Kenya Barris is a prolific television writer, director, and actor who is most known for his various ABC series including black-ish. He signed a lucrative Netflix deal back in August 2018 and although it hasn’t been completely plain sailing, the creator has a lot of projects underway at Netflix.
The first look output deal with Netflix has been one of the most talked-about deals to date given that in October 2020, Barris reportedly was planning to exit his deal with Netflix in favor of ViacomCBS. That did come to fruition in January 2021.
Then, in June 2021, Barris expanded on his decision to leave Netflix saying that he wants “to do in-your-face s***”. He left his previous deal with Disney too.
Now despite him leaving his Netflix deal, that doesn’t mean there’s nothing to be looking forward to. He’s still involved in a number of upcoming Netflix projects as we’ll cover in-depth below.
Released Kenya Barris Titles on Netflix
- Astronomy Club: The Sketch Show (Season 1) – This sketch show came with the tagline “adjusting the color on your screen”. The comedy series saw a well-known sketch comedy group to work in the 6 episodes released in 2019. Sadly, the show was canceled after the first season.
- Shaft (2019) – Kenya Barris served as a writer on this modern revival which was released by New Line Cinema. Netflix distributed the movie internationally which is why we’re featuring it here.
- #BlackAF (Season 1) – Released in April 2020, the sitcom starring Barris himself and Rashida Jones only had a short stay on the Netflix top 10s being in the US top 10 for only 10 days although reportedly had 35 million views according to Barris.
Kenya Barris also starred in the Netflix comedy special, Still Laugh-in: The Stars Celebrate.
Upcoming Kenya Barris Netflix Projects
We The People (Season 1)
Type: Limited Series
Coming to Netflix: July 4th
This animated short series will be added to Netflix on July 4th. It combines the talents of well-known musicians and an assortment of respected animators and teams together to teach civics in 3-minute songs.
Kenya Barris serves as an executive producer on the series alongside a few other producers who have overall deals with Netflix including Chris Nee and the Obamas Higher Ground Productions.
Type: Unclear – movie / international spinoffs proposed
Originally, #BlackAF was getting a full second season although Netflix has reversed this decision. As we mentioned, the show really failed to punch through either critically or via its viewership. It didn’t perform well on the top 10s.
With that said, the show did get a full second season order which was reversed in June 2021. It’s thought that the show could continue in a movie format in the future so while nothing is definitive right now, we’ll keep an eye out.
In addition, regional variations of the show including a Brazillian and Mexican spinoff have also been floated.
Type: TV Series
Kid Cudi (Scott Mescudi) will headline this new adult animated series which will be based on the new album by the rapper.
Ian Edelman is on the writing staff for this one with Dennis Cummings, Kenya Barris, Ian Edelman, and Karina Manashil expected to executive produce.
The series reportedly entered pre-production in June 2021 although the original press release on Netflix’s Media Site is no longer available.
The 50th Law
Type: TV Series
One of the most exciting projects in development at Netflix with Kenya Barris is The 50th Law which will star 50 Cent also known as Curtis James Jackson.
Here’s what you can expect from the new series:
“The 50th Law is a semi-autobiographical account detailing 50 Cent’s rise as both a young urban hustler and as an up and-coming musician with lessons and anecdotes from historical figures such as Abraham Lincoln, Sun Tzu, Socrates, Napoleon, Malcolm X and James Baldwin.”
Girls & Boys
THR got the scoop on this new romantic-comedy project from Antoni Porowski who is known for To My Father and Netflix’s reboot of Queer Eye.
Barris alongside Andrew Rhymer and Jeff Chan are also attached to the project.
No news on this one since the original announcement back in April 2020.
Announced in July 2020, Juneteenth will see Kenya Barris team with musician Pharrell Williams on this project that’s around the federal holiday that takes place every year on June 19th.
Set to be a musical, Williams will write with Barris serving as an executive producer.
Untitled Benjamin Crump Project
Roger Ross Williams is teaming up with Barris on this documentary on the famed attorney, Benjamin Crump. Nadia Hallgren is set to direct.
Benjamin Crump is known as Black America’s attorney general who has represented the likes of Breonna Taylor, Jacob Blake, Ahmaud Arbery, and George Floyd.
The documentary was originally thought to be released on Netflix in 2021 but it’s unclear how far into the project the team is.
Untitled Kenya Barris Project with Lilly Singh
Type: TV Series
Fresh on the announcement that Lilly Singh’s late-night NBC show had been canceled, the YouTuber turned network star is reportedly teaming up with a project with Kenya Barris for Netflix.
Nell Scovell and Diya Mishra are set to produce but right now, no other details are available.
Untitled Kenya Barris Project with Jonah Hill
Jonah Hill and Kenya Barris are teaming up to screenwrite a movie that’s set to be a “modern look at the themes tackled in Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?”. The story of that 1967 was particularly groundbreaking as it documented the reaction of a white couple to their daughter surprising them with a Black fiancé.
Jonah Hill will star with Barris directing. Filming is set to get underway in fall 2021.
We’ll keep this post updated as and when we learn of new projects or get updates on the above.