20th Television Developing New Series Based On Sammy Davis Jr
20th Television is developing a brand new eight-episode limited series about Sammy Davis Jr. The limited series will be based on Wil Haygood’s book “In Black and White: The Life of Sammy Davis, Jr”, who is also going to be a co-executive producer on the show.
The official description for the series states that Sammy Davis, Jr. rose from childhood stardom on the vaudeville stage to become one of the most famous African American entertainers of the 1950s and ’60s (and the only Black member of Frank Sinatra’s Rat Pack). At the same time, he spent most of his career surrounded by controversy and ridicule–over his affairs with white film stars, his 1960 marriage to Swedish actress May Britt, his conversion to Judaism, his closeness to the Kennedys (and later Richard Nixon), and his problems with alcohol and drugs.
Lee Daniels has an overall deal with 20th Television and has been developing this project for years. He will be directing the first two episodes, and it will star Elijah Kelley in the title role of the untitled series. Elijah Kelley has previously starred in the NBC “The Wiz Live!” and “Hairspray”. He will also be a producer on the show and collaborate on some of the show’s original music. They have previously worked together on “The Butler” and Fox’s “Star”.
Thomas Westfall will be a co-executive producer, and Marc Toberoff is also an executive producer on the project.
No details have been revealed about when the series will go into production or where it will be created.
The untitled series will be released on Hulu in the United States, so expect to see it released as a Star Original internationally on Disney+.
Source – Variety