When Jason Parham found out that “Insecure” executive producer Prentice Penny was on board to adapt his “Wired” article about Black Twitter, he had a pinch-me moment. “Is this a joke?” Parham recalled thinking, laughing at a table along with Penny ahead of the “Black Twitter: A People’s History” premiere at SXSW in March.
“Being a writer is very solitary process,” Parham said, comparing it to a television writers room or production team. He was nervous at first — he serves as executive producer on he series — but describes working with Penny as “pure collaboration from the very beginning.”
“We just vibed,” said showrunner Joie Jacoby.
“I just finished ‘Insecure’ and I really wanted a break from doing scripted television,” Penny said. “I didn’t want the next thing I did to be compared to that … I wanted a fresh creative challenge.”
Penny was fresh off ‘Insecure” and wanted to try something new,...
“Being a writer is very solitary process,” Parham said, comparing it to a television writers room or production team. He was nervous at first — he serves as executive producer on he series — but describes working with Penny as “pure collaboration from the very beginning.”
“We just vibed,” said showrunner Joie Jacoby.
“I just finished ‘Insecure’ and I really wanted a break from doing scripted television,” Penny said. “I didn’t want the next thing I did to be compared to that … I wanted a fresh creative challenge.”
Penny was fresh off ‘Insecure” and wanted to try something new,...
- 5/9/2024
- by Proma Khosla
- Indiewire
According to director Prentice Penny, “Black Twitter: A People’s History” is something of a coming-of-age story.
Chronicling a decade and a half of posts and news stories, the Hulu docuseries examines how culture and politics have been influenced by Black users of the social media site now known as X — a relationship that has evolved and matured over time thanks to changes in technology, the White House, the site’s ownership and more.
“The big reference is ‘Star Wars,'” Penny says. “Luke in the beginning doesn’t know what the Jedis are. He’s doe-eyed. Then you have ‘Empire,’ where it gets darker. Trouble is happening. Then you have a final act of coming into your power and accepting it. For me, that was the story of Black Twitter. In the beginning, it’s like, ‘What even is this thing? — and then you’re hit with real world things,...
Chronicling a decade and a half of posts and news stories, the Hulu docuseries examines how culture and politics have been influenced by Black users of the social media site now known as X — a relationship that has evolved and matured over time thanks to changes in technology, the White House, the site’s ownership and more.
“The big reference is ‘Star Wars,'” Penny says. “Luke in the beginning doesn’t know what the Jedis are. He’s doe-eyed. Then you have ‘Empire,’ where it gets darker. Trouble is happening. Then you have a final act of coming into your power and accepting it. For me, that was the story of Black Twitter. In the beginning, it’s like, ‘What even is this thing? — and then you’re hit with real world things,...
- 5/9/2024
- by Selome Hailu
- Variety Film + TV
Black Twitter has been entertaining and educating browsers of all skin colors for years, but what was the impetus behind the famous hashtag’s beginning? Audiences can learn more about that in “Black Twitter: A People's History,” a new documentary miniseries premiering on Hulu on Thursday, May 9. The series has a host of contributors lined up to share their experiences on Black Twitter and discuss its importance, especially as the platform undergoes big changes. You can watch “Black Twitter: A People’s History” with a 30-Day Free Trial of Hulu.
How to Watch ‘Black Twitter: A People’s History” When: Thursday, May 9 TV: Hulu Stream: Watch with a 30-Day Free Trial of Hulu. 30-Day Free Trial $7.99+ / month hulu.com About ‘Black Twitter: A People’s History’
Based on Jason Parham’s Wired cover story “A People’s History of Black Twitter,” this three-part docuseries charts the rise, movements, voices and memes that made...
How to Watch ‘Black Twitter: A People’s History” When: Thursday, May 9 TV: Hulu Stream: Watch with a 30-Day Free Trial of Hulu. 30-Day Free Trial $7.99+ / month hulu.com About ‘Black Twitter: A People’s History’
Based on Jason Parham’s Wired cover story “A People’s History of Black Twitter,” this three-part docuseries charts the rise, movements, voices and memes that made...
- 5/9/2024
- by David Satin
- The Streamable
When “A People’s History of Black Twitter” was published in 2021, the social media platform appeared powerful as ever. As it had been for over a decade, the site was a hub of community and influence, where users might go to bullshit with friends, to organize with activists, to read and report news in real time, maybe even to mingle with a celebrity or two. Sure, it had its problems with trolls or bots or poor moderation; sure, TikTok was already moving in fast. But Twitter seemed to be, if not thriving, at least chugging along with no obvious end in sight.
