LeBron James continues to expand his television horizons with a host of exciting projects in the works, let’s dig into what’s on tap.
Leading off is a project led by LeBron and John Legend which pays homage to the 1989 drama Lean On Me. Airing on The CW, the series features a young black teacher in Akron, Ohio who faces adversity after ascending to the ranks of principal. Here is a description from Shadow and Act.
In the series, spirited young black teacher Amarie Baldwin scores the principal job at an Akron, Ohio, public high school. She must dig deep to transform a failing campus into an urban oasis. In a time when education and school safety have life-or-death stakes, Amarie will take on a broken system that tests her mettle, love life and family. Wendy Calhoun will script and be an exec producer with James, Maverick Carter and Legend. Wendy Calhoun will script and be an exec producer with James, Maverick Carter and Legend. James and Carter’s SpringHill and Legend’s Get Lifted are producing in association with Warner Bros. Television, where both companies have overall deals.
It will be interesting to witness how much the main character resembles the infamous Joe Clark played by Morgan Freeman. LeBron follows up with a pair of NBC scripted dramas currently in development, one of which is based off another star from the NBA.
Brotherly Love, which is inspired by the life of 76ers rookie Ben Simmons. The second, produced with Elizabeth Banks and Max Handelman’s Brownstone Productions, is an hour long drama with a penalty attached. The description: Hoops revolves around Stevie Decker, who, after years on the road as both a star player and coach in the WNBA, jumps at the chance to return to her alma mater to become the first female head coach of a men’s college basketball team. But her homecoming isn’t easy as her career took a toll on her family and the school she loves is embroiled in a sex scandal involving her mentor, a legendary former coach.
It is written by Jennifer Cecil, who will exec produce with James and James’ producing partner Maverick Carter. Other projects James and SpringHill have include a Madam C.J. Walker event series at Netflix. Banks is also starring in and producing the Charlie’s Angels film reboot.