Notorious B.I.G. Scripted Comedy in the Works at TBS

August 04, 2016

Notorious B.I.G. Scripted Comedy in the Works at TBS

TBS is looking to Notorious B.I.G. for its next scripted series.

The Turner-owned cable network announced Thursday that it is developing a scripted comedy inspired by the late rapper.

Titled Think B.I.G., the series will chronicle the misadventures of an inner-city teen desperately trying to create a better future for his daughter and infant son. The plot will be loosely based on his lyrics.

The comedy is being produced and created by Mass Appeal, in partnership with Wayne Barrow of Bystorm Films and Voletta Wallace for Notorious B.I.G. Inc.

Think B.I.G. comes nearly 20 years after the rapper (born Christopher George Latore Wallace and also known as Biggie Smalls) was killed in a drive-by shooting in Los Angeles. His albums, which featured often semi-autobiographical lyrics, have sold more than 17 million copies in the U.S. alone.

Think B.I.G. arrives as hip-hop continues to be a popular theme on the scripted side following the success of Fox's Empire. Netflix has Baz Luhrmann's 1970s drama The Get Down — about the emergence of hip-hop during the disco era — and VH1 is moving forward with a scripted drama based on backdoor pilot The Breaks.

The entry was one of two projects TBS announced Thursday with content and media group Mass Appeal. The cabler also picked up 10 episodes of animated digital series Storyville. Already in production, the comedy features funny, weird and often joyful stories told by musicians, actors, comedians and writers telling true accounts that have been animated and expose the absurdities of celebrity culture. It will premiere in the fall across TBS digital and social platforms. Watch the pilot here.

"Storyville and Think B.I.G. speak to the types of projects we will cultivate with Mass Appeal moving forward," said Brett Weitz, executive vp original programming at TBS. "Mass Appeal is a leader in developing unique stories with diverse voices. There's no better partner for us to connect with this vibrant, impassioned audience."

Both projects are the first to come from Turner's larger deal with Mass Appeal, which has been a content creator since 1996. Under the pact, Mass Appeal will develop original programming for TBS and drama-themed sibling TNT.

WME negotiated both Mass Appeal/TBS deals.