This is a blog about two rising stars in the entertainment world, geared towards female readers.
Kat Graham & Yara Shahidi To Star In HBCU Drama
The new movie is being produced by director Mara Brock Akil and her husband Salim Akil.
The CW’s The Vampire Diaries star Kat Graham and Black-ish star Yara Shahidi have been tapped to star in a drama set in the world of HBCUs. Written by Tasha Smith and penned by Mara Brock Akil, the film will be directed by her husband Salim Akil and produced by Mara Brock Akil Productions for MGM Studios.
“Tasha & I are honored to be working with these amazing young ladies,” Mara Brock Akil said in a statement. “We are inspired by their light, their talent and their commitment to telling our shared stories.”
According to Variety, the film will focus on “a rivalry between roommates who attend a fictional black college in Atlanta.” The description of the relationship between Graham and Shahidi’s characters reminds me of HBO’s Insecure, which also shows how two friends can sometimes have one of the best relationships you’ll ever see on TV. It also highlights how when people begin to focus more on what makes them different than what
Kat Graham and Yara Shahidi are about to take higher education to the next level.
Deadline reports that the actresses have been cast in an upcoming HBCU drama series. The project, which is currently untitled, was written by playwright Young Jean Lee and is based on her experience as a Korean-American woman attending an HBCU.
The show will be set in present day and focus on a Korean-American teen who travels across the country to attend an HBCU after she finds out her mother is really a black woman.
Lee will write, produce and direct the series alongside Janet Mock, who has signed an overall deal with Netflix. The two will executive produce alongside Michael Ellenberg’s Media Res banner.
Yara Shahidi and Kat Graham are teaming up for a new project about the HBCU experience.
The actresses will star in the new drama series, tentatively titled “College-ish,” a spinoff of ABC’s comedy “Black-ish” set at a fictional HBCU. Shahidi makes her debut as Zoey Johnson in “Black-ish” this season.
Graham will play a character named Sierra, described by The Hollywood Reporter as the “headstrong, popular girl on campus.”
The pilot will be written by Kenya Barris, who created “Black-ish,” and Larry Wilmore.
Graham is best known for her role as Bonnie Bennett in the CW series “The Vampire Diaries.” She also appeared in last year’s film adaptation of Nicholas Sparks’ novel “The Age of Adaline.”
Shahidi, 15, has appeared in several TV shows including “Scandal” and “The First Family.” She also starred in “Imagine That” alongside Eddie Murphy.
Black female actors continue to make their mark in Hollywood. Kat Graham and Yara Shahidi are the latest to join forces for a new movie set in the Black college space. The two actresses will star in “The Sun Is Also A Star,” which is based on a young adult novel by Nicola Yoon.
Graham, who rose to fame on “The Vampire Diaries,” will play a character named Cassandra while Shahidi will portray Natasha, according to Deadline. The pair meet while attending a college fair at New York City’s iconic Cooper Union.
The film adaptation of Yoon’s book will be directed by Ry Russo-Young, who previously worked on “Nobody Walks” and “You Won’t Miss Me.” The script was penned by Tracy Oliver, who also worked on the critically acclaimed comedy series “Dear White People.”
Oliver told Shadow & Act that she was excited about working with Russo-Young and fellow producers Nicki Mibraum and Josh Bratman on the project.
“I love Nicola’s book and I’m thrilled to be adapting it for the screen with Ry directing,” Oliver said. “Ry is one of my favorite directors and I feel like we think about storytelling in a similar way so I can’t wait to see what we
Teen actress Yara Shahidi and singer/actress Kat Graham are set to star in the upcoming film, The Sun Is Also A Star. The movie is centered around two college-bound teens who meet one day in New York City and spend the next 24 hours together.
Based on Nicola Yoon’s novel of the same title, The Sun Is Also A Star will be a heartfelt romantic drama which will show how one day can change everything.
Yara Shahidi, who has appeared in Black-ish and Grown-ish, will play Natasha, a girl from a family of immigrants who is focused on science and her dream of attending Yale University. Meanwhile, Kat Graham is set to play Daniel, a poet who is about to attend medical school but who meets Natasha and questions his future plans.
The film’s director Ry Russo-Young has described it as a “love letter to New York” as she feels that Natasha and Daniel’s story is “very much about finding love within this city.”
In addition to being based on Nicola Yoon’s bestseller, The Sun Is Also A Star also offers audiences the chance to see two rising stars in the entertainment world, Yara Shahidi and Kat Graham.
Graham is set to play the lead role of Anastasia (Ana) King, a cynical detective who is looking for a way out of her small town. However, when a murder happens at the nearby HBCU, Ana takes on the case and finds herself in the middle of a conspiracy that could have deadly consequences.
In addition to Graham, Shahidi will also star on the project as Lizzie, a young student attending the fictional HBCU Georgia A&M University. She hails from an affluent background and wants to embrace her black heritage by going to an HBCU. However, she soon finds herself entangled in a conspiracy that has deadly consequences.
King & Lizzie will be written by Wendy Calhoun (Empire), who is attached as both writer and executive producer on the project. Terri Miller (In Contempt) will also executive produce alongside Debra Martin Chase (The Princess Diaries) through their production company Martin Chase Productions. The duo also produced Lifetime’s The Clark Sisters: First Ladies of Gospel movie, which stars Graham as singer Dorinda Clark Cole and premieres later this month.
The HBCU drama, which is set at a fictional Historically Black College/University and is based on a story by Donald Glover, tells the story of Quincy McCall (Johnson) and Monica Wright (Hudson), two star-crossed lovers who navigate life on their respective college campuses. In addition to Johnson and Hudson, the cast also includes Giancarlo Esposito, Stephan James, Jasmine Guy, and Jeremy Irons.
Graham will play Skyla, the sister of Glover’s character Troy Fairbanks. She is described as being the most popular girl on campus – and for good reason. Skyla is attractive, smart, and she knows how to get what she wants.
Shahidi will play Laura Rose Fairbanks – the firstborn daughter of Andre Holland’s character Dean Fairbanks. Laura shares her father’s intellect but none of his social graces. She is an idealistic freshman who has spent her whole life preparing for this moment by reading books about how to make friends in college.
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