A lot can change in three years, however — and a lot has, particularly since Elon Musk’s acquisition of the site in 2022. Onyx Collective’s Black Twitter: A People’s History reiterates and expands on Jason Parham’s Wired article, braiding together interviews with journalists, comedians and other commentators...
A lot can change in three years, however — and a lot has, particularly since Elon Musk’s acquisition of the site in 2022. Onyx Collective’s Black Twitter: A People’s History reiterates and expands on Jason Parham’s Wired article, braiding together interviews with journalists, comedians and other commentators...
- 5/9/2024
- by Angie Han
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Black Twitter was never a URL or an app. It was a destination that didn’t require a passport, a hopping party without a cover charge. This thriving online community influenced and dominated American culture and politics for more than a decade, and when it suddenly ended, it felt like waking from a dream.
Black Twitter: A People's History, a three-part docuseries premiering May 9 on Hulu, is based on Jason Parham’s Wired cover story “A People’s History of Black Twitter,” and director Prentice Penny does more than simply transfer Parham’s impressive work to the screen. Penny’s series is a vibrant, colorful celebration of the Black Twitter phenomenon that simultaneously maintains a funereal atmosphere as Black Twitter is laid to rest, but true to Black culture, Penny treats this significant loss as an opportunity to unite and rejoice. The series is Black Twitter’s homecoming.
Black Twitter: A People's History, a three-part docuseries premiering May 9 on Hulu, is based on Jason Parham’s Wired cover story “A People’s History of Black Twitter,” and director Prentice Penny does more than simply transfer Parham’s impressive work to the screen. Penny’s series is a vibrant, colorful celebration of the Black Twitter phenomenon that simultaneously maintains a funereal atmosphere as Black Twitter is laid to rest, but true to Black culture, Penny treats this significant loss as an opportunity to unite and rejoice. The series is Black Twitter’s homecoming.
- 5/6/2024
- by Stephen Robinson
- Primetimer
What’s the best destination for spring TV? IndieWire doesn’t have a definitive answer, but as we do every month we’ll help you weigh the options with a breakdown of everything coming to your favorite streaming platforms in May.
The month is a prime time to have Disney+, what with the ongoing and buzzy success of “X-Men 97” and upcoming “Marvel Studios’ Assembled” going behind the scenes of the reboot series. May is of course the month of Star Wars, and the House of Mouse will celebrate with “Star Wars: Tales of the Empire” on May 4. Disney is also home to BBC America’s “Doctor Who,” which returns for a highly-anticipated 14th season with Ncuti Gatwa stepping into the Tardis as the new Doctor (he stepped into the role in December 2023 as part of the series’ beloved Christmas special tradition).
Meanwhile, Hulu will continue airing episodes of FX’s...
The month is a prime time to have Disney+, what with the ongoing and buzzy success of “X-Men 97” and upcoming “Marvel Studios’ Assembled” going behind the scenes of the reboot series. May is of course the month of Star Wars, and the House of Mouse will celebrate with “Star Wars: Tales of the Empire” on May 4. Disney is also home to BBC America’s “Doctor Who,” which returns for a highly-anticipated 14th season with Ncuti Gatwa stepping into the Tardis as the new Doctor (he stepped into the role in December 2023 as part of the series’ beloved Christmas special tradition).
Meanwhile, Hulu will continue airing episodes of FX’s...
- 4/17/2024
- by Proma Khosla
- Indiewire
If you think about it, there’s no better place to premiere “Black Twitter: A People’s History” than at South by Southwest.
The three-part Hulu and Onyx docuseries based on Jason Parham’s similarly titled “Wired” story exists at the perfect intersection of entertainment, internet, and culture — just like SXSW itself.
“When I read the article, it was not only was only something that I love, that I participated in, but I saw the power of it,” director Prentice Penny told IndieWire during the conference. “It was sort of feeling like the way my mother talks about the Civil Rights Movement. That’s what I felt like was happening on Black Twitter.”
Along with being an active platform-formerly-known-as-Twitter user, Penny (whose profile welcomes users with the subhed “Fux Yo Blue Check”) was itching to do something different after “Insecure” — something that scared him.
