AMC Studios and AMC Networks’ ALLBLK has announced that they’ll co-produce West Philly Baby, an upcoming series from Colman Domingo that will air on ALLBLK (formerly known as UMC).
This is one of the first projects from Domingo (under his Edith Productions banner) to be developed under his deal with AMC Studios. The series is written, directed, and executive produced by Domingo. Alisa Tager will executiive producer and Sean San José will serve as story consultant. Production will begin in early 2022 and the first season will have six, half-hour episodes.
Based on Domingo’s award-winning play, Dot, West Philly, Baby will “follow the journey of a Philadelphia family forced to grapple with their matriarch’s declining memory amidst uncovering long held family secrets that shake the foundation of their home. Midlife crises, troubling revelations, childhood trauma, and complications of Alzheimer’s make for an American family story set in the heart of one of the country’s oldest and most historically significant cities.”
West Philly Baby is a passion project for Domingo that has been gestating for a while. We first reported that he was working on the series with AMC in 2018.
“West Philly, Baby is straight from my heart,” Domingo said in a statement. “It is a love letter to Black families and communities. It is about our collective memory and our hope for where we are going in the future. It holds many generations, genders, sexualities, races, and beliefs. It holds plenty of dark humor which is the key to everyone’s survival in my world. I am thrilled to be able to bridge the gap between AMC Studios and ALLBLK as we seek to collaborate across platforms to create a more diverse, equitable and inclusive entertainment industry.”
“We’ve had a long and very distinctive and successful partnership with Colman, going all the way back to Victor Strand and the first season of Fear the Walking Dead,” said Dan McDermott, president of original programming for AMC Networks and AMC Studios. “West Philly, Baby is a project that is very personal to Colman, based on his award-winning play, and we are thrilled to bring it to the screen, initially on our ALLBLK streaming service, through his overall deal with AMC Studios.”
Brett Dismuke, general manager of ALLBLK & WEtv said, “As a fan of Colman’s dating back to his early work with Spike Lee, the dynamic he has brought to so many impactful pieces over the years has been a true pleasure to watch. The opportunity to marry ALLBLK with AMC and Colman’s in-house relationship for this first-ever co-production between our two brands feels truly serendipitous. Audiences will be in for a real treat with West Philly, Baby.”
