Netflix Secures Production Deal With ‘Black-ish’ Creator Kenya Barris

Netflix Thursday made official its exclusive production deal with black-ish creator Kenya Barris.

As part of the multi-year deal, Barris will produce new series exclusively for the streaming service through his production company Khalabo Ink Society, said company officials.

Along with creating black-ish and its Freeform spinoff series Grown-ish, Barris also wrote for the hit theatrical movie Girls Trip.

“Kenya Barris is one of our great modern storytellers,” said Cindy Holland, vice president, original content at Netflix in a statement. “Kenya uses his voice to make audiences more aware of the world around them, while simultaneously making them laugh. His honesty, comedic brilliance and singular point of view, combined with the creative freedom he will enjoy at Netflix, promises to create powerful new stories for all our members around the world.”

Barris added: “When my agents reached out to me about this little garage start-up called Netflix, I wasn’t sure what to think. But after I talked to Ted and Cindy, I started to believe that maybe this mom-and-pop shop with only 130 million subscribers might just be something... so I decided to take a swing... a leap of faith if you will, and take a chance with the new kids on the block.”

R. Thomas Umstead

R. Thomas Umstead serves as senior content producer, programming for Multichannel News, Broadcasting + Cable and Next TV. During his more than 30-year career as a print and online journalist, Umstead has written articles on a variety of subjects ranging from TV technology, marketing and sports production to content distribution and development. He has provided expert commentary on television issues and trends for such TV, print, radio and streaming outlets as Fox News, CNBC, the Today show, USA Today, The New York Times and National Public Radio. Umstead has also filmed, produced and edited more than 100 original video interviews, profiles and news reports featuring key cable television executives as well as entertainers and celebrity personalities.