Showtime has given a pilot order to White Famous, a half-hour comedy executive produced by Academy Award winner Jamie Foxx and Tom Kapinos. White Famous will be written by Kapinos, based on an idea by Jamie Foxx, who will guest star in a recurring role. A co-production between Lionsgate Television and Showtime, the project will focus on a talented, young African-American comedian whose star is rising, forcing him to navigate the treacherous waters of maintaining his credibility as he begins to cross-over towards becoming “white famous.” White Famous marks a return to Showtime for Kapinos, who created, wrote and executive produced seven seasons of the hit series Californication. The announcement was made today by David Nevins, President and CEO, Showtime Networks Inc.
“I came up from standup comedy, so to be able to share that aspect of my life on screen with a project like ‘White Famous’ is incredibly exciting,” said Foxx. “We couldn’t have found better partners than SHOWTIME, Lionsgate and Tom Kapinos to tell this story in the best possible way.”
“They say you can’t go home again, but I’m thrilled to be back at Showtime, where I’m equally jazzed to be working with the brilliant Jamie Foxx on the creation of another wickedly profane TV antihero,” said Kapinos.
Academy Award and Grammy Award-winning actor, comedian and musical artist Jamie Foxx is one of Hollywood’s rare multi-faceted performers. Foxx first rose to fame as a comedian. After spending time in the comedy circuit, he joined the landmark sketch comedy series “In Living Color.” In 1996, he launched his own series, “The Jamie Foxx Show,” which was one of the top-rated shows on the WB Network during its five-year run. Foxx not only starred on the series, but served as co-creator and executive producer, and directed several episodes. His upcoming credits include Sleepless and Edgar Wright’s highly-anticipated action thriller Baby Driver opposite Kevin Spacey and Jon Hamm.
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