Warner Bros. Television Group has signed an exclusive multi-year development and production pod deal with broadcaster, author tavissmiley copyand producer Tavis Smiley to develop scripted TV series for broadcast and cable. The first projects under the deal will be TV series adaptations of two of Smiley’s books: the upcoming Before You Judge Me: The Triumph And Tragedy of Michael Jackson’s Last Days, an account of the final 16 weeks in the life of the music superstar; and My Journey With Maya, a memoir of the author’s nearly 30-year friendship with renowned poet Maya Angelou.
WBTVG and Smiley already are working on a project together — the studio this year acquired TV rights to Smiley’s book Death Of A King: The Real Story Of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Final Year, which is being developed as an event series with J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot Productions.
Set to be published in June 2016, Before You Judge Me is described as a taut novelistic rendering of the final months in the life of the iconic pop star, chronicling his constant hunt for privacy in a life that was more public than almost any other, and the pressures he endured as someone whose fame made him socially fragile and almost unable to live.
In My Journey With Maya, published in April 2015, Smiley shares personal memories of his 28-year friendship with poet, historian, filmmaker and civil rights activist Angelou. In addition to the TV project, Smiley and Tony-winning director Kenny Leon (A Raisin In The Sun) are developing Maya as a stage play
Smiley’s TV projects will be produced through his The Smiley Group, Inc. in association with Warner Bros. Television or Warner Horizon Television, with Warner Bros. Worldwide Television Distribution handling global sales.
Smiley is the host of the late-night television talk show Tavis Smiley on PBS as well as The Tavis Smiley Show from Public Radio International (PRI).
My Journey With Maya, Before You Judge Me and Death Of A King are published by Little, Brown and Company, and written by Smiley with David Ritz. In total, Smiley has written 19 books, including his memoir What I Know For Sure: My Story of Growing Up in America.
Michael Jackson’s life and career has already been well mined since his 2009 death. High-profile lawsuits, controversies and an avalanche of projects have revisited the King of Pop’s genius, eccentricities and scandals.
And now Jackson’s life, specifically his final weeks, will be the subject of a new television series.
Warner Bros. Television Group announced it has signed broadcaster, author and producer Tavis Smiley to an exclusive multiyear development and production deal that first will see two of Smiley’s books being adapted for the small screen, including the upcoming “Before You Judge Me: The Triumph And Tragedy of Michael Jackson’s Last Days.”
The book, set for release in June 2016, will recount the final 16 weeks of Jackson’s life when the superstar was prepping an ambitious series of comeback concerts titled “This Is It.” Smiley’s book promises to offer a “vibrant account” of those last days and the controversies surrounding his deal.
Since his death, the King of Pop has continued to be in high demand.
“This Is It,” the concert film that documented the rehearsals of the planned farewell tour, broke box-office records when it was released in fall 2009.
A Cirque du Soleil production launched in 2011, “The Immortal World Tour,” became one of the top-grossing tours of all time. Cirque revisited Jackson’s discography for a second show, “One,” which set up a permanent residency at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. The pop star even anchored an immersive video game with “Michael Jackson: The Experience.”
In 2010, the Michael Jackson estate and Sony Music struck a deal reportedly worth $250 million to issue 10 projects of original and reissued collections over seven years.
However, posthumous releases have proved a more difficult sell.
“Michael,” a collection of unreleased material cobbled from tracks the singer was crafting in his final years, was released in late 2010, but the album was marred by controversy as critics, fans and even family members questioned the project.
Critics also were unkind to the remix album for “Immortal” and the dance remixes packaged with the anniversary box set of “Bad 25,” which was released in 2012.
Last year, L.A. Reid spearheaded “Xscape,” a creatively ambitious reworking of vaulted Jackson music that took new tracks from hitmakers such as Timbaland and Rodney Jerkins built around decades-old, unreleased vocals from the singer. The album peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 chart and yielded Jackson a posthumous smash in “Love Never Felt So Good.”
“Before You Judge Me: The Triumph And Tragedy of Michael Jackson’s Last Days” will be published by Little, Brown and Co., and written by Smiley with David Ritz.
Warner Bros. also is developing an event series based on Smiley’s New York Times bestseller “Death of a King: The Real Story of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Final Year” and a series based on “My Journey With Maya,” which traces his nearly 30-year friendship with poet, author and civil rights icon Maya Angelou.
The projects will be produced through the Smiley Group Inc. in association with Warner Bros. Television or Warner Horizon Television.
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