Boots Riley’s new project has people talking, especially since it was recently announced that When They See Us star Jharrel Jerome is helping to bring the story to life onscreen.
Riley’s genius brought us 2018’s Sorry to Bother You, and now two years later, his new show I’m a Virgo, centers on a “13-ft tall Black man who lives in Oakland.”
“It’ll be dark, absurd, hilarious, and important,” Riley wrote in an Instagram post about the show, which is being created with Michael Ellenberg’s production company Media Res.
I’m A Virgo is the first leap into television for the rapper, producer, writer and director. Riely is best known for his two-decade span as leader of The Coup, a radical funk/punk/hip-hop band, where he penned six albums.
Jerome, who’s the perfect actor to bring the complexity and complicated story to life, has already cemented his status as a breakout Hollywood actor. He had a role in the 2016 Oscar-winning film, Barry Jenkins’ Moonlight, before the world got to see more of his genius in Ava DuVernay’s Netflix series When They See Us — which won him the 2019 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie for his role as Korey Wise. Jerome also recently starred in the TV crime drama, Mr. Mercedes.
Further details on the project have yet to be announced, but we’re already excited to see what’s cooking.