Ava DuVernay's Overall Deal With Warner Bros. Television Ends
Ava DuVernay's overall deal with Warner Bros. Television has come to a close. On Thursday, reports from Puck revealed that DuVernay has "opted to not renew" the overall deal, which was apparently a mutual decision made with her and Warner Bros. Television made before the current Writers Guild of America strike. DuVernay's deal was first set in stone in 2018 and was estimated to be valued around $100 million. The deal led to multiple projects in the television space, including The CW's superhero series Naomi which was canceled after one season, HBO Max's DMZ miniseries, and an animated series based on Wings of Fire.
"I've had nothing but beautiful experiences working with Peter Roth, Susan Rovner and Brett Paul," DuVernay explained to Deadline when the deal was first announced. "They love and support artists in wonderful and nourishing ways. They work within a traditional studio headed by Kevin Tsujihara that is stirring with untraditional energy and fresh protocols for intentional, inclusive image-making. Warner Bros is a terrific partner about matters of visibility and belonging for all kinds and cultures of people, which is our mission at Forward Movement. I couldn't be happier to call Warner Bros TV my production home."
"Ava DuVernay is one of the leading lights in our industry, a brilliantly talented writer, producer, director and entrepreneur whose ability to inspire with her art is exceeded only by her ability to entertain," Peter Roth, Warner Bros TV Group president and chief content officer. "We have had the great pleasure of working with her on Queen Sugar and The Red Line, and we are extremely excited about the new stories she has to tell."
What was Naomi about?
Naomi followed Naomi McDuffie (Kaci Walfall), a teenage girl who goes from her small northwestern town to the heights of the multiverse. When a supernatural event shakes her hometown to the core, Naomi sets out to uncover its origins, and what she discovers will challenge everything we believe about our heroes. In addition to Walfall, the series will star Camila Moreno, Alexander Wraith (Orange Is the New Black, Marvel's Agents of SHIELD), Cranston Johnson (Filthy Rich), Barry Watson (7th Heaven, Hart of Dixie), Mary-Charles Jones (Kevin Can Wait, Grey's Anatomy), Aidan Gemme (Tomorrowland, Dora the Explorer), Mouzam Makkar (The Fix, Champions), Will Meyers (Gotham, Blue Bloods), and Daniel Puig (The System).
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