Michael Arceneaux’s memoir ‘I Can’t Date Jesus’ being adapted by Fox TV
‘I Can’t Date Jesus: Love, Sex, Family, Race and Other Reasons I’ve Put My Faith in Beyoncé’ focused on his identity as a gay Black man growing up in a religious family in Houston and became a New York Times bestseller.
Michael Arceneaux’s memoir I Can’t Date Jesus is being adapted into a half-hour series by FOX TV.
Deadline reported Tuesday that 20th Century Fox TV is developing an adaptation of Arceneaux’s I Can’t Date Jesus: Love, Sex, Family, Race and Other Reasons I’ve Put My Faith in Beyoncé with Jerrod Carmichael, Lee Daniels, and Marc Velez. The book was published by Simon & Schuster in July 2018 and is a collection of essays by the cultural writer.
It centered on his identity as a gay Black man growing up in a religious family in Houston, Texas and became a New York Times bestseller.
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He shared his excitement on Instagram about the development.
“Very excited. Most grateful. Forever hopeful. Trying to make Hiram Clarke and the rest of Houston proud. More to come, but in the meanwhile, please buy “I Don’t Want To Die Poor,” he captioned.
The announcement of his first book being turned into a cable and streaming market show was made on the very same day his second tome, I Don’t Want To Die Poor, was released. In an interview with Shondaland, he explained that this book would be just as relatable to readers. The issue of debt is one that many are struggling with.
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“I knew I wanted to talk about intimacy and religion and how those inform identity in I Can’t Date Jesus and I knew that I needed to talk about money — specifically my student loan debt — which has also shaped my identity. That’s how I Don’t Want To Die Poor came about. It’s one thing to figure out who you are supposed to be, but to live a truly free existence, at least where I live, you need security,” he told the outlet.
“I admit my mistakes in the book, but ultimately, I maintain that I did “the right thing.” The problem was, I knew I had the odds stacked against me, but I was too young and naive to fully grasp just how many disadvantages I had going against me when I made that college choice.”
The 35-year-old also shared that he hoped this new book would empower.
“I also wanted people to know that they are not alone and that life can get better, even when it feels like the hell never ends,” he said.
