Yahoo Movies Prentice Penny Signs Overall Deal With Disney’s Onyx Collective
Insecure showrunner Prentice Penny has struck a high-end, multi-year overall deal with Disney General Entertainment’s Onyx Collective.
It will see Penny and his A Penny For Your Thoughts Entertainment company develop and produce projects for all Disney platforms, including Hulu, which serves as the primary home to Onyx projects. Terms have not been disclosed but according to sources, it is for four years and well into the eight figures.
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Penny will develop projects that he will produce, write and/or direct himself as well as develop and supervise other writers. The agreement will see A Penny For Your Thoughts Entertainment to continue to create and champion premium comedy, drama and late-night series, while also expanding their work into new areas of content.
He is the latest top-tier talent to sign with the fledgling brand; Ryan Coogler’s Proximity will produce all non-Marvel titles through Onyx and Penny’s Insecure colleague Natasha Rothwell also signed a deal.
It comes as Insecure heads into its fifth and final season. Penny has already set up a number of projects at HBO including a series adaptation of Marjan Kamali’s novel The Stationery Shop with Mozhan Marnò and a single-camera comedy with Atlanta’s Janine Nabers.
Penny also co-created and exec produces HBO’s Pause with Sam Jay, and made his feature directorial and screenwriting debut with the Netflix original film Uncorked. The company also produced unscripted series Upscale with Prentice Penny for TruTV and Penny’s previous writer/producer credits including Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Happy Endings, Scrubs and Girlfriends.
As part of the deal, Penny For Your Thoughts Entertainment President and Partner, Chris Pollack, will continue in his role. Pollack segued out of management in June with Penny re-teaming with his former agent-turned manager Theresa Kang-Lowe and her Blue Marble Management. The company’s development team, led by Alex Soler, will also make the move, continuing in their respective roles.
“When we mapped out our strategy and ideal partners for Onyx Collective, Prentice Penny was at the top of the vision board,” said Tara Duncan, President, Freeform and Onyx Collective. “Prentice has a depth of experience telling wildly entertaining, culturally specific stories. His prolific ambitions, both as a writer and director, and his unique ability to identify trends make him the perfect creator to help build our brand. I’m honored he chose Onyx Collective to be his creative home.”
“I could not be more excited to partner with Onyx Collective for the next phase of my career. The second I sat down with Dana and Tara I knew I wanted to work with them and make this my new home. To be at the ground floor of what Tara and the entire Onyx Collective team wants to be is an honor,” added Penny. “The types of projects that Onyx, Chris Pollack, and my fantastic team want to make line up perfectly. We are also ecstatic that we can continue to foster and develop more one of a kind artists under this deal. As a writer/director/producer you always want to have as many tools at your disposal to create your art and all of the various platforms under the Disney brand just made for a beautiful marriage.”
Penny is repped by WME, Theresa Kang-Lowe’s Blue Marble Management and attorneys John Meigs and Adam Kaller.
Nellie Andreeva contributed to this story.
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