping It “During the.

Earlier this year, Adult Swim announced that the network had partnered with the popular video-driven website WorldStarHipHop.com to develop a new live-action comedy series inspired by "the energy and style" of the website. The pilot will be executive produced by  site founder Q WorldStar and Devon Shepard ("House of Lies, "MadTV"). Announced this afternoon, Paramount Studios has fast-tracked a feature film inspired by WorldStarHipHop.com, which Russell Simmons has come onboard to co-produce, along with Q Worldstar, Douglas Banker, and Trevor Engelson. A Fall shoot in New York City is eyed,...

Adult Swim has unveiled its 2014-15 slate ahead of its upfront presentation next week in NYC, with more than 30 new and returning series, pilots and specials. New additions include live-action comedy series Untitled Triumph/McBrayer Sitcom from Robert Smigel. It features 30 Rock‘s Jack McBrayer as a former child star of a popular Lassie-type series who’s later reunited with his crude but beloved former co-star, Triumph the Insult Comic Dog. Also on the schedule is live-action/rotoscope hybrid pilot Dream Corp LLC; Neon Joe Werewolf Hunter from Jon Glaser; and Untitled World Star Hip Project, a live-action single cam comedy pilot from Q WorldStar and Devon Shepard (House Of Lies, MadTV). Related: Adult Swim Greenlights Live-Action Pilot Produced By John Krasinski Previously announced Mike Tyson Mysteries is a new half-hour animated adult comedy series starring Mike Tyson, who takes the fight from the boxing ring to the streets, by solving mysteries.

Adult Swim announced today the network has partnered with WorldStarHipHop.com to develop a new series. The live-action comedy pilot is said to be inspired by "the energy and style of the #1 urban website featuring a celebrity guest in a very World Star world."The pilot will be executive produced by Q WorldStar and Devon Shepard (House of Lies, MadTV).Since its launch in 2005, WorldstarHipHop.com has grown from a niche site covering hip-hop culture, news and user-generated video content into an online juggernaut that receives over 20 million page views a day and 30 million unique visitors a month.Adult Swim (AdultSwim.com), launched in 2001, is Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.’s network...

Adult Swim is collaborating with the urban website World Star Hip Hop on a new comedy pilot that will explore the sex, music and random street-fight-filled world of World Star. This live-action single camera pilot, which is as of yet untitled, is executive produced by site founder Q WorldStar and Devon Shepard (“House of Lies,” “MadTV”). It will be inspired by the frenetic energy of World Star, which has grown from a niche outlet covering hip-hop culture into a thriving site that draws 30 million unique videos a month. Also read: Dan Harmon's ‘Rick and Morty’ Renewed for Season 2 by.

Real Husbands Of Hollywood, based on the Real Husbands sketches on the Bet Awards, is set to premiere on Tuesday, January 15 at 10 Pm, followed by new scripted comedy Second Generation Wayans at 10:30. Kevin Hart (recently divorced) is executive producer of the semi-scripted Real Husbands, which follows the surreal lives of the men of Hollywood and their take on things from the husband’s point of view. The Bet series features Nick Cannon, husband of Mariah Carey; Boris Kodjoe, husband of Nicole Ari Parker; Duane Martin, husband of Tisha Campbell-Martin; J.B. Smoove, husband of Shahidah Omar; and Robin Thicke, husband of Paula Patton. Jay Leno, Shaquille O’Neal, Cedric the Entertainer and Nelly are among those scheduled to make guest appearances. Joining Hart as executive producers are Stan Lathan, Ralph Farquhar, Jesse Collins, Tim Gibbons, Chris Spencer, Dave Becky, along with Bet Networks President of Music Programming and Specials Stephen Hill.

