According to Deadline Laurence Fishburne and his production company Cinema Gypsy are currently in the works to develop half-hour comedy series for ABC and is set to star former teacher turned comedian Eddie B.
The show’s head writer will be Richard Manus, who is better known for his work on Black-ish and its freeform spinoff Grown-ish. The single-camera comedy is said to be inspired by the life and comedy of Eddie B who plays the character of an outspoken, stubborn middle school football coach who is forced to teach 8th grade science due to budget cuts.
The Houston-based schoolteacher turned stand-up comic developed a strong Facebook following when he started to post clips about “what teachers really say,” establishing himself as the voice of teachers with his brutally honest comedy.
Fishburne is executive producing along with Helen Sugland through Gypsy Cinema Productions, with Manus also sharing exec production credits. Melissa Gelineau, Cinema Gypsy’s Head of Development & Current, will oversee the project on behalf of the company.
Before becoming a writer, Manus hailed from blue-collar beginnings in Detroit and worked in social justice and non-profits, as well. He attributes his background for being the reason Eddie B’s material resonated with him so strongly. Manus’ wife is also a teacher and she, along with co-workers, found B’s material to be highly relatable, as well. Manus was most recently the supervising producer for Netflix’s Merry Happy Whatever.
Sugland and Fishburne are executive producers of ABC/ABC Studios’ Emmy-nominated black-ish, Grown-ish, on which Manus served as a writer and producer, as well as the other ABC offshoot, Mixed-ish. Next up for Gypsy Cinema is Marvel’s Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur for Disney Channels Worldwide, which is an animated series based on the popular comic book series and is currently in production. The company’s priorities lie within projects that focus on cultural, racial and gender diversity in America.
Fishburne is represented by Paradigm, Landmark Artists and Del Shaw Moonves. Eddie B is represented by Paradigm and Manus is represented by Bob Myman.