Netflix has landed Hoops, based on Kennedy Ryan’s bestselling book series, for drama series development, beating out competition for the rights. The project comes from Ryan, Adrian Dukes (All American), Will Packer Media, Chris Paul’s Ohh Dip!!! Entertainment, and Tracey Baker-Simmons. Series details and storyline are being kept under wraps, but the adaptation draws from […]

Hallmark’s Countdown to Christmas is back with its biggest slate yet, 34 original movies and a new season of Mistletoe Murders rolling out over 10 weeks starting October 16. Diversity across the lineup remains thin overall, but a handful of titles do feature Black leads and standout cast members worth putting on your radar. Here’s […]

The HollyRod Foundation has announced its full list of honorees for this year’s annual gala, set for November 7 in Los Angeles. Samuel L. Jackson and LaTanya Richardson Jackson will receive the Clarence & Jacqueline Avant Humanitarian Award, Ahman Green will receive the Matthew Thomas Robinson Courage Award, Maureen McCormick and Bruce Sickler will receive […]

EXCLUSIVE: Hartbeat’s push into vertical content continues to expand. The company has released cast and crew details for the first wave of its partnership with aTwist, three original microdramas, Trapstar: Queen of the Game, Circle of Lies, and Mirror, spanning crime, mystery, and psychological thriller, each centered on a Black woman at the heart of […]

Leslie Jones has come aboard Faces Within, the poetic transgender short film from writer-director Kareem Ferguson, as executive producer. The Emmy winner spent five seasons on Saturday Night Live and has starred in Ghostbusters and Coming 2 America. Set in small-town Virginia and suburban Ohio, the story follows a Black transmasculine man and his cisgender […]

Ryan Clark’s journey since being fired from ESPN should be studied. Sometimes when someone undervalues you, that loss becomes the opening for the world to value you beyond expectation. That lesson just got a very tangible proof point. Howard Schultz, the billionaire entrepreneur and former Starbucks chairman and CEO, has joined Pivot25 Productions, the media […]

There will be more Crew Girl in our future. Netflix has renewed the popular YA drama for a second season, just under two weeks after its September 10 premiere. Written by Vivian Lin and developed alongside Morwyn Brebner, Crew Girl follows Teagan Tao (Miku Martineau), a rising star in single sculls rowing whose future is […]

Jordan Peele’s Monkeypaw Productions is bringing back its “No Drama” filmmaker initiative for a second edition, again in partnership with Universal Pictures, with American Cinematheque now joining as a new partner. The global program, developed by Universal’s Filmmaker & Content Strategies group, launched in 2024 as a one-year, non-exclusive initiative supporting emerging genre filmmakers by […]

Jax Stewart is back in the fight, and this time, she may be fighting for her life. Hulu has released the Season 4 trailer for Reasonable Doubt, and the new footage reveals that Jax (Emayatzy Corinealdi) has been shot, raising one major question ahead of the season’s October 6 premiere: is she still alive? Season […]

Vimeo has launched the second edition of its Short Film Grant Program, doubling last year’s prize pool to $300,000, split equally among five emerging filmmakers who will each receive $60,000 to produce an original short film. Beyond funding, each recipient gets mentorship from the selection jury and Vimeo’s Curation Team, access to Panavision camera packages, […]