Management and production company New Wave has signed several upper-level TV writer-producers. The list includes The Daily Show executive producer/showrunner Rory Albanese; Hell On Wheels‘ co-creator/executive producer Joe Gayton; Homeland co-executive producer Alex Cary, who is writing NBC’s Wiseguy reboot; Tosh.0 head writer Brian Rubinstein, House Of Lies co-executive producer Devon Shepard; Futurama co-executive producer Mike Rowe; and Supernatural co-executive producer Jim Michaels. Also joining New Wave as clients are Ian Goldberg Daily, co-producer on Once Upon A Time, and Daily Show staff writer Hallie Haglund. The signings follow the September hire of Apa partner Matt Ochacher as co-head of New Wave’s scripted television department. Several of the new clients — Rubinstein, Shepard, Rowe, Michaels and Haglund – worked with Ochacher at Apa.

ABC has picked up two multicamera comedy pitches, one from Carlos Mencia and the other by Cedric the Entertainer. The Mencia sitcom is written by Mitchel Katlin and Nat Bernstein and is a family comedy based on Mencia's life and stand-up act. Brillstein Entertainment co-produces. The story focuses on a man in the middle of his very large multigenerational immigrant family. The Cedric the Entertainer comedy penned by Al Higgins (" 'Til Death") and Devon Shepard ("Cedric the Entertainer Presents") apparently features Cedric as a retired baseball player turned-radio host who is forced to re-evaluate the type of father he has been after his son and 6-year-old granddaughter come back into his life once again.

With the broadcast networks already in a pilot-pickup mode, two multicamera comedy pitches fronted by familiar faces scored last-minute sales at ABC.

The projects, one starring Carlos Mencia and the other toplined by Cedric the Entertainer, hail from Sony TV and studio-based Tantamount.

The Mencia sitcom, from veteran comedy writers Mitchel Katlin and Nat Bernstein, is a family comedy based on Mencia's life and stand-up act.

Co-produced by Brillstein Entertainment, it centers on a man in the middle of his very large multigenerational immigrant family.

The Cedric comedy, from Al Higgins (" 'Til Death") and Devon Shepard ("Cedric the Entertainer Presents"), will feature the comedian as a retired baseball player-turned-radio host forced to re-evaluate the type of father he has been when his son and 6-year-old granddaughter re-enter his life.

In their initial comedy pilot orders this season, the networks have shown preference for projects that have talent attached: ABC...

Eric Roberts is joining the cast of Starz's series "Crash."

On the second season of the Lionsgate TV-produced drama, Roberts is joined by five other new cast members: Dana Ashbrook, Linda Park, Jake McLaughlin, Tess Harper and Julie Warner.

Dennis Hopper is back, along with fellow returning cast members Ross McCall, Jocko Sims, Moran Atias.

Starz's first original drama series, from the producers of the best picture Oscar winner, has begun production on its 13-episode second season in Albuquerque.

Andrew Bernstein is directing the season's first episode, slated to debut on Friday, Sept. 18.

Set in Los Angeles, the second season of "Crash" will continue to revolve around the intersecting lives of Angelenos from different social strata.

Roberts will play Seth, a billionaire entrepreneur, who plans to give Los Angeles a long-desired new professional football team. Ashbrook ("Twin Peaks") will play Jimmy, a charismatic gambler who plays fast and loose with the law.

New Wave Entertainment has beefed up its writer-producer roster, signing Joe Medeiros, Tim Gibbons, Devon Shepard and Eddie Feldmann for management representation.

Producer-director Gibbons is an executive producer on HBO's "Curb Your Enthusiasm" for which he has been nominated for four Emmys as part of the show's production team. He recently formed Invasion TV, through which he plans to create, develop and produce his own projects, and is in various stages of development on a slate of projects.

Medeiros has been head writer for NBC's "Tonight Show With Jay Leno" since 1993. He also is producing and directing a documentary tentatively titled "The Missing Piece: The Puzzling Case of the Theft of the Mona Lisa."

Shepard is a consulting producer on Showtime's "Weeds" and a co-exec producer on the CW's "Everybody Hates Chris." His other credits include Upn's "One on One" and Fox's "Cedric the Entertainer Presents" and "Mad TV."

Feldmann...