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Actress Jami Gertz and Bayan Joonam (QAnon: The Search for Q) are joining forces for a new non-fiction banner, Laugh Cry Wow.

“I’ve always been a lover of documentaries. Even though I came from the scripted world, I will always stop on a good documentary first,” said Gertz, whose onscreen works include Less Than Zero and Twister.

The banner’s inaugural project, Magic City: An American Fantasy, will debut on Starz. The five-part series, which premiered at SXSW, tells the story of Atlanta strip club, Magic City. Dubbed the “Black Studio 54,” the club, opened in 1985, has become the launching pad for the careers of hip-hop stars and helped to shape the sound and culture of the city. Drake, 2 Chainz, Nelly, Killer Mike and more were interviewed for the doc. (Gertz, whose personal relationship with Magic City owner Michael “Magic” Barney offered the documentary exclusive access, is a co-owner...

Starz has set Friday, August 15 for the premiere of Magic City: An American Fantasy, a five-part docuseries about the famed Atlanta club. Check out the first-look teaser above.

Created and executive-produced by Cole Brown, Magic City: An American Fantasy details the legendary club’s storied history as a cultural hub in Atlanta. Celebrities such as 2 Chainz, Nelly, Shaquille O’Neal, Quavo, Killer Mike and Big Boi share their firsthand Magic City experiences in exclusive interviews. The docuseries also offers a platform for the lives of women who work there and are responsible for building the club’s mystique.

Magic City: An American Fantasy will debut at 10 pm Et/Pt August 15, immediately following the season finale of Bmf. Remaining episodes will air weekly on Fridays at 9 pm Et/Pt. In Canada, the premiere airs at 11 pm Et/Pt on August 15, with subsequent episodes airing Fridays at 10 pm Et/Pt.

Drake’s DreamCrew Entertainment,...

Starz announced today that Magic City: An American Fantasy, an immersive five-part docuseries that brings viewers inside the famed Atlanta club and features an oral history from the A-listers who made it legendary, will premiere Friday, August 15.

Starz also unveiled a video teaser and first-look photos, offering a glimpse at the club’s founder, Michael “Mr. Magic” Barney, as well as executive producers and hip-hop legends Jermaine Dupri and Drake, while also highlighting the alluring and feminine power of Magic City’s dancers.

Photo courtesy of Starz

New episodes of Magic City: An American Fantasy will be available to stream weekly on Fridays on the Starz app and all Starz streaming and on-demand platforms.

Magic City: An American Fantasy is a riveting docuseries that takes viewers on a wild and unexpected ride detailing the legendary club’s storied history as a cultural hub in Atlanta. Having evolved into the definitive king-maker in the hip-hop community,...

Starz has acquired the rights to “Magic City: An American Fantasy,” a five-part documentary series centered on the iconic Atlanta strip club. The series is set to premiere this summer.

The docuseries, which is executive produced by heavy-hitter musicians Drake, Jermain Dupri, will uncover the story behind the famed Atlanta strip club, Magic City, and its decades-long influence on hip hop. It was created by Cole Brown, who also serves an executive producer alongside Jami Gertz and Bayan Joonam.

“From politicians, to artists, to drug kingpins, Magic City has been a home for a broad cross-section of Black Atlanta for decades,” Brown said in a statement. “Everyone should know the unbelievable story of this institution and the man who founded it, and Starz is the perfect partner to bring it to the world. We’re thrilled.”

Here’s Starz official description: “Magic City has been a legendary Atlanta institution and...

New Drake-produced doscuseries “Magic City: An American Fantasy” debuted at SXSW Monday night to a roaring crowd packed with friends, patrons and fans of the project’s titular iconic Atlanta strip club, Magic City.

After the first episode of the three-part doc, which does not yet have a distributor or platform attached, was screened, producer Cole Brown and director Charles Todd fielded a few questions from the audience, including “Was there anything too explicit to put in the documentary?”

“We wanted to walk a fine line with nudity, in particular — where you can’t make a documentary about a strip club and not have any nudity, it just isn’t true to form — and you’re trying to tell the true story,” Brown said. “At the same time, we didn’t want it to be salacious, gratuitous. We wanted to use it in such a way that you’re...

Exclusive: Cole Brown, DreamCrew Entertainment, Jermaine Dupri, and Jami Gertz announced that production has wrapped on the forthcoming documentary series Magic City: An American Fantasy – a three-part series uncovering the story behind the famed Atlanta strip club, Magic City, and its decades-long influence on hip-hop. Drake joins the production through his DreamCrew Entertainment, with Executive Producers Adel “Future” Nur and Peter Nelson. Dupri joins with music executive Michael Mauldin as Executive Producer, and production company Scheme Engine.

Magic City has been an Atlanta institution and the launchpad for countless artists since 1985, leading to the club’s reputation as the “Black Studio 54” and the conventional wisdom: “If the girls in Magic City dance to it, it’s a hit.” The series offers an exclusive look into the enigmatic founder, Michael “Mr. Magic” Barney, and the lives of the many women responsible for building the club’s mystique.

The series is directed...

The fourth and final season of FX’s “Atlanta” has set a premiere date for September, with episodes streaming on Hulu the following day after air.

Starring series creator Donald Glover, Brian Tyree Henry, Lakeith Stanfield and Zazie Beetz, the forthcoming season finds Earn, Alfred, Darius and Van back in their hometown of Atlanta after their Season 3 journey across Europe, with the overarching theme of the new season pondering whether the city has changed or if they have.

The teaser highlights many references from the show’s 31-episode run to date, including the invisible car from Season 1 episode “The Club” and an appearance from fan-favorite side character Zan, played by Freddie Kuguru. The third season featured the main cast traveling throughout Europe in just more than half of its ten episodes with the other episodes shifting back to Atlanta, containing anthology stories focused on new characters.

Glover executive produces “Atlanta...

CNN films is delving into shorter subjects.

The CNN non-fiction banner plans to unveil four new short documentaries., two of which will debut Saturday, July 31, and two on Saturday, August 7. Each 25-minute title examines a unique American community or sub-culture, and will be introduced by Anderson Cooper. Scheme Engine, a minority-owned studio and production company, is the creative partner for CNN Films for the doc shorts.

“This lets us play a bit more in the documentary space,” said Alexandra Hannibal, director of program development for CNN and an executive producer on each of the four films. “These are more like snapshots into different communities and spaces that we are cognizant of but haven’t had the opportunity to really dig deep into.”

On July 31 at 9 p.m. eastern, CNN will show “58 Hours” The Baby Jessica Story” and “Super Reviewers: Rate, Review, Request.” The former examines the aftermath of the rescue of 18-month-old Jessica McClure,...