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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...

Ex-WarnerMedia executives Chris Linn and Marissa Ronca have inked a development deal with animation studio Bento Box Entertainment through their agency Contrast Media.

Under terms of the agreement, Linn and Ronca will advise on creative strategy and development of animated projects for Fox Entertainment, its free streaming service, Tubi, and third-party platforms. The pair will also advise on Bento Box’s Non-Fungible Token (Nft) studio, Blockchain Creative Labs.

“Chris and Marissa are fantastic executives, whose work we’ve admired for quite some time,” said Scott Greenberg, Co-Founder and CEO, Bento Box Entertainment. “As we continue to grow Bento Box’s output and expand into Web3 with Blockchain Creative Labs, we’re thrilled to be partnering with them, and are eager to create amazing new content together.”

“Scott Greenberg and his team share our passion for comedy, collaboration and fan-favorite content,” added Linn and Ronca. “We look forward to bringing...

Hulu elevated Kelci Parker to VP of comedy on the streamer’s originals team and announced the hiring of Dougie Cash, formerly a development exec at Will Smith’s Overbrook Entertainment, as VP of drama.

Both are newly created roles. Kelci, who joined Hulu in July 2020 and previously served as executive director of comedy, continues to report to Billy Rosenberg, head of comedy, Hulu Originals. Cash will report to Sasha Silver, head of Drama, Hulu Originals.

“As we continue to evolve and expand the Hulu Originals team, we could not be more excited by the depth of talent and passion that both Kelci and Dougie bring to their respective new roles,” Jordan Helman, head of scripted content for Hulu Originals, said in announcing the appointments.

Since joining Hulu in the summer of 2020, Parker has expanded her oversight at the streamer through her work on projects including “Only Murders in the Building...

Michael Starrbury continues his collaboration with Netflix as he inks a multi-year overall deal with the streamer to develop new series programming.

Starrbury received an Emmy nomination for writing “Part Four” of Netflix’s When They See Us with Ava DuVernay in 2019 and will work with the director and Colin Kaepernick for Colin In Black & White.

Starring Jaden Michael as a young Kaepernick, Colin In Black & White will provide an introspective look at Kaepernick’s adolescent years as a Black teen growing up with a white adopted family. It was previously announced that Jaden Michael will star as Colin Kaepernick during his formative high school years. Kaepernick and DuVernay created and executive produce the series alongside Starrbury, who writes the six-episode project.

Starrbury created the animated comedy Legends of Chamberlain Heights and penned The Inevitable Defeat of Mister & Pete and the pilot Black Jack. He will write...

ABC has given a put pilot order to a musical comedy series that boasts Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson and Mary J. Blige among its executive producers.

Titled “Family Affair,” the single-camera series follows 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. 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.

According to sources, ABC picked up the project after a multi-network bidding war. It has a substantial penalty attached in the high six figure range. ABC has plans to open a writers’ room, with the show representing one of ABC’s largest commitments this season.

Devon and Ranada Shepard will...

Colin Kaepernick and Ava DuVernay are teaming for a scripted series about the NFL quarterback’s high school years at Netflix, Variety has learned.

The six-episode series is currently titled “Colin in Black & White.” It will provide a look at Kaepernick’s early life as a Black child growing up with a white adopted family and his journey to become a great quarterback while defining his identity. The series will also explore what led him to become a civil rights advocate.

“Too often we see race and Black stories portrayed through a white lens,” said Kaepernick. “We seek to give new perspective to the differing realities that Black people face. We explore the racial conflicts I faced as an adopted Black man in a white community, during my high school years. It’s an honor to bring these stories to life in collaboration with Ava for the world to see.

Exclusive: Amazon has put in development Ricky & Cricket, an animated comedy from Mr. Iglesias writer-producers Peter Murrieta and Isaac Gonzalez and Erik Rivera (Super White).

Written by Murrieta, Gonzalez and Rivera, Ricky & Cricket revolves around nice guy Ricky, a down on his luck Mexican-American actor, who starts taking control of his life with the help of Cricket — a brash, foul-mouthed guardian angel from the east side of heaven.

Murrieta, Gonzalez and Rivera executive produce, along with David Miner of 3 Arts.

Murrieta is co-executive producer on Netflix comedy series Mr. Iglesias, which will premiere its second season this year. The 2018 recipient of the Norman Lear Writer’s Award at the Imagen Awards, Murrieta shared in two Emmy awards as showrunner of Wizards of Waverly Place, and has served as a Co-ep on multiple series, including One Day At A Time for Netflix and Superior Donuts for CBS. Murrieta created the autobiographical...

Fox Entertainment’s Bento Box Entertainment and Princess Pictures have signed a first-look animation development deal, with all projects to be fully produced in Australia with local talent and crews.

The aim is to give animation’s next wave of creators the chance to showcase their work across Us and international platforms.

