Colman Domingo is adapting his award-winning play Dot into the dramedy series West Philly, Baby for AMC.
The half-hour series follows the journey of a Philadelphia family. They are forced to grapple with their matriarch’s declining memory amidst uncovering long-held family secrets that shake the foundation of their home. Midlife crises, troubling revelations, childhood trauma, and complications of Alzheimer’s make for an American family story set in the heart of one of the country’s oldest and most historically significant cities.
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Domingo will write, direct and executive produce West Philly, Baby. West Philly, Baby is the first project from Domingo’s company, Edith Productions, to be developed under its first-look deal with AMC Studios.
“West Philly, Baby is straight from my heart. It is a love letter to Black families and communities,” said Domingo.
It’s about our collective memory and our hope for where we are going in the future. It holds many generations, genders, sexualities, races, and beliefs. It holds plenty of dark humor which is the key to everyone’s survival in my world. I am thrilled to be able to bridge the gap between AMC Studios and ALLBLK as we seek to collaborate across platforms to create a more diverse, equitable and inclusive entertainment industry.
The series is a co-production between AMC Studios and the streaming platform ALLBLK, which is owned by AMC Networks.
“We’ve had a long and very distinctive and successful partnership with Colman, going all the way back to Victor Strand and the first season of Fear the Walking Dead,” said Dan McDermott, president of original programming for AMC Networks and AMC Studios. “West Philly, Baby is a project that is very personal to Colman, based on his award-winning play, and we are thrilled to bring it to the screen, initially on our ALLBLK streaming service, through his overall deal with AMC Studios.”
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ALLBLK and WEtv general manager Brett Dismuke added, “As a fan of Colman’s dating back to his early work with Spike Lee, the dynamic he has brought to so many impactful pieces over the years has been a true pleasure to watch. The opportunity to marry ALLBLK with AMC and Colman’s in-house relationship for this first-ever co-production between our two brands feels truly serendipitous. Audiences will be in for a real treat with West Philly, Baby.”
Alisa Tager will also serve as executive producer on the series with Sean San José serving as story consultant.
Production on West Philly, Baby will begin in early 2022.
Colman Domingo’s credits include Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Fear the Walking Dead, Euphoria, If Beale Street Could Talk, The Butler, Selma and Birth of a Nation. Up next he is starring in Zola which will be out June 30th and the Candyman remake which bows in theaters in August.