“When Sarah Amos and the team at...
The three-part Hulu and Onyx docuseries based on Jason Parham’s similarly titled “Wired” story exists at the perfect intersection of entertainment, internet, and culture — just like SXSW itself.
“When I read the article, it was not only was only something that I love, that I participated in, but I saw the power of it,” director Prentice Penny told IndieWire during the conference. “It was sort of feeling like the way my mother talks about the Civil Rights Movement. That’s what I felt like was happening on Black Twitter.”
Along with being an active platform-formerly-known-as-Twitter user, Penny (whose profile welcomes users with the subhed “Fux Yo Blue Check”) was itching to do something different after “Insecure” — something that scared him.
“When Sarah Amos and the team at...
- 3/8/2024
- by Proma Khosla
- Indiewire
Prentice Penny had just wrapped the fifth and final season of Issa Rae’s Insecure and was awaiting its release on HBO when Wired senior writer Jason Parham published his definitive “A People’s History of Black Twitter” in July 2021. The three-part, 9,821-word series chronicles the evolution of the nebulous and influential collective of Black users on the platform now known as X, from an inciting event (the hashtag #UKnowUrBlackWhen) to its growing influence and respective backlash through the present.
For Penny, a multihyphenate talent whose work on such series as Insecure and Girlfriends had been elevated and celebrated by Black Twitter, adapting Parham’s articles into a colorful visual history through the documentary medium seemed like an exciting new challenge after spending much of his two decades in TV predominantly in the narrative comedy space with shows including Scrubs, Happy Endings and Brooklyn Nine-Nine.
The result is Hulu’s...
For Penny, a multihyphenate talent whose work on such series as Insecure and Girlfriends had been elevated and celebrated by Black Twitter, adapting Parham’s articles into a colorful visual history through the documentary medium seemed like an exciting new challenge after spending much of his two decades in TV predominantly in the narrative comedy space with shows including Scrubs, Happy Endings and Brooklyn Nine-Nine.
The result is Hulu’s...
- 3/8/2024
- by Abbey White
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
A three-part docuseries charting the rise, movements, voices and memes that made Black Twitter an influential and dominant force in nearly every aspect of American political and cultural life has received a straight-to-series order from Disney’s Onyx Collective.
“Black Twitter” (working title), based on Jason Parham’s Wired article “A People’s History of Black Twitter,” will be produced by Parham and directed by Prentice Penny, marking his first project with Onyx through an overall deal under his A Penny for Your Thoughts banner.
The series’ executive producers include Penny, Chris Pollack and Alex Solar from A Penny for Your Thoughts; Sarah Amos, Helen Estabrook, Agnes Chu and Andrew Whitney from Wired Studios; and Raeshem Nijhon, Carri Twigg, Nicole Galovski and showrunner Joie Jacoby from Culture House.
Also Read:
FX Sets Premiere Dates for Tupac Docuseries ‘Dear Mama’, ‘Dave’ and New York Times Documentaries
Additionally, Onyx has picked up...
“Black Twitter” (working title), based on Jason Parham’s Wired article “A People’s History of Black Twitter,” will be produced by Parham and directed by Prentice Penny, marking his first project with Onyx through an overall deal under his A Penny for Your Thoughts banner.
The series’ executive producers include Penny, Chris Pollack and Alex Solar from A Penny for Your Thoughts; Sarah Amos, Helen Estabrook, Agnes Chu and Andrew Whitney from Wired Studios; and Raeshem Nijhon, Carri Twigg, Nicole Galovski and showrunner Joie Jacoby from Culture House.
Also Read:
FX Sets Premiere Dates for Tupac Docuseries ‘Dear Mama’, ‘Dave’ and New York Times Documentaries
Additionally, Onyx has picked up...
- 1/14/2023
- by Lucas Manfredi
- The Wrap
Onyx has ordered a scripted comedy from 20th Television featuring Gabourey Sidibe and has made straight to series order on a docuseries about Black Twitter.
The pilot 1266 follows Gabby Brixton (Sidibe), who’s living with her mom and making half-hearted attempts to become a singer/model and overnight millionaire. When she’s fired from her job, she stumbles upon the gig of a lifetime ― phone sex. What initially seems like a quick way to make money turns into a life-changing experience when she meets the women who become her chosen family and learns how powerful, profitable and prolific her voice can be.
