Three showrunners at Netflix are uniting to help amplify underrepresented voices.
Lucifer showrunner Joe Henderson, Partner Track’s Georgia Lee and One Piece’s Matt Owens have teamed to form Magic Quill Productions, a production company focused on genre stories with emotion whose goal is to empower underrepresented and diverse voices while also training the showrunners of the future.
The company, which has enlisted Chad Kennedy as exec vp production and development, has also landed a first-look deal at Netflix.
“We could not be more thrilled to join forces with Netflix on Magic Quill! All three of us have had an incredible time collaborating with Netflix on our own, and being able to bring all our experience together for this endeavor is a dream come true,” Henderson, Lee and Owens said in a joint statement Tuesday. “Our hope is to not only develop wonderfully compelling new projects, but also to help build a new bench of showrunners and lift up exciting new voices!”
Henderson recently wrapped Fox-turned-Netflix favorite Lucifer after a six-season run. His credits also include Hulu’s 11.22.63, Fox’s Almost Human, and USA’s White Collar and Graceland. He’s currently adapting his graphic novel Shadecraft with Lee at Netflix, among multiple other projects. Lee is the showrunner on Partner Track, an adaptation of Helen Wan’s novel set to star Arden Cho (Chicago Med) at the streamer. Her credits include The Expanse, The 100 and feature film The Regular. Owens is adapting best-selling manga One Piece as a live-action series for Netflix. His other credits include Netflix’s Luke Cage, The Defenders and ABC’s Agents of SHIELD. He’s also co-writing a Star Wars film for Lucasfilm/Disney based on an original character. Kennedy has had a hand in developing films including Terminator 3 and 4, Basic Instinct 2 and TV series The Sarah Connor Chronicles. He’s had previous roles at Warner Bros. TV and Lionsgate TV.
“We love what the dynamic collaboration of Joe, Georgia and Matt stands for — individually, they are each a remarkable talent, and together, they represent a creative dream team that will not only leave an indelible mark on genre storytelling, but will champion creators and stories from underrepresented backgrounds for years to come,” said Matt Thunell, vp overall deals at Netflix.
Henderson is repped by the Cartel and the Nord Group; Owens is with CAA, Circle of Confusion and Ziffren Brittenham; Lee is with UTA and RLG.
Source: Hollywood
