Viola Davis is staying put at ABC Studios.
The How to Get Away With Murder star has inked a new two-year overall deal with ABC Studios, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.
Under the deal, Davis and her husband Julius Tennon’s JuVee Productions has tapped Andrew Wang to oversee the company’s TV development. Together, the trio will create and develop new projects for broadcast, cable and streaming services via ABC Studios and its cable arm, ABC Signature.
Wang, who will serve as head of TV development and production, comes to JuVee from Bravo, where over his four-year tenure he launched the NBCUniversal-owned cabler into scripted series with Girlfriends’ Guide to Divorce, My So-Called Wife and Odd Mom Out.
“Viola Davis’ award-winning work in theater, film and television has provided a powerful foundation to advocate for greater opportunities for communities that are traditionally underrepresented in film and television, and to tell the stories that haven’t but need to be told,” said Wang. “Viola and Julius’ determination to provide these opportunities, and to tell these stories, through new voices and fresh perspectives, in any format, is what excited me about joining the team at JuVee Productions. We’re thrilled to be working with our partners at ABC Studios to bring JuVee’s vision to life … finding new storytellers and bringing their distinct points of view and character journeys to the screen.”?
JuVee currently is developing legal drama Conviction for TNT with Debra Martin Chase and writer Ayanna Floyd (Empire). The project is inspired by the life of Kym Worthy, the chief prosecutor of Wayne County, Mich., who is known as the toughest woman in Detroit.
“We started JuVee because we wanted to see narratives that reflected our multiethnic and multifaceted culture,” said Davis. “We wanted to be a part of classic storytelling, and we didn’t want to wait.”
Added Tennon: “Our goal has always been to champion bold, authentic and courageous voices, and Andrew Wang is just that. Andrew has an outside-the-box mindset and the experience to propel our vision forward, and we couldn’t be more excited to welcome him to our team.”
JuVee is repped by CAA.
Davis joins fellow Shondaland stars Ellen Pompeo and Kerry Washington with overall deals with the studio behind Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal and How to Get Away With Murder. All three series are produced by Shonda Rhimes, who has her own massive overall with the studio.
