Marsai Martins’ skating coming of age comedy series, Saturdays, was just given a series order by Disney. This commitment is an upgrade to the pilot order Disney Channel gave it in March. Charles Stone III will direct.
Saturdays centers on 13-year-old Paris Johnson (Danielle Jalade), who since the age of four, has been honing her skills on the cool parquet floor of Saturdays, a local skating rink owned and operated by a former ’90s hip-hop back-up dancer, Duchess (Yolanda “Yo-Yo” Whitaker).
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She lives for the weekends because that’s when she gets to go to her sanctuary, the neon-lit Saturdays, a seemingly magical wood floor roller-rink where the impossible often manifests.
In this wondrous place, Paris can hang with her best friends where she’s the leader of their skate crew (the We-B-Girlz skate crew). She also choreographs exhilarating routines on wheels, banter with her rivals, navigate life with her DJ brother London (Jermaine Harris) and work on becoming a Golden – a member of Saturday’s skating elite, chosen by the mystical owner of the rink, The Duchess.
However, she has sickle cell disease, and when it flares up, it’ll take every ounce of determination to prove the doubters wrong, including her concerned family.
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The series also stars Omar Gooding and Golden Brooks have been cast as Paris’ parents, Cal and Deb. Daria Johns and newcomer Samantha Smith have also been cast as Paris’ best friends and skating partners, Simone and Roxy.
The series comes from Martin and her Genius Entertainment and writer-executive producer Norman Vance Jr. who is also writing the single-camera comedy. Vance and Martin executive produce with Nicole Dow and Joshua and Carol Martin.
Production is slated to begin in May 2022 for premiere on Disney Channel.