Kenya Barris reveals ‘#blackAF’ will not return for season 2, will pivot to vacation films
"I just don’t know that my voice is Netflix’s voice. The stuff I want to do is a little bit more edgy, a little more highbrow, a little more heady, and I think Netflix wants down the middle," Barris said.
In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Kenya Barris shed light on his exit from Netflix, revealing that #blackAF will not return for season 2 but may come back in the form of vacation films.
Barris is ready to do “in-your-face s—.” The media mogul breaks down his departure from his major deal with Netflix in a new profile with The Hollywood Reporter.
He shares, “I think a lot of people thought I got fired or I quit, like ‘F-ck this,’ over some kind of beef with Netflix.”
He then dives into exactly why he went elsewhere with his talents, what to expect from his major deal with ViacomCBS/BET Studios, and why, while there will not be a season 2 of #blackAF, it may not be the end for the characters of that series.
Barris and Netflix are still cool
Despite his massive exit from Netflix, the mega-creator is still on good terms with the streamer, and in fact, has plenty of projects in the works with them. Harris opened up about how while at Netflix, he quickly realized he might not be the right fit for the wide breadth of ideas he wants to see come to fruition.
He shares, “I just don’t know that my voice is Netflix’s voice. The stuff I want to do is a little bit more edgy, a little more highbrow, a little more heady, and I think Netflix wants down the middle…Netflix became CBS.”
The creator is still developing projects with the streamer, including The 50th Law alongside 50 Cent. Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos says of Barris, “Kenya has an opportunity to have an impact and legacy that few even dare to dream of.”
#BlackAF: Family Vacation
When shedding light on his process pitching shows to Netflix and launching #BlackAF, Barris hinted at the future for his series with co-star Rashida Jones.
He shares in the profile, “For Netflix, say we got 35 million viewers, they were like, ‘Well, it wasn’t Fuller House.'” He did reveal that while he has exited his deal, he still intends on making plenty of #BlackAF content for the streamer, including stand-alone films in the style of the classic family vacation flicks, National Lampoon.
The profile teases that, “he and the writers have been batting around ideas for #blackAF: Brazil and #blackAF: Mexico, by design — both are popular Netflix territories.”
Barris is expanding his already massive reach
From more shows across multiple streamers and platforms, to podcasts, essays and more, Barris is not going anywhere anytime soon. Some projects teased in the profile include “a gang drama about the inception of the Crips,” at Showtime, an animated family comedy at Nickelodeon, a project about a rapper who buys a vineyard, and reportedly a dozen-plus more films under his new ViacomCBS deal.
Head over to The Hollywood Reporter to check out the full profile, here.
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