In a long stream of controversial projects that HBO has aired, comes a new mini-series which sees the television giant teaming up with Will Smith, Jay Z and Aaron Kaplan to bring the story of Emmett Till to the small screen.
Emmett Till was a 14-year-old African American who was kidnapped, tortured, beaten and shot in 1955, following the accusation that he had flirted with a white 21-year-old woman.
The perpetrator was the woman’s husband Roy Bryant and friend J.W. Milam. Both were acquitted with a murder charge. The three named celebrities have just signed contracts to produce the 6-part series, but nothing more has been discussed in terms of what angle the series will take, who is to direct or when it will be released.
The untitled mini, now in active development, is described as an immersive and in depth exploration of the Emmett Till story. Search is underway for a writer to pen the project, likely a six-hour miniseries, executive produced by Jay-Z and his partner Jay Brown of Roc Nation, Smith and James Lassiter of Overbrook Entertainment and Kaplan of Kapital Entertainment.
This marks the first miniseries project for Kaplan, who has upcoming HBO comedy series DIVORCEÂ starring Sarah Jessica Parker. It also reunites Jay-Z and Smith who, along with Brown and Lassiter, served as producers on the 2014 ANNIEÂ remake.
