Mara Brock Akil has launched a new production company that places marginalized storytellers at the forefront in her new Netflix deal.
The company is named story27 and was created to center women and people of color more graciously.
“At story27, thoughtful and entertaining projects centering the humanity of the marginalized is the priority, and that starts with identifying the best and most unique storytellers,” Akil said.
In Sept. 2020, Akil signed an overall deal with Netflix a few days before the streaming giant picked up one of her biggest television projects, Girlfriends.
The deal allows the writer/producer to create content and projects carried on the service.
Channing Dungey, Netflix’s Vice President of Original Series, praised Akil as an authentic storyteller with a distinct voice.
Desiring to tell the stories of women and Black people and Black women is explicitly on-brand for Akil.
The Being Mary Jane creator told Rolling Out that while the beauty of Black women is our willingness to serve, her work focuses on reminding us to self-preserve.
“I think my message is a bit of trying to remind ourselves to be good to ourselves first while in the quest of being better, more ambitious and more successful,” she said.
Akil has already gotten her production company off to a good start. She appointed Susie Fitzgerald, her president of development and production.
Fitzgerald has been responsible for hits such as Breaking Bad and The Walking Dead when she was the executive vice president of scripted programming at AMC.
The opening story27 slate of projects for Netflix has already been planned and sounds promising. One of the projects, Astronaut Chicks, is a futuristic half-hour comedy featuring four Black female friends.
The 90s and early 2000s were a great time for Black television. Hopefully, Akil will be a part of bringing that back.
