Ludacris to partner with Malcolm D. Lee, Larry Wilmore for BET+ dramedy based on his life
The scripted series is inspired by Ludacris’ time as a DJ in Atlanta.
Ludacris is making the jump from the studio booth to the small screen.
The 46-year-old rapper-actor is developing a new half-hour series for BET+ with producers Malcolm D. Lee and Larry Wilmore, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The dramedy series will be based on the life of Ludacris, aka Chris Bridges, and his “experience coming up in the competitive music scene in Atlanta as DJ Chris Lova Lova,” the streaming service noted.
The still-untitled show, which is being developed with Universal Television, will follow an ensemble cast portraying characters who go above and beyond to make their hip-hop radio station a success.
Ludacris will serve as the music supervisor and an executive producer on the project, alongside Noah Gardenswartz, who will write the script. The series will be a reunion for Universal and Ludacris, as the rapper has previously starred in several “Fast and Furious” films throughout the years.
“When you’re doing movies, and you starting to realize that music is getting away from you to a degree, you’re kind of like in a frenzy. Like, ‘Damn, if I’m doing one, the other’s getting away,’” Ludacris told Forbes about acting and producing. “But then, one day, after a couple years, it just hit me … ‘Hey, this actually is gonna help [my music].’… Obviously, ultimately I’m the luckiest person on earth to be able to do both.”
Recommended Stories
Disturbing tha Peace executives Jeff Dixon and Chaka Zulu, who is Ludacris’ manager, will also executive produce the series. They will be joined by Lee, Wilmore, Dominique Telson — who is an executive from Lee’s company, Blackmaled Productions — Josh Bratman and Polygram Entertainment’s David Blackman.
Lee has previously worked with Universal as the director of 2017’s “Girls Trip” and 2018’s “Night School.” He most recently worked with the company for the Peacock series “The Best Man: The Final Chapters.” Wilmore is also no stranger to producing, having executive produced the Hulu/Onyx Collective series “Reasonable Doubt” and the critically acclaimed ABC series “Black-ish.” He is also the co-creator of Emmy-nominated HBO series, “Insecure,” alongside Issa Rae.
Never miss a beat: Get our daily stories straight to your inbox with theGrio’s newsletter.