The series is inspired by the true-life story of Sidibe, who is executive producing with Thembi Banks (Only Murders in the Building), Steven Canals (Pose), and Julie Bean (grown-ish), with Jill Kaplan to serve as a non-writing executive producer. Banks and Bean will be co-showrunners. Banks is writing...
The pilot 1266 follows Gabby Brixton (Sidibe), who’s living with her mom and making half-hearted attempts to become a singer/model and overnight millionaire. When she’s fired from her job, she stumbles upon the gig of a lifetime ― phone sex. What initially seems like a quick way to make money turns into a life-changing experience when she meets the women who become her chosen family and learns how powerful, profitable and prolific her voice can be.
The series is inspired by the true-life story of Sidibe, who is executive producing with Thembi Banks (Only Murders in the Building), Steven Canals (Pose), and Julie Bean (grown-ish), with Jill Kaplan to serve as a non-writing executive producer. Banks and Bean will be co-showrunners. Banks is writing...
- 1/14/2023
- by Lynette Rice
- Deadline Film + TV
Onyx Collective is bulking up.
The Disney-owned brand, which is expressly focused on programming from creators of color and other underrepresented voices, announced Saturday a pilot pickup for a Gabourey Sidibe comedy, tentatively titled 1266, and a straight-to-series order for a multi-party documentary series about Black Twitter. The latter is based on Jason Parham’s widely read 2021 Wired article, “A People’s History of Black Twitter.”
The comedy, which hails from corporate cousin 20th Television, is inspired by Sidibe’s life story. The Academy Award-nominated actress, who rose to fame with Lee Daniels’ 2009 film Precious, will star as Gabby Brixton. In the pilot, Brixton’s life is believed to be aimless ― she’s living with her mom and making half-hearted attempts to become a singer/model. When she’s fired from yet another job, she turns to phone sex. What initially seems like a quick way to make money becomes a...
The Disney-owned brand, which is expressly focused on programming from creators of color and other underrepresented voices, announced Saturday a pilot pickup for a Gabourey Sidibe comedy, tentatively titled 1266, and a straight-to-series order for a multi-party documentary series about Black Twitter. The latter is based on Jason Parham’s widely read 2021 Wired article, “A People’s History of Black Twitter.”
The comedy, which hails from corporate cousin 20th Television, is inspired by Sidibe’s life story. The Academy Award-nominated actress, who rose to fame with Lee Daniels’ 2009 film Precious, will star as Gabby Brixton. In the pilot, Brixton’s life is believed to be aimless ― she’s living with her mom and making half-hearted attempts to become a singer/model. When she’s fired from yet another job, she turns to phone sex. What initially seems like a quick way to make money becomes a...
- 1/14/2023
- by Lacey Rose
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Onyx Collective presented several new scripted and unscripted TV series as part of its expanding programming slate, highlighting creators of color at the Television Critics Association 2023 winter press tour.
The premiere date for the original dramedy “UnPrisoned” has been set for March 10 on Hulu, with all episodes streaming at once.
Executive produced by and starring Kerry Washington and Delroy Lindo, the half-hour series tells the story of “a messy but perfectionist relationship therapist and single mom whose life is turned right-side-up when her dad gets out of prison and moves in with her and her teenage son,” per Onyx Collective.
Created by Tracy McMillan and inspired by her life, the author also serves as an executive producer alongside Washington and Pilar Savone through their Simpson Street production company, Lindo, Joy Gorman Wettels, Jen Braeden and Yvette Lee Bowser, who also serves as showrunner. ABC Signature is behind the production.
The...
The premiere date for the original dramedy “UnPrisoned” has been set for March 10 on Hulu, with all episodes streaming at once.
Executive produced by and starring Kerry Washington and Delroy Lindo, the half-hour series tells the story of “a messy but perfectionist relationship therapist and single mom whose life is turned right-side-up when her dad gets out of prison and moves in with her and her teenage son,” per Onyx Collective.
Created by Tracy McMillan and inspired by her life, the author also serves as an executive producer alongside Washington and Pilar Savone through their Simpson Street production company, Lindo, Joy Gorman Wettels, Jen Braeden and Yvette Lee Bowser, who also serves as showrunner. ABC Signature is behind the production.
The...
- 1/14/2023
- by BreAnna Bell
- Variety Film + TV
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