DISNEY’S ONYX COLLECTIVE PRESENTS HULU ORIGINAL ‘THE 1619 PROJECT’
AND ORIGINAL DRAMEDY ‘UNPRISONED’ AT
THE TELEVISION CRITICS ASSOCIATION WINTER 2023 PRESS TOUR,
WITH ADDITIONAL PREMIERE DATE ANNOUNCEMENTS AND NEW PICKUPS OF DOCU-SERIES ‘BLACK TWITTER’ (WORKING TITLE) AND SCRIPTED COMEDY PILOT ‘1266’ (WORKING TITLE)
Original Dramedy Series ‘UnPrisoned’ To Premiere Friday, March 10, on Hulu,
Executive Produced and Starring Kerry Washington and Delroy Lindo
Straight-to-Series Pickup of Docu-Series ‘Black Twitter’ (Working Title),
Based on WIRED’s Series of Articles ‘A People’s History of Black Twitter,’
From Prentice Penny’s A Penny for Your Thoughts, WIRED Studios and Culture House
Pilot Pickup for Original Scripted Comedy ‘1266’ (Working Title),
From 20th Television and Starring Gabourey Sidibe
Onyx Collective continues to expand its slate of premium programming by creators of color and underrepresented voices. Below are the panels and announcements from the Television Critics Association Winter 2023 Press Tour sessions today:
- Original dramedy “UnPrisoned,” executive produced and starring Kerry Washington and Delroy Lindo, is set to premiere March 10 on Hulu, with all episodes streaming at once.
- From creator Tracy McMillan, the eight-episode series is produced by ABC Signature and will stream exclusively on Hulu in the U.S., Star+ in Latin America and Disney+ in all other territories.
- Inspired by McMillan’s life, “UnPrisoned” is a half-hour dramedy about a messy but perfectionist relationship therapist and single mom whose life is turned right-side-up when her dad gets out of prison and moves in with her and her teenage son.
- The series is executive produced by Tracy McMillan, Yvette Lee Bowser, who also serves as showrunner, Kerry Washington alongside Pilar Savone through their Simpson Street production company, and Delroy Lindo. Joy Gorman Wettels and Jen Braeden also executive produce.
- Today, the highly anticipated six-part limited docu-series “The 1619 Project,” an expansion of “The 1619 Project” created by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones and The New York Times Magazine, paneled at the 2023 Winter Television Critics Association. The series is set to premiere the first two episodes exclusively on Hulu on Jan. 26, with two episodes releasing weekly on Hulu subsequently, as previously announced.
- In keeping with the original project, the series seeks to reframe the country’s history by placing the contributions of Black Americans at the very center of our national narrative. The episodes ― “Democracy,” “Race,” “Music,” “Capitalism,” “Fear” and “Justice” ― are adapted from essays from The New York Times No. 1 bestselling “The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story” and examine how the legacy of slavery shapes different aspects of contemporary American life.
- The series, hosted by Nikole Hannah-Jones, is a Lionsgate Production in association with One Story Up Productions, Harpo Films and The New York Times. It was executive produced by Nikole Hannah-Jones; Academy Award®-winning director Roger Ross Williams; Caitlin Roper, an editor of “The 1619 Project” and The New York Times’ executive producer for film and television; Kathleen Lingo, The New York Times’ editorial director for film and television; and Oprah Winfrey. Peabody Award-winning executive producer Shoshana Guy served as the showrunner.
Additionally, below please find details of the two new pickups from Onyx Collective:
- Onyx Collective announced today the pilot pickup of “1266”(working title), a scripted comedy from 20th Television.
- The pilot is executive produced by Thembi Banks (“YOUNG.WILD.FREE,” “Only Murders in the Building”), Steven Canals (“Pose”), Gabourey Sidibe (“Precious,” “American Horror Story”) and Julie Bean (“grown-ish”), with Jill Kaplan to serve as a non-writing executive producer. Banks and Bean will be co-showrunners. Story by Sidibe and Banks, with Banks writing the teleplay and directing the pilot.
- Gabby Brixton’s (Gabourey Sidibe) life is aimless ― she’s living with her mom and making half-hearted attempts to become a singer/model and overnight millionaire. When she’s fired from her job … yet again … she stumbles upon the gig of a lifetime ― phone sex! What initially seems like a quick way to make money turns into a life-changing experience when she meets the women who become her chosen family and learns how powerful, profitable and prolific her voice can be. The series is inspired by the true-life story of Academy Award nominee Gabourey Sidibe.
- Onyx Collective also announced today the straight-to-series greenlight for the three-part docu-series “Black Twitter” (working title) from A Penny for Your Thoughts, WIRED Studios and Culture House.
- Prentice Penny is directing the series, marking the first project with Onyx Collective via his overall deal under the banner of his company, A Penny for Your Thoughts.
- Based on Jason Parham’s WIRED article “A People’s History of Black Twitter,” this three-part series charts the rise, the movements, the voices and the memes that made Black Twitter an influential and dominant force in nearly every aspect of American political and cultural life.
- Executive producers:
- Prentice Penny (A Penny For Your Thoughts)
- Chris Pollack (A Penny For Your Thoughts)
- Alex Soler (A Penny For Your Thoughts)
- Sarah Amos (WIRED Studios)
- Helen Estabrook (WIRED Studios)
- Agnes Chu (WIRED Studios)
- Andrew Whitney (WIRED Studios)
- Raeshem Nijhon (Culture House)
- Carri Twigg (Culture House)
- Nicole Galovski (Culture House)
- Joie Jacoby, executive producer and showrunner (Culture House)
- Director: Prentice Penny (A Penny For Your Thoughts)
- Producer: Jason Parham (WIRED Studios)
ABOUT ONYX COLLECTIVE
Onyx Collective is a new content brand formed under Disney General Entertainment Content (DGE) designed to curate a slate of premium programming by creators of color and underrepresented voices. Onyx Collective ushers an exciting slate of content for a global audience, including critically acclaimed debut project Questlove’s Oscar®-winning documentary “Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)”; “The Hair Tales,” from executive producers Tracee Ellis Ross, Michaela angela Davis and Oprah Winfrey; legal drama “Reasonable Doubt,” from executive producers Raamla Mohamed, Kerry Washington and Larry Wilmore; limited series “The Plot,” executive produced and starring two-time Oscar winner Mahershala Ali; award-winning documentary, “Aftershock,” from directors Paula Eiselt and Tonya Lewis Lee, docu-series “Gigante,” featuring Don Francisco (Mario Kreutzberger), and comedy series “Unprisoned,” executive produced and starring Kerry Washington and Delroy Lindo.
The brand’s roster of prolific creators also includes Ryan Coogler’s Proximity Media (“Judas and the Black Messiah,” “Black Panther”), writer and director Destin Daniel Cretton (“Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings”) and his production company Family Owned, writer, producer and director Prentice Penny’s Penny for Your Thoughts, writer and comedian Natasha Rothwell (“Insecure,” “SNL”), writer-producer Erika Green Swafford and her production company Chocolate Girl Wonder, Yara Shahidi with her 7th Sun Production Company, and most recently writer-producer Jason Kim (“Barry,” “KPOP”). Follow on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook: @OnyxCollective