OWN Announces new series “Kings of Napa” from Janine Sherman Barrios, directed by Matthew A. Cherry

Los Angeles โ€“ OWN announced today it has ordered to series โ€œThe Kings of Napa,โ€ a new drama from acclaimed showrunner/writer/producer Janine Sherman Barrois (โ€œClaws,โ€ โ€œSelf-Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C.J. Walkerโ€), who will serve as executive producer along with Michelle Listenbee Brown (โ€œLove Is__,โ€ โ€œReal Husbands of Hollywoodโ€) and Oprah Winfrey. The series was created by Sherman Barrois under her exclusive multi-year overall deal with Warner Bros. Television to develop and produce new series. Academy Award-winning director Matthew A. Cherry (โ€œHair Loveโ€) is set to direct the first two episodes.





Centered on the power struggle between the wealthy King family siblings in idyllic Napa Valley, the series is produced by Warner Bros. Television and Harpo Films. Production will begin later in 2021 for an early 2022 premiere on OWN.

โ€œWeโ€™ve been captivated for years by Janineโ€™s incredible body of work and welcome her into OWNโ€™s family of dynamic drama storytellers,โ€ said Tina Perry, president of OWN. โ€œJanineโ€™s created compelling characters that hook viewers right from the start, and we canโ€™t wait for her to dive in with this bold and sexy new series.โ€





โ€œIโ€™m beyond thrilled to collaborate with OWN on this groundbreaking show,โ€ said Sherman Barrois, โ€œand to have Academy Award winner Matthew A. Cherryโ€™s brilliant vision bringing it to life is a dream come true.โ€





โ€œThe Kings of Napaโ€ is focused on a gorgeous and picturesque Napa Valley, California, vineyard owned by the Kings, an aspirational African American family whose wealth and status lands them on the pages of design magazines and society pages. The wine business has brought the family success and acclaim, but following the patriarchโ€™s sudden exit from the company, his three children must grapple for the reigns to the kingdom โ€” to their own power, wealth and legacy.





โ€œThe Kings of Napaโ€ joins OWNโ€™s robust slate of premium scripted dramas from todayโ€™s visionary storytellers. OWNโ€™s current drama lineup includes Ava DuVernayโ€™s โ€œQueen Sugarโ€ and โ€œCherish the Day,โ€ Tarell Alvin McCraneyโ€™s Peabody Award-winning โ€œDavid Makes Man,โ€ Craig Wrightโ€™s โ€œDelilahโ€ and Tyler Perryโ€™s long running โ€œThe Haves and the Have Nots.โ€





โ€œThe Kings of Napaโ€ is executive produced by Janine Sherman Barrois, Michelle Listenbee Brown and Oprah Winfrey. The series is produced by Warner Bros. Television and Harpo Films.





About Janine Sherman Barrois

Writer/producer Janine Sherman Barrois executive produced and served as showrunner of the hit TNT series โ€œClaws,โ€ and executive produced the acclaimed Netflix limited series โ€œSelf-Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C.J. Walker,โ€ starring Octavia Spencer. Her additional credits include serving as executive producer of longtime hit series โ€œCriminal Mindsโ€ for CBS and groundbreaking Emmy award-winning โ€œERโ€ for NBC. Prior to that, she spent five seasons on NBCโ€™s โ€œThird Watch,โ€ rising from story editor to co-executive producer. Sherman Barrois got her start on โ€œLush Life,โ€ where she was enlisted after participating in the Warner Bros. Television Writersโ€™ Workshop. She has been honored with multiple NAACP Image Awards and was nominated for the prestigious Humanitas Prize for her writing. Sherman Barrois is an active member of the Writers Guild of America, where she serves in the organizationโ€™s mentoring program as a judge for the Writersโ€™ Access Project, and on the selection committee of its Showrunner Training Program.





About Matthew A. Cherry

Cherry began his entertainment career in 2007, after playing wide receiver in the National Football League. He worked as a production assistant on more than 40 commercials, and then earned his first directorial credit in 2008 on a music video featuring R&B artist Terry Dexter. He went on to direct more than 20 music videos for a wide variety of celebrated artists, including Tweet, Jazmine Sullivan, Chloe x Halle, Kindred the Family Soul, Michelle Williams featuring Beyoncรฉ and Kelly Rowland, Snoop Dogg, and many others. He has directed numerous live action shorts and full-length feature films. His first indie feature, โ€œThe Last Fall,โ€ was loosely based on the difficulties Cherry experienced after he retired from pro football. The film made its world premiere at SXSW in 2012 and received critical acclaim. His follow-up feature film, the innovative โ€œ9 Rides,โ€ was shot entirely with an iPhone 6s and premiered at SXSW in 2016.





Cherry previously wrote, produced, and directed the critically acclaimed โ€œHair Love,โ€ an animated short film about an African American father attempting to do his daughterโ€™s hair for the first time. Released in 2019, โ€œHair Loveโ€ won the Oscar for Best Animated Short Film at the 92nd Academy Awards ceremony in 2020. Cherryโ€™s accompanying picture book of the same name (illustrated by Vashti Harrison) is a New York Times Best Seller. And he is now executive producing โ€œYoung Love,โ€ an animated television series from Sony Pictures Animation based on the characters from โ€œHair Love,โ€ for HBO Max. Cherryโ€™s television directing work includes โ€œThe Last O.G.,โ€ Warner Bros. Televisionโ€™s โ€œThe Red Lineโ€ and โ€œWhiskey Cavalier,โ€ โ€œBlack-ish,โ€ โ€œMixed-ish,โ€ and the new โ€œSaved by the Bell,โ€ among others. He also wrote and directed the web series โ€œAlmost 30โ€ and โ€œAlmost Home.โ€ Cherry recently signed a first-look deal with Warner Bros Television and is set to direct the upcoming comedy heist film โ€œThe Come Upโ€ for New Line Cinema.





About Michelle Listenbee Brown

Listenbee Brown recently served as co-executive producer on the BET+ series โ€œBigger,โ€ the Warner Bros. Television and Harpo Films drama series โ€œLove Is__,โ€ and BETโ€™s hit comedy series โ€œReal Husbands of Hollywood,โ€ starring Kevin Hart, which earned her an NAACP Image Award.  Listenbee Brown started her career as a staff writer on UPNโ€™s hit comedy series โ€œThe Parkers,โ€ rising from staff writer to producer, before going on to co-create and executive produce โ€œSecond Time Aroundโ€ for UPN. Other credits include Disneyโ€™s โ€œThe Proud Family.โ€ She recently wrote an ensemble, female-driven feature comedy for Sony Pictures with State Street Producing, and is currently in development on a made for television motion picture for Warner Bros. 

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