Malcolm D. Lee Extends Universal TV First-Look Deal

Malcolm D. Lee is staying put at Universal Television.

The Girls Trip and Best Man franchise director has extended a first-look deal at the studio, part of Universal Studio Group. Lee’s re-upping follows the success of The Best Man: The Final Chapters at Peacock, where it became the streamer’s biggest series premiere to date and the first Peacock original to make Nielsen’s streaming top 10 chart.

Under the deal with Universal TV, Lee and his Blackmaled Productions will continue to develop and produce scripted projects for all platforms.

“The team at UTV has been incredibly supportive as I’ve been navigating my way through the television landscape,” Lee said in a statement. “Continuing our flourishing partnership made sense on so many levels. I’m gratified to know Blackmaled will keep building our robust slate at a place I can call home.”

Said Universal TV president Erin Underhill, “Malcolm is an incredibly gifted writer, director and producer with an impressive ability to tell entertaining, nuanced stories that shatter records along the way. We’re overjoyed at the success of The Best Man: The Final Chapters, and we look forward to partnering with Malcolm on many more exciting and memorable projects.”

Lee initially signed a first-look deal with Universal TV in 2018. He also has a long relationship with Universal’s film studio, which released Girls Trip, Night School and the two Best Man films. Lee also directed Space Jam: A New Legacy for Warner Bros. and has two other projects, The Classic and Real Talk, in the works at Universal Pictures, along with The Spoils at Lionsgate.

Lee and Blackmaled Productions are repped by A3 Artists Agency, Del Shaw and BazanPR.