Bento Box co-founder and CEO Scott Greenberg and Princess Pictures’ founder Laura Waters announced the partnership.

“Australia punches above its weight in animation talent with scores of Oscar nominations and wins, and very successful children’s animation series,” said Waters. “There’s a slew of Australian talent making hilarious animation online, all with dedicated audiences.

“In collaboration with Bento Box, we’re excited to support this new wave of comedy talent with professional budgets and access to opportunities on major platforms.”

All projects will be executive produced by Greenberg, Waters, Bento Box co-founder and president of production Joel Kuwahara...

There’s still life in those foul-mouth kids from “South Park”, as the 23rd season of the long-running animated comedy handed Comedy Central the top cable comedy telecast of the year in the advertiser-coveted adults 18-49 demographic.

The premiere episode — which introduced a new intro that swapped out “South Park” for “Tegridy” — notched a 1.3 rating among adults 18-49, when adding in three days of delayed viewing on DVR and on-demand, according to Nielsen.

While that was good enough to give the network the top telecast among all cable comedies this year, it was down 24% from last year’s season opener (1.7 rating), but in line with the season average. However, if we’re only looking at Live+Same Day results (counting only those people who watched the night of the premiere), Season 23 actually improved from last year with a 0.9 rating in the demo, compared to 0.7 for last season’s opener.

Also...

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...

Comedy Central has signed a new animation deal with Bento Box Entertainment, the studio behind Fox’s “Bob’s Burgers.”

Under the deal, which is non-exclusive, Bento Box will produce short-form animated content for the Viacom cable channel’s digital platforms — including Facebook Watch and YouTube — with the potential to be adapted for TV down the line.

Bento Box creative director Ben Jones will serve as the lead creative executive on the projects, which will draw from the network’s upcoming and established talent.

Also Read: 'Broad City' Renewed for Fifth and Final Season at Comedy Central

Bento Box previously partnered with Comedy Central on the short-lived “Legends of Chamberlain Heights” and the Daniel Tosh-produced “Brickleberry,” the latter of which ran for three seasons beginning in 2012.

The deal expands Comedy Central’s push into animation and follows a recent agreement with “Inside Amy Schumer” co-creator Daniel Powell and his Irony Point production company.

Read original story ‘Bob’s Burgers’ Studio Bento Box Entertainment Signs Animation Deal With Comedy Central At TheWrap...

Updated: Comedy Central is continuing its push into animation, signing a non-exclusive digital development deal with Bento Box Entertainment (Bob’s Burgers).

Under the pact, Bento Box will develop and produce short-form series for digital/social platforms including Facebook Watch and YouTube, working with up-and-coming and established talent that have caught the attention of Comedy Central. If Comedy Central produces a linear series, Bento Box will have first opportunity rights to animate and executive produce the series, something the company is doing for such series as Fox’s Emmy-winning Bob’s Burgers.

Bento Box creative director Ben Jones will be the company’s lead executive on the projects.

Jones previously served as creative director and producer at Fox’s Adhd animation studio, where he created and served as showrunner on Fxx’s Stone Quackers. He also previously created and executive produced Neon Knome for Adult Swim and Problem Solverz for Cartoon Network.

Network: Comedy Central. Episodes: 20 (half-hour). Seasons: Two. TV show dates: September 14, 2016 — August 20, 2017. Series status: Cancelled. Voice performers include: Josiah Johnson, Quinn Hawking, Michael Starrbury, Jay Pharoah, Tiffany Haddish, Jamie Kennedy, Poochie Jackson, Carl Jones, Elise Marie Dubois, and Lavell Crawford. TV show description: An animated adult comedy from creators Brad Ableson, Mike Clements, Quinn Hawking, Josiah Johnson and Michael Starrbury, the Legends of Chamberlain Heights TV show follows three high school basketball players. Jamal (Hawking), Grover (Johnson), and Milk (Starrbury), are really just benchwarmers. Together, these three friends experience life's highs and lows. Comedy Central says, "Failure doesn’t faze them since they're legends... even if it’s just in their own minds." Hawking and Johnson's own days, riding the...

Exclusive: Late Night With Seth Meyers standout Amber Ruffin is eyeing a move to primetime. NBC has put in development comedy Going Dutch from Ruffin, Late Night host/executive producer Seth Myers, and executive producer Lorne Michaels. Co-written by Ruffin and Michael Starrbury (Legends Of Chamberlain Heights), Going Dutch is based on Ruffin's life. It explores what happens when a woman who moves abroad to escape her overbearing family and the responsibility of the…...

