Entertainment
Russell Simmons Inks Overall Deal with HBO
In this Feb. 6, 2015 file photo, Russell Simmons presents the Vanguard Award on stage at the 46th NAACP Image Awards in Pasadena, Calif. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP, File)
Elizabeth Wagmeister, VARIETY
(Variety) — Russell Simmons has inked an overall first-look production and development deal with HBO, the premium cabler announced Thursday.
Under the pact with Simmons’ new-media company All Def Digital, he and his team will create and develop television projects for the network. Simmons currently has five projects in the works with HBO.
All Def Digital is producing three of the five projects on which Simmons and HBO are collaborating, including a new series that brings the best acts from All Def Digital’s weekly live comedy night. “These Are My Friends,” a comedy series from Shaka King that takes an original and authentic look at hip-hop culture, is also in development. Another comedy, titled “The Broken Lizard Show,” in association with Broken Lizard comedy troupe, will take an innovative and comedic look at race when, hundreds of years in the future, a space ship exploring the galaxy discovers the last white man in the universe.
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