Felicity Huffman is joining forces with the brains behind “Black-ish.” She has signed on to star in a new family comedy from “Black-ish” creator Kenya Barris. ABC nabbed the single-camera project from Kenya Barris and “Black-ish” co-executive producer Vijal Patel about a family whose members have conflicting political beliefs. Deadline broke the news, calling the deal “one of the biggest half-hour sales so far this season.” Emmy winner Huffman (“American Crime,” “Desperate Housewives”) is also slated to executive produce.
The untitled project, formerly known as “Libby & Malcolm,” originated at ABC Studios, which has Barris and Patel signed under overall deals. “The big commitment, a rarity for a deal between a studio and its sister network, underscores the competitiveness of the sale,” Deadline reported.
Barris and Patel wrote the pilot together. The project “takes a very real look at how today’s ‘politics of division’ play out between two opposing pundits who also happen to be married [a husband and wife]. One’s black, one’s white; one’s left, one’s right. Bitter rivals at work on their pundit show ‘Black & Wright,’ they have to turn conflict into compromise at home when it comes to raising their kids.” Huffman’s character in the series is the wife.
Barris is so stranger to addressing race and politics head-on. Back in February of this year “Black-ish” aired an episode addressing Black Lives Matter and police brutality. The critically acclaimed series was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series this year. “Black-ish’s” leads, Tracee Ellis Ross and Anthony Anderson, both received Emmy nods as well. The comedy returned for its third season last week.
According to Deadline, the untitled series wouldn’t interfere with Huffman’s work on “American Crime.” If the project gets picked up, she will be able to continue her Emmy-nominated work on the the ABC/ABCS anthology series.
This untitled project marks the second major sale for Barris this season. As we previously reported, ABC scooped up “Unit Zero,” which sees Toni Collette playing a CIA engineer and single mom.