Vulture Watch Will Jamal, Grover, and Milk become the stuff of legends? Has the Legends of Chamberlain Heights TV show been cancelled or renewed for a third season on Comedy Central? The television vulture is watching for the latest cancellation and renewal news, so this page is the place to track the status of Legends of Chamberlain Heights season three. Bookmark it, or subscribe for the latest updates. Remember, the television vulture is watching your shows. Are you? What's This TV Show About? An animated adult comedy on the Comedy Central cable channel, Legends of Chamberlain Heights was created by Brad Ableson, Mike Clements, Quinn Hawking, Josiah Johnson and Michael Starrbury. The sitcom follows three high school basketball players. Jamal (Hawking), Grover (Johnson), and Milk (Starrbury), are really just benchwarmers. Together, these three friends experience life’s highs and lows. Comedy Central says, “Failure doesn’t faze them...

Although Comedy Central has had two decades of success with Trey Parker and Matt Stone's South Park, the cabler's other animated and scripted series have not typically lasted too long. Now its Legends of Chamberlain Heights TV show is back for a second season. Will it be cancelled or renewed for season three? Stay tuned. An animated adult sitcom from creators Brad Ableson, Mike Clements, Quinn Hawking, Josiah Johnson and Michael Starrbury, Legends of Chamberlain Heights follows three high school basketball players. Jamal (Hawking), Grover (Johnson), and Milk (Starrbury), are really just benchwarmers. Together, these three friends experience life’s highs and lows. Comedy Central says, “Failure doesn’t faze them since they’re legends -- even if it’s just in their own minds.” The voice cast also includes: Jay Pharoah, Tiffany Haddish, Jamie Kennedy, Poochie Jackson, Carl Jones, Elise Marie Dubois, and Lavell Crawford. Read More…...

Vulture Watch Will Jamal, Grover, and Milk become the stuff of legends? Has the Legends of Chamberlain Heights TV show been cancelled or renewed for a third season on Comedy Central? The television vulture is watching for the latest cancellation and renewal news, so this page is the place to track the status of Legends of Chamberlain Heights season three. Bookmark it, or subscribe for the latest updates. Remember, the television vulture is watching your shows. Are you? What's This TV Show About? An animated adult comedy on the Comedy Central cable channel, Legends of Chamberlain Heights was created by Brad Ableson, Mike Clements, Quinn Hawking, Josiah Johnson and Michael Starrbury. The sitcom follows three high school basketball players. Jamal (Hawking), Grover (Johnson), and Milk (Starrbury), are really just benchwarmers. Together, these three friends experience life’s highs and lows. Comedy Central says, “Failure doesn’t faze them...

LeBron James didn’t repeat as NBA Champion this month, but he’s still a hero to the cast of Comedy Central’s raunchy, basketball-obsessed animated hit “The Legends of Chamberlain Heights,” whose second season premiered last Sunday. Creator Josiah Johnson told TheWrap that the show’s main characters — high school basketball benchwarmers and class clowns Grover (who prays to James every day), Jamal and Milk — were inspired by the experiences he and co-creator Quinn Hawking had while riding the bench as UCLA basketball players. Brad Ableson, Mike Clements and Michael Starrbury also created the show. “As the game was going on,...

Network: Comedy Central. Episodes: Ongoing (half-hour). Seasons: Ongoing. TV show dates: September 14, 2016 — present. Series status: Has not been cancelled. Voice performers include: Josiah Johnson, Quinn Hawking, Michael Starrbury, Jay Pharoah, Tiffany Haddish, Jamie Kennedy, Poochie Jackson, Carl Jones, Elise Marie Dubois, and Lavell Crawford. TV show description: An animated adult comedy from creators Brad Ableson, Mike Clements, Quinn Hawking, Josiah Johnson and Michael Starrbury, the Legends of Chamberlain Heights TV show follows three high school basketball players. Jamal (Hawking), Grover (Johnson), and Milk (Starrbury), are really just benchwarmers. Together, these three friends experience life's highs and lows. Comedy Central says, "Failure doesn’t faze them since they're legends... even if it’s just in their own minds." Hawking and Johnson's own days,...

Oh my -- you're in for a treat Sa readers. I had a chance to chat with Comedy Central's Legends of Chamberlain Heights creator Josiah Johnson. In addition to creating and writing for the show, Johnson also voices two of the three main characters of this animated sitcom -- take notice now, because his name may become household over the next few years. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram (@KingJosiah54), because he's funny as hell.      1. How did you come up with the idea for Legends?   The idea for Legends is based on Quinn and my experiences as benchwarmers on the UCLA basketball team in the early 2000s. Despite sitting on the end of the bench, we always made sure that we were...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

Exclusive: UTA has signed Josiah Johnson and Quinn Hawking, co-creators of Comedy Central’s Legends of Chamberlain Heights. They continue to be repped by Mgmt Entertainment and Ellie Altshuler. The adult-oriented animated series premiered September 14 on Comedy Central following South Park, two months after receiving a rare early second-season renewal from the network during Comic-Con. Johnson and Hawking developed the series with co-creators Brad Ableson, Mike Clements…...

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…...