Tuesday, January 14, 2020

Amazon Studios Announces Meagan Good, Grace Byers, Jerrie Johnson and Shoniqua Shandai to Star in "Untitled Tracy Oliver Project"

Amazon Studios Announces Meagan Good, Grace Byers, Jerrie Johnson and Shoniqua Shandai to Star in "Untitled Tracy Oliver Project"
The single-camera comedy follows the lives of four black women - friends from their college days at NYU - as they navigate sex, relationships and chasing their dreams.

[via press release from Amazon]
AMAZON STUDIOS ANNOUNCES MEAGAN GOOD, GRACE BYERS, JERRIE JOHNSON AND SHONIQUA SHANDAI TO STAR IN "UNTITLED TRACY OLIVER PROJECT"

Malcolm D. Lee (Girls Trip) Will Direct the First Two Episode
Pharrell Williams and Mimi Valdés Join as Executive Producers
PASADENA, Calif. - Jan. 14, 2020 - Amazon Studios announced today that Meagan Good, Grace Byers, Jerrie Johnson and Shoniqua Shandai will star in Untitled Tracy Oliver Project. The half-hour comedy series from Tracy Oliver (Girls Trip), Universal Television, and Amy Poehler's Paper Kite Productions will premiere exclusively on Amazon Prime Video in more than 200 countries and territories worldwide. Amazon Studios additionally announced that Malcolm D. Lee (Girls Trip, The Best Man Holiday) will direct the first two episodes.

Untitled Tracy Oliver Project is a single-camera comedy following the lives of four black women - friends from their college days at NYU - as they navigate sex, relationships and chasing their dreams. Meagan Good (Think Like A Man, Star) will portray Camille, a stylish, sunny professor of anthropology course "Sex and Love" at Columbia University. While Camille has extensive knowledge about the dating and mating norms of many cultures, she has a hard time navigating the dating choices within her own life. Grace Byers (Empire) will portray Quinn. An optimistic, creative, and romantic talented fashion designer, Quinn is a trust fund kid who lives a life paid primarily by her parents. Shoniqua Shandai will portray Angie, a smart, filter-free party, aspiring singer, who never met an impulse she did not follow and is living with Quinn rent-free. Jerrie Johnson will portray Tye, an alpha, fierce, queer successful app developer who prefers keeping vulnerability and feelings at arm's length, causing her to date women who are not always her intellectual equal.

Tracy Oliver is the creator, writer, and executive producer of the series, along with executive producers Amy Poehler, Dave Becky, and Kim Lessing. Grammy award-winning Pharrell Williams and Mimi Valdés (Hidden Figures, Dope) also serve as executive producers from I am OTHER. The series is produced by Amazon Studios and Universal Television, in association with Paper Kite Productions.

Below are bios for Malcolm D. Lee and the cast of the Untitled Tracy Oliver Project:
MEAGAN GOOD
Meagan Good began starring in commercials at age four, having filmed more than 60 national television ads. Her first major television role was the character of Nina on the 1998 cable series Cousin Skeeter, which aired for three seasons. In 2001, she transitioned to primetime television with a recurring role on Raising Dad. Good's other television credits include Deception, Californication, Moesha, The Steve Harvey Show, The Division, The Parent 'Hood, My Wife and Kids, All Of Us and NBC's Mr. Robinson. In 2015, she starred in the lead role on Fox's series MINORITY REPORT. In one of her first major film roles, the 1997 family drama Eve's Bayou, she received critical acclaim for her powerful performance opposite Samuel L. Jackson, winning an NAACP Image Award. Good was most recently seen starring in the Sony/Screen Gems feature The Intruder opposite Dennis Quaid and Michael Ealy. She also recently starred in the Warner Brothers superhero feature SHAZAM! and will next be seen starring in the Sony/Screen Gems feature Monster Hunter with Milla Jovovich. In 2019 she also directed her first film, If Not Now, When? as well as published her first book "The Wait: A Powerful Practice for Finding the Love of Your Life and the Life You Love," which she co-wrote with her husband, DeVon Franklin.

GRACE BYERS
Grace Byers is an actress and dedicated activist who first entered into the spotlight with her breakout role as Anika Calhoun on Fox's smash hit series Empire. Byers most recently starred in Fox's The Gifted and the indie thriller Bent. Growing up in the Cayman Islands as a multiracial young girl and Child Of Deaf Adults (CODA), Byers was bullied throughout her childhood. Her experiences led her to write her first book, "I Am Enough," which is a New York Times best-seller. The book was born out of her impassioned desire to empower young girls against the negative effects of bullying. Her next book, "I Believe I Can," is out March 3, 2020. Byers attended college at the University of South Florida in Tampa, where she received a B.A. in theater arts. She also received her M.F.A. in acting at the University of California, Irvine. A successful showcase took her from Los Angeles to New York City, where she performed professionally. In her spare time, Byers volunteers with the non-profit anti-bullying organization, Saving Our Daughters.

JERRIE JOHNSON
Jerrie Johnson is a 2019 M.F.A. graduate from the American Conservatory Theater San Francisco. Her previous credits include her role of Titania in "A Midsummer Night's Dream" at CalShakes and her self-written solo show "The Crooked Room" during the National Queer Arts Festival. She will next be seen recurring on Freeform's Good Trouble.

SHONIQUA SHANDAI
Shoniqua Shandai hit the stage at the early age of three, performing her own rendition of the classic "Proud Mary." Since that first encounter with the arts, Shandai has wholeheartedly focused on developing her crafts. Shandai has starred in several Hollywood plays including Center Theatre Group's Quack and Ovation award-winning "Hit the Wall." She has made appearances on both the big and small screen in the Netflix original movie Sierra Burgess Is A Loser;recurring in the TNT miniseries, directed by Patty Jenkins, I Am the Night; and the Joseph Kahn film Bodied.

MALCOLM D. LEE
Director, writer, producer Malcolm D. Lee made history in July 2017 as the director and producer of Girls Trip, the first film with a full African-American creative team in front of and behind the camera to surpass the $100 million mark at the box office grossing over $140 million worldwide. Twenty years ago, Lee's feature film directorial debut The Best Man (1999), opened at No. 1 at the box office to raves from critics and audiences alike. His other critically acclaimed films include Undercover Brother (2002), Roll Bounce (2005), Welcome Home, Roscoe Jenkins (2008), Soul Men (2008), The Best Man Holiday (2013), Barbershop: The Next Cut (2016) and Night School (2018). He is currently in production with Space Jam starring LeBron James. Through his Blackmaled Productions banner, Lee currently has several feature and television projects in development including I Almost Forgot About You (UNIVERSAL), an adaptation of Terry McMillan's novel with Viola Davis, Double Dutch (UNIVERSAL), Real Talk (UNIVERSAL), Rock the Bells (FOX) and most recently The Spoils (LIONGATE). Lee's television credits include directing episodes of the critically acclaimed series Shots Fired and Everybody Hates Chris. He is represented by Paradigm and Del Shaw.

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