Yara Shahidi, star and producer of Freeform’s grown-ish, has started her own production company with an exclusive deal at ABC Studios.
What’s Happening:
- Deadline is reporting that black-ish and grown-ish star Yara Shahidi has founded her own production company with a deal to create content exclusively for ABC Studios.
- Yara Shahidi became the youngest producer on Freeform with the debut of her spin-off series, grown-ish, the number 1 live action cable comedy series among African American Adults 18-34.
- 7th Sun was co-founded by Yara Shahidi and her mother, Keri Shahidi.
- The company will develop new projects for Disney Television Studios to be released on cable, streaming and broadcast.
- 7th Sun’s projects will elevate underrepresented voices with a mission “to pursue projects that touch upon themes of history, heritage, culture, and joy.”
- Development at 7th Sun will be lead by Lajoie St. George, a former NBC executive.
What They’re Saying:
- Yara Shahidi: “I’m thrilled to be partnering with my home family, ABC Studios, in this exciting next chapter, alongside my family. It’s exciting to add our production company to the roster of my peers and mentors who are also actively committed to sharing meaningful stories.”
- Jonnie Davis, ABC Studios President: “We can’t wait to extend and expand our relationship with the incredibly talented Yara Shahidi, who has been a member of the family since black-ish. When she’s not studying at Harvard and starring in our series ‘grown-ish,’ she’s mentoring and inspiring other young people, which makes us all feel like underachievers but also very proud that she’s part of our Studio.”
- Kenya Barris: “Yara is a force. She is insanely talented, unreasonably smart and hardworking beyond compare. I’ve called her ‘McMogul’ for years and seeing all that she has accomplished should come as no surprise to anyone that knows her. This deal is just the beginning for Yara, and I’m excited to see where she takes this next chapter and the storyteller she becomes.”