Mara Brock Akil is getting her much-deserved flowers in a special way this year—and the latest news means some of those bouquets are made of cash!
Deadline announced on Wednesday that Brock Akil signed a multi-year overall deal with Netflix to create original content.
“We are thrilled to welcome Mara Brock Akil to Netflix,” Channing Dungey, VP Original Series at Netflix said in a statement. “Her signature storytelling, authentic perspective and captivating characters have long entertained audiences and proven to be relevant, timely and endlessly engaging. We look forward to bringing her distinct voice, vision and passion to our global members.”
Brock Akil is having a great week because she’ll also be celebrating the fact that her beloved series Girlfriends is dropping on Netflix this Friday, Sept. 11.
“It is a dream to partner with the force of Netflix, for we have the same goals—telling human stories for a global audience,” Brock Akil added. “I’m excited to have a home that allows me the creative freedom and support to do what I do best– paint portraits and murals of women, Black people and anyone else whose story is missing from this golden age of television. Representation matters and so does who you build with—I can’t wait to work closely with Channing Dungey and her team to launch some great stories.”
As Deadline noted, Brock Akil has written and produced over 400 episodes of TV over the course of her career. A pioneer in the game, Brock Akil has written for, produced and/or created TV shows that have definitely made a mark on the culture, including The Jamie Foxx Show, Moesha, Girlfriends, The Game, Being Mary Jane, Love Is, Black Lightning, and more.
At the end of 2019, it seemed Brock Akil was set to reboot The Game at The CW, but earlier this year (!!!), that deal fell through due to what appeared to be creative differences. However, it looks like Brock Akil has found the right home for her projects with Netflix, which not only acquired episodes of The Game (Seasons 1-3) but is where she’ll now be developing new and original material for the streaming platform.
Congrats to Mara Brock Akil! We look forward to what she cooks up in that iconic creative kitchen.