Tracy Oliