When recent Hollywood strikes resulted in the suspension of his deal with CBS Studios, Christian producer DeVon Franklin thought that might be the end of TV production at Franklin Entertainment, the company he founded.
But, as Franklin said in a March 15 Facebook post:
“However we sometimes think God is putting a period in our careers where He’s actually putting a comma!
I’m beyond excited and grateful to announce my TV deal with @cbstvstudios has been extended!So grateful is to extend my relationship with the CBS family.”
That same day, entertainment-industry news site Deadline announced that Franklin — producer of the hit 2023 film Flamin’ Hot — has inked a deal with CBS Studios for a new crime-drama series called Grace.
From Deadline:
“Grace follows a true-blue detective known for his brash, cynical style and a passionate, community-focused pastor who wears her heart on her sleeve [who] reluctantly partner to solve complex crimes as they debate their divergent beliefs while attempting to ignore their growing chemistry.”
Executive-producing alongside Franklin, and writing Grace, are Devon Greggory, showrunner of The Game on Paramount+ (who also has a deal at CBS Studios), and Corey Moore, whose credits include All Rise, NCIS: New Orleans and Franklin’s BET+ show Kingdom Business.
Co-executive producer for Grace is Jenna Nicholson Grieb, the Vice President of Television for Franklin Entertainment.
As mentioned above, Franklin is also an executive producer — with gospel-music star Kirk Franklin, and Christian producer Dr. Holly Carter — of Kingdom Business, which was originally developed for NBC before moving to BET+.
Set in the high-stakes world of gospel music and produced in Atlanta, it stars Yolanda Adams as a star singer and first lady of a church, who also runs the in-house company Kingdom Records. Serayah (Empire) co-stars as a former exotic dancer who becomes a viral singing sensation.
Produced in Atlanta, Georgia, the series premiered with eight episodes in May 2022 and launched its second, 16-episode season in November 2023. That season is set to run through early May.
No casting has yet been announced for Grace. But its pickup marks a bright spot in an industry that has been slow to recover from the pandemic shutdowns and from strikes last year by the WGA, representing writers, and SAG-AFTRA, representing actors.
Franklin Has Carved a Significant Niche
A Seventh-day Adventist and ordained minister, Franklin has carved a significant niche in the entertainment industry, while keeping faith themes in his work. His previous films include the fact-based inspirational drama Breakthrough, starring Chrissy Metz, the animated Nativity story The Star, and the hit Miracles from Heaven.
A week after the announcement of Grace, Deadline exclusively reported that Carter was launching Merge TV, a family, faith and lifestyle network. It’ll be available on In the Black Network, a streaming service from filmmaker and entertainment executive James DuBose.
Among MergeTV’s original programming is Food for Thought With DeVon Franklin.
From Deadline:
“Franklin will be joined by some of his famous friends “to bake up delicious desserts and share deep conversation,” according to the series description, with guests ranging from Smokey Robinson to Cedric the Entertainer.”MergeTV’s slate also includes talk show Chatter, dating show Finding My Romeo, hosted by musician and actor Romeo Miller; Preachers Reunion and Preachers Wedding Edition, and cooking show Katching Kierra, hosted by Gospel standout Kierra Sheard-Kelly.
On Facebook, Franklin recalls how he taught a Bible study on Facebook Live while baking a cake. This caught the attention of Carter, who had the idea of turning it into a show. When Food for Thought proved difficult to sell, Franklin began to lose hope.
But, as he wrote in the post:
“So I figured the project was dead and wasn’t going to happen. But as we discussed last week, too often we try to put a period where God wants to put a comma!”Last summer @drhollycarter called me and said “I’m tired of waiting for an opportunity to present itself, let’s create our own opportunity. I’m starting my own network and I’m green lighting your show Food For Thought!”
He described the show as “dessert and dialogue. I make a dessert and then invite my guest to try the dessert while we dialogue!”
MergeTV launches April 2, on In The Black Network, which streams online and on its own app.
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