The “How To Get Away with Murder” star’s production company JuVee Productionshas entered into an overall deal with ABC Studios and ABC Signature Studios, Variety has learned.
Under the new pact, JuVee Productions — which Davis founded with her husband, Julius Tennon — will develop new projects for broadcast, cable, streaming services and digital platforms.
Additionally, JuVee has also tapped Bravo’s Andrew Wang to serve as the company’s head of television development and production. At Bravo, Wangwas vice president of scripted television development and production and was responsible for the cabler’s first scripted series, comedy “Odd Mom Out,” drama “Girlfriends Guide to Divorce” and the upcoming dark comedy “My So-Called Wife.” He was at Bravo for four years.
“We started JuVee because we wanted to see narratives that reflected our multi-ethnic and multifaceted culture,” Davis commented. “We wanted to be a part of classic storytelling, and we didn’t want to wait.”
“Our goal has always been to champion bold, authentic, and courageous voices and Andrew Wang is just that. Andrew has an outside-the-box mindset and the experience to propel our vision forward, and we couldn’t be more excited to welcome him to our team,” Tennon said of JuVee’s new hire.
Wang added: “Viola Davis’ award-winning work in theater, film, and television has provided a powerful foundation to advocate for greater opportunities for communities that are traditionally underrepresented in film and television, and to tell the stories that haven’t but need to be told. Viola and Julius’ determination to provide these opportunities, and to tell these stories, through new voices and fresh perspectives, in any format, is what excited me about the joining the team at JuVee Productions. We’re thrilled to be working with our partners at ABC Studios to bring JuVee’s vision to life…finding new storytellers and bringing their distinct points of view and character journeys to the screen.”
JuVee’s pact comes just days after ABC Studios signed a production deal with another ABC actress, Kerry Washington. The “Scandal” star will develop projects by way of her Simpson Street banner.
Currently on JuVee Production’s development slate is TNT’s “Conviction,” a legal drama hailing from scribe Ayanna Floyd (“Empire”) and Debra Martin Chase’s Martin Chase Prods.
JuVee is repped by CAA.
Viola Davis Developing Harriet Tubman Movie at HBO | Variety | Apr 27, 2015
Viola Davis is attached to star in an HBO telepic about the life of Harriet Tubman, the activist who helped devise a system that allowed hundreds of slaves to escape to freedom via the Underground Railroad.
Davis is developing the project with Amblin TV and writer Kirk Ellis, who has penned historical projects for HBO including its “John Adams” miniseries, and “Entourage” exec producer Doug Ellin. The untitled movie is based on the book “Bound for the Promised Land: Harriet Tubman: Portrait of an American Hero” by Kate Clifford Larson.
Davis is exec producing with her partner and husband, Julius Tennon; Amblin’s Justin Falvey and Darryl Frank; Ellin; Jim Lefkowitz; and Cliff Dorfman.
The movie is in the early development stage and has not been given the go-ahead for production. But it’s eyed for filming during Davis’ hiatus next year from her hit ABC drama “How to Get Away With Murder.”
Tubman became an American icon as a woman who escaped from slavery in Maryland in 1849 and helped organize a network of safe houses to help her relatives. She eventually helped hundreds of slaves to secure their freedom and became the most famous “conductor” on the network.
During the Civil War, Tubman served with the Union Army as a cook and a nurse, but she was eventually pressed into service as a spy.
Tubman is not the only African-American historical figure that Davis has sought to portray onscreen. The actress has been developing a feature film based on the life of pioneering congresswoman Barbara Jordan.
HBO has another biopic of an African-American female icon set to premiere May 16 with Queen Latifah’s portrayal of blues legend Bessie Smith in “Bessie.”