Queen Latifah and Shakim Compere’s Flavor Unit production company is teaming with Gunpowder & Sky for the teen comedy Paper Chase, in which the Oscar-nominated actress also will appear. The comedy follows Alicia, an ideal-driven, well-meaning New Orleans teenager ready to reinvent herself at the fictional Kensington…

UTA has signed Queen Latifah and her production company Flavor Unit Entertainment. The Oscar-nominated and Emmy-winning actor-musician-producer is coming off Universal’s big hit comedy Girls Trip, which made more than $140 million worldwide; the cast has a deal to return for a sequel but no greenlight yet from the…

EXCLUSIVE: It’s a great story that delves into the caste system, racism and sexism. The Rhinelander Affair, written by William Kinsolving, follows the controversial 1925 divorce trial in New York involving a man from an upper-class New Rochelle family who married a bi-racial, working-class woman. It is a ripped from…

A new venture fund focused on African-American content has launched and teamed with its first partner, Queen Latifah’s Flavor Unit Entertainment. The Essence Creators and Makers Fund has a $20 million endowment from Essence Ventures, the parent company of Essence Communications. The fund will support and partner with…

Katie Couric and Queen Latifah are shining a light on gender equality with a raft of new projects aimed at bolstering the number of female directors and storytellers. The pair used a keynote session at the Cannes Lions festival in France to lift the lid on their projects, which are backed by consumer goods giant…

Tiffany Haddish wasn’t lying when she said “she ready!!!” The host of the MTV Movie & TV Awards opened the ceremony with a Wakandan bang, spoofing the Marvel’s multi-nominated and wildly successful Black Panther. Taking place during the ceremonial fight scene in the movie, Haddish played herself as she challenged  Chad…

A+E Networks plans an all-woman slate of presenters at its annual upfront presentation to ad buyers tonight at the New York Public Library. Toni Braxton will appear on behalf of Lifetime, as will Mallory Pugh and Queen Latifah. Marcia Clark and Leah Remini will represent A&E. Other presenters include Kristin Davis for…

Ahead of the A+E upfront, Lifetime announced a September 9 premiere date for two high-profile shows: Greg Berlanti and Sera Gamble's new drama series You, starring Penn Badgley and guest starring John Stamos, and The Bad Seed from director and star Rob Lowe. The network also announced production deals with Queen Latifa…

Queen Latifah has been set to topline Hope’s Wish, an inspirational drama based on a true story from the Blade Runner 2049 team of Alcon Entertainment and Torridon/16:14, along with Walden Media. Laurie Collyer will direct the film, which begins production April 9 in Charlotte, NC. Adapted by Brokeback Mountain…

Fox is cranking up its Star machine. The network has ordered five additional episodes of the musical drama series from Lee Daniels and Tom Donaghy, bringing its total number to 18. That matches this season’s episode count for its lead-in Empire, which Daniels created with Danny Strong. Star, which follows three…

As previously announced, Fox is bringing its two music industry-themed soaps Empire and Star into a special crossover premiere episode this fall. Star, ramping up for its second season, depicts the music industry with slightly less successful characters and a little more grit than Empire, which is coming up for its…

Call it a smoother Rough Night, a black Bridesmaids, an all-female Hangover. Whatever label you put on Girls Trip doesn’t matter. It is the knock-out funniest comedy of 2017 in terms of laughs per minute. Sit in an audience with this thing and you just might miss half the dialogue over the consistent roars from the…