Debra Martin Chase (“The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants,” “The Princess Diaries”) will produce “The Black Calhouns,” a new historical drama centered on an African-American family, for ABC. The miniseries will be based on Gail Lumet Buckley’s nonfiction book of the same name published earlier this year. Buckley, daughter of actress Lena Horne, traced her family history from the civil war to the civil rights movement.
Buckley’s account begins with her great-great grandfather, an educated slave who became a successful businessman. A New York Times review of the book praised Buckley for offering “a particularly panoramic view of American society.” The story deals with lynchings, politics, missionary schools and battles for the right to vote.
No word on who will star in the family saga.
You can listen to Buckley share stories about her family’s past on a 2010 episode of NPR’s “Fresh Air.”
Chase is also producing a legal drama about Kym Worthy, the second African-American to serve as a county prosecutor in Michigan. She’s working on the series for TNT alongside fellow EP Viola Davis, the Emmy-winning star of “How to Get Away with Murder.”
[via Deadline]
