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‘Dear White People’ Television Series By Justin Simien Coming To Netflix

By Pam Wright
Published on: 08:24 PST, May 5, 2016

Dear White People, the acclaimed indie film by Justin Simien, is coming to Netflix as a 10-episode, half-hour comedy series.

Simien will write the series adaptation of Dear White People and will direct the first episode, according to Deadline Hollywood.

The series, which will be produced by Lionsgate, is expected to debut in 2017 and will begin filming later this year. Lionsgate is the sister company of Roadside Attractions, which released the original film in 2014.

Dear White People chronicles a diverse group of students of color at a predominantly white Ivy League college, where racial tensions are often overlooked, and is a satirical look at “post-racial” America.

Cindy Holland, vice president of original content at Netflix, said the company is excited to work with such a “bold storyteller.”

“Justin is a gifted storyteller whose bold, unique vision is perfectly suited to Netflix. His original film Dear White People announced the arrival of a fresh, creative voice that had everyone talking, and we’re excited to have Justin create this new series for our members worldwide.”

Simien wrote, directed and produced the film adaptation of Dear White People after a concept trailer he made from money received from his tax refund went viral on the internet. His trailer garnered over a million views on YouTube and $50,000 in donations from fans around the world, enough to make the film. The movie went on to win Simien the Special Jury Award for Breakthrough Talent at Sundance and an Independent Spirit award for Best First Screenplay.

With the Netflix order, Simien is realizing a dream for his movie. In interviews surrounding the movie’s 2014 release, Simien said he wanted to continue Dear White People as a TV series, especially in light of relevant news related to racial tensions.

“During the film’s release, I had the pleasure to speak with hundreds of students and faculty across a variety of college campuses dealing with these very issues in real time. I’m so grateful to have this platform – not only to give a voice to those too often unheard in our culture, but to also tell great stories from new points of views.”

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Netflix’s Dear White People will star House of Lies‘ Devon Shepard and the original movie’s Stephanie Allain Bray and Julia Lebedev.

Following the film’s success, some of Dear White People‘s relatively unknown stars at the time have since taken on larger, more prominent parts. Tessa Thompson had a key role in the Rocky reboot Creed, and Teyonah Parris starred in Spike Lee’s Chi-Raq, according to The Verge.

Chris Selak, executive vice-president of Lionsgate TV, said the Netflix adaptation will allow the conversation about race to continue.

“We’re proud to expand our partnership with our friends at Netflix on a comedy that tackles racial themes with a combination of intelligence, honesty, irreverence and wit. Our original film with Roadside Attractions catapulted Dear White People into the national conversation about race, and Justin and the rest of the creative team have an opportunity to expand this world and bring its timely and universal themes to a global television audience.”

Along with Dear White People, Lionsgate also produces the Netflix original hit series, Orange Is The New Black, which returns for its fourth season on June 17.

[Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images]

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