The COVID-19 crisis has halted production on most film and television projects for the foreseeable future — but Jenji Kohan and her fellow “Orange Is the New Black” production team members are not only keeping creative during lockdown, they’re actually developing a new series, “Social Distance,” a Netflix anthology show about and using social distancing practices. Produced remotely, the show will examine the “new, bizarre, bewildering reality we are all experiencing,” Variety confirms.
Kohan will executive produce alongside “OITNB” alumnae Hilary Weisman Graham and Tara Herrmann, as well as Blake McCormick (“Mad Men”).
“We feel passionate about finding connection as we all remain at a distance,” the producers said in a statement. “We’ve been inspired to create an anthology series that tells stories about the current moment we are living through — the unique, personal, deeply human stories that illustrate how we are living apart, together. We are challenging ourselves to do something new: To create and produce virtually so that our cast and crew can stay healthy and safe.”
As such, showrunner Graham will oversee production from her living room, the “Social Distance” cast will record themselves from home, and Diego Velasco, another “OITNB” alum, will direct remotely.
“The experience of social distancing is currently universal, but no individual story is the same. Through a broad spectrum of tales and moments, some seismic and some mundane, we hope to capture a moment in time. And we hope that ‘Social Distance’ will help people feel closer to one another,” the producers explained.
“Orange Is the New Black” ended last year after a seven-season run. Netflix’s flagship original series won four Emmy Awards and received another 16 nominations.
Kohan and Herrmann also serve as EPs on “GLOW.” The women’s wrestling comedy has been renewed for a fourth and final season, with a premiere date TBD. The duo executive produced “American Princess,” a Lifetime dramedy about a socialite who joins the Renaissance Faire. It was cancelled last year after one season.
Next, Kohan, Herrmann, and McCormick are EP’ing “Teenage Bounty Hunters” for Netflix. The story sees 16-year-old fraternal twin sisters joining the titular trade and learning the ropes from a veteran bounty hunter.
