On Monday, IMDb’s freshmen streaming service, IMDbTV, announced a slate of five original series currently in development, including author and The Ringer staff writer Shea Serrano’s (Basketball (And Other Things), Movies (And Other Things)) autobiographical, coming-of-age sitcom. Executive producers Mike Schur (The Good Place, Brooklyn Nine-Nine) and David Miner (30 Rock, Parks and Recreation) have likewise been attached to the sitcom, entitled Primo, one that Serrano and Schur were originally developing for ABC.
Variety provided description for Serrano’s sitcom, which aims to tell the story of “a Mexican-American teenager balancing cultural norms, college aspirations, societal expectations and the hectic home life of being raised by his single mom and five uncles.” According to Vulture, the series was originally announced in 2017, at which point Serrano explained that he pitched the idea to Schur because he was “tired of waiting for there to be more Mexicans on TV.”
Though no further details about the series cast or characters have been provided at this point, those familiar with Serrano’s prolific writing career and distinct voice have plenty to look forward to with Primo. One can expect to see the series’ autobiographical protagonist harbor a love for basketball, cinema, rap and hip-hop, all topics on which Serrano has extensively waxed poetic on throughout his career.
Serrano shared more information about the team behind his series on Twitter after Monday’s announcement. The Ringer staff writer expressed his excitement about the project and provided a list of the behind-the-scenes talent – including their social media handles – who are helping bring Primo to IMDbTV.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, IMDbTV launched in 2019, with their first-ever original series Alex Rider landing on the platform in November 2020. IMDbTV is backed by Amazon and, unlike other entries in the streaming wars, is entirely free with ad-support. After Monday’s announced line-up it appears that the streaming platform is “pushing further into the scripted originals business” (The Hollywood Reporter).
In addition to Serrano’s Primo, Monday brought the announcement that comedies Blessed and Highly Favored, Greek Candy and Pradeeps of Pittsburgh, PA would also be joining IMDbTV’s lineup. The previously announced adaptation of musicians Tegan and Sara Quinn’s memoir High School will be making its way to the platform alongside a Federal Reserve drama from Nkechi Okoro Carroll (All American).
A majority of IMDbTV’s upcoming series skew toward the autobiographical and semi-autobiographical, which will hopefully make the streamer the perfect home for Serrano’s foray into television production.