Netflix just announced a multi-year deal with Kenya Barris, creator of Black-ish and its spinoff Grown-ish.
While Barris will remain an executive producer on those shows (and on the upcoming Besties), he will be exclusively developing new series for Netflix.
The deal only covers TV, as Barris (who was one of the writers of Girls Trip) has a first-look movie deal at Fox. That’s according to The Hollywood Reporter, which also cites sources who say the deal is for three years and is in the “high-eight-figure range.”
“When my agents reached out to me about this little garage start-up called Netflix, I wasn’t sure what to think,” Barris said in a statement. “But after I talked to [Netflix executives Ted Sarandos and Cindy Holland], I started to believe that maybe this mom-and-pop shop with only 130 million subscribers might just be something… so I decided to take a swing… a leap of faith if you will, and take a chance with the new kids on the block.”
In the past year, Netflix shook up the television industry by signing big deals with Shonda Rhimes and Ryan Murphy — Rhimes’ deal was reportedly worth $100 million, while Murphy’s was for $300 million.
In each case, Netflix isn’t just betting on one big show. Rhimes and her production company Shondaland, for example, recently announced seven projects in development for the streaming service.