NBC is expanding its drama slate with Truth, a new series in development from creative trio Dallas Jackson, David Marshall Grant, and filmmaker Malcolm D. Lee. The project hails from Lee’s Blackmaled Productions and Universal Television.
Truth is written by Jackson and Grant, with Lee attached to direct. Inspired by the life and work of Dr. Roger Mitchell, Jr.—Washington, D.C.’s youngest and first Black chief medical examiner—the series follows Xavier “Truth” Hall, a brilliant medical examiner who becomes the youngest person to run a major-city morgue. In addition to solving complex cases using his sharp forensic insight, Truth is committed to providing grieving families with answers and closure. The show also explores his personal life, particularly his strained relationship with his father, who battles addiction.
Jackson and Grant will executive produce alongside Lee, Dominique Telson, and Michael Scott Allen. Dr. Mitchell Jr. is set to serve as co-executive producer. The series is produced by Blackmaled Productions, with Universal Television—part of Universal Studio Group—on board as the studio.
Jackson, known for writing and directing Thriller, Welcome to Sudden Death, and The System, also executive produced ABC’s Rebel and previously developed a series with Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson’s G-Unit Film and Television.
Grant’s extensive TV resume includes writing and executive-producing on Brothers and Sisters, Nashville, Smash, Code Black, and A Million Little Things. He also co-wrote Michael Showalter’s film Spoiler Alert and has a feature in development with Constine, Cathy Konrad, and the James Patterson Company.
Lee, whose film credits include The Best Man franchise, Girls Trip, and Night School, continues expanding his TV footprint. He is currently directing and executive producing NBC’s spy procedural Need to Know and developing a TV adaptation of Ellen Won Steil’s Becoming Marlowe Fin. His debut novel The Best Man: Unfinished Business launched earlier this year as the first entry in a planned trilogy, and his next feature—starring Lynn Whitfield, Chloe Bailey, and Coco Jones—hits theaters in 2026.
Dr. Mitchell Jr., a board-certified forensic pathologist with two decades of expertise, previously led Howard University Hospital and once held the title of the youngest chief medical examiner in the nation. He is co-author of Death in Custody: How America Ignores the Truth and What We Can Do About It and co-host of the NAACP Image Awards–nominated Official Ignorance – The Death in Custody Podcast.