Judas and the Black Messiah director Shaka King is setting up shop at FX Productions. The Oscar nominee has signed a first-look deal
Judas and the Black Messiah director Shaka King is setting up shop at FX Productions.
The Oscar nominee has signed a first-look deal with the Disney-owned cable outlet’s production arm. Under the deal, King and producing partner Brandon Harris will develop TV projects for FX via their recently formed production company, I’d Watch That.
“My first professional directing gig was shooting a pilot presentation for FX, and I’ve been trying to get back in the fold ever since,” said King. “Our tastes, quite simply, align. I’m so excited to see what Brandon, myself, and the folks over there are able to cook up.”
King has directed episodes of HBO’s High Maintenance, Hulu’s Shrill and TBS’ People of Earth and written for High Maintenance and HBO’s Random Acts of Flyness. He earned two Oscar nominations this year for Judas and the Black Messiah, for best picture (along with fellow producers Charles D. King and Ryan Coogler) best original screenplay (with Will Berson, Keith Lucas and Kenneth Lucas).
“We at FX have long been fans of Shaka King’s work and are honored to partner with him and his production company to create groundbreaking new television series,” said Nick Grad, president original programming at FX. “Shaka’s stunning feature Judas and the Black Messiah rightfully garnered enormous attention and praise, the culmination of years devoted to honing his talents as a writer, director and producer, and we couldn’t be more thrilled for him to turn his attention to TV.”
Harris, a former Amazon Studios development executive, co-founded I’d Watch That with King and will serve as the company’s president.
King is repped by UTA and Goodman Genow. Harris is repped by Granderson Des Rochers.
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