#MGM+ Orders ‘Hollywood Black’ Docuseries From Justin Simien

MGM+ has greenlit a new four-part docuseries that will tackle the experience of Black creatives in Hollywood over the course of a century.

The linear channel and streaming service has ordered an adaptation of historian Donald Bogle’s 2019 book Hollywood Black from director Justin Simien (Dear White People), it announced on Tuesday. The docuseries, from Simien’s Culture Machine as well as Forest Whitaker and Nina Yang Bongiovi’s Significant Productions and RadicalMedia, will chronicle the careers of pioneering directors, actors, producers and writers “who fought for their place on the page, behind the camera, on the screen, and in the credits,” MGM+ said in a statement.

Simien and Kyle Laursen from Culture Machine, Whitaker and Yang Bongiovi from Significant Productions and Dave Sirulnick, Stacey Reiss and Jon Kamen from RadicalMedia will all executive produce. Amy Goodman Kass (I Love You, You Hate Me) will serve as showrunner as Simien directs.

“Hollywood, like many American industries, was built on Black culture and Black talent, even though it excluded Black people from many of its origin stories,” Simien stated. “This series seeks to illuminate present-day controversies, from #OscarSoWhite to the almost regular ‘blackface reveal’ of prominent white celebrities, told through the lens of Black individuals throughout Hollywood history.” Simien called it “the most important story I’ve been able to tell to date.”

Bogle, a prominent historian of Black film history, explored figures like Dorothy Dandridge, Sidney Poitier, John Singleton and Barry Jenkins as he told a story from the silent era through to the present day in the book that served as the series’ inspiration.

“Hollywood Black, like other recent MGM+ docuseries, is an entertaining and thoughtful look at a vital part of American culture, examining the evolution of Black cinema and the talented artists who built it,” MGM+ head Michael Wright said in a statement. “It is a timely and relevant look at the Black experience in Hollywood.” 

MGM+ recently collaborated with Imagine Documentaries and R.J. Cutler’s This Machine for Murf the Surf and with B17 Entertainment for Amityville: An Origin Story.