The
Hair Love writer and director has signed a first-look development deal with Warner Bros. Television Group, which includes Cherry developing new series for both streaming and cable platforms and bringing more stories to life.According to
Variety, the multi-year deal means Cherry and his production company, Cherry Lane Productions, will work with the WB to distribute new series in the U.S. and beyond and in a statement about the new deal, Cherry expressed his happiness.“I am beyond excited to be joining the Warner Bros. Television family in this exciting new capacity,"
he said. "It’s an important time to be a Black creative working in this industry, and I look forward to creating impactful projects and partnering with other talented marginalized voices in our community.”[video_embed id='1896020']RELATED: ‘Hair Love’ creator Matthew A. Cherry talks walking in Kobe’s footsteps[/video_embed]Cherry has worked as a producer on
The Last O.G. and on Spike Lee’s
The BlacKkKlansman and directed episodes of
Whiskey Cavalier, The Unicorn, Black-ish, Mixed-ish and the upcoming
Saved By The Bell reboot, but is best known for his Oscar-winning short film
Hair Love.The film boasts an impressive list of famous co-producers, including actor and filmmaker Jordan Peele and
Black-ish and
Grown-ish star Yara Shahidi. Gabrielle Union, Dwyane Wade and Gabourey Sidibe also contributed as associate producers and
Insecure creator and star Issa Rae lent her voice for the Natural Hair Vlogger and mom in the film and the film had an impressive journey to Academy Awards gold.
In 2017,
Hair Love began with the Kickstarter goal of $75,000 and went on to raise $300,000 for the project. In May 2019, Cherry, along with illustrator Vashti Harrison, released the project as a
children’s book. A few months later, the short film was screened in theatres along with
The Angry Birds Movie 2 in August 2019 and was uploaded to YouTube the following December.
Hair Love tells the story of a Black father trying and failing to style his young daughter’s hair while her mother is absent. After some encouragement from his daughter and a vlogger, the father decides to try again. The emotional six-minute film is not only a celebration of Black beauty but also a celebration of Black fathers. Speaking to NBC News in 2019, Cherry said he made the film to combat the stereotypical absentee Black father character that's often depicted in the media. “I wanted to give kids a character that normalizes and celebrates Black hair,”
said Cherry. “Black fathers get a bad rap in mainstream media, so I also wanted to show them as present and caring, versus the deadbeat dad stereotype that is often ascribed to them in film.”Cherry accepted the
Oscar for Best Animated Short Film in February along with his producing partner Karen Rupert Toliver and attended the Academy Awards along with
Hair Love producer Gabrielle Union, who invited
DeAndre Arnold as her guest to the ceremony. Arnold was suspended from his Texas high school and told he couldn't walk in his graduation ceremony unless he cut his dreadlocks. Arnold was later surprised with a $20,000 scholarship by Ellen DeGeneres after his story became national news.A Chicago native, Cherry was a wide receiver in the CFL and NFL before retiring from professional sports in 2007 to pursue a career in film. He began his career working on music videos and released his first feature in 2012 with
The Last Fall starring Nicole Beharie and Lances Gross.[video_embed id='1976465']BEFORE YOU GO: Gabrielle Union developing show that celebrates queer Black experience[/video_embed]
