Oprah, Lionsgate to Develop New York Times’ ‘1619 Project’

Oprah Winfrey and Lionsgate are teaming with the New York Times and Pulitzer Prize winner Nikole Hannah-Jones to develop their situation of The New York Times Magazine “The 1619 Project,” in addition to the “1619” podcast, right into a portfolio of movies, TV sequence and different content material, the businesses introduced Wednesday.

Hannah-Jones gained the Pulitzer this yr and is a employees author at The New York Times Magazine. She’ll function the inventive chief and producer on creating any characteristic movies, TV sequence, documentaries, unscripted programming and different types of leisure to assist her adapt “The 1619 Project” that chronicles the legacy of slavery in America and the way that historical past nonetheless permeates our society immediately.

Winfrey will function a producer and can present stewardship and steering on the event and manufacturing of something tied to “The 1619 Project.” And Hannah-Jones’ colleague at The Times Magazine, an editor of “The 1619 Project” and head of scripted leisure at The Times, Caitlin Roper, will even produce. Kathleen Lingo will even be producing documentary initiatives through her function as documentary lead at The Times and will likely be concerned in all documentary initiatives underneath the deal.

“The 1619 Project” was a landmark enterprise for the Times that related the centrality of slavery in historical past with an unflinching account of the brutal racism that endures in so many facets of American life immediately. It was launched in August 2019 on the 400th anniversary of the arrival of the primary enslaved Africans within the English colonies that may change into the United States, and it examines the legacy of slavery in America and the way it formed all facets of society, from music and regulation to training and the humanities, together with the rules of our democracy itself.

Hannah-Jones created and was the architect of the initiative at The Times Magazine with contributions from Black authors, essayists, poets, playwrights, and students comprising a particular situation of the journal and a particular part within the print version of The New York Times produced in collaboration with the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African-American History & Culture, in addition to a five-part podcast that topped the Apple Podcast charts.

“The 1619 Project” was certainly one of The Times’ most generally learn items of final yr and was even mentioned on the U.S. Senate flooring. It’s additionally being tailored right into a sequence of books with One World, a division of Penguin Random House, and is already altering the way in which that American historical past is being taught in faculties.

“We took very seriously our duty to find TV and film partners that would respect and honor the work and mission of ‘The 1619 Project,’ that understood our vision and deep moral obligation to doing justice to these stories. Through every step of the process, Lionsgate and its leadership have shown themselves to be that partner and it is a dream to be able to produce this work with Ms. Oprah Winfrey, a trailblazer and beacon to so many Black journalists,” Hannah-Jones mentioned in a press release. “I am excited for this opportunity to extend the breadth and reach of ‘The 1619 Project’ and to introduce these stories of Black resistance and resilience to even more American households.”

“From the first moment I read ‘The 1619 Project’ and immersed myself in Nikole Hannah-Jones’s transformative work, I was moved, deepened and strengthened by her empowering historical analysis,” Winfrey mentioned in a press release. “I am honored to be a part of Nikole’s vision to bring this project to a global audience.”

“For many Americans, ‘The 1619 Project’ was a great awakening and a true history that you probably never learned in school,” Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer mentioned in a press release. “For others, the challenge was a recent evaluation of the historic report by one of many world’s main media authorities. We’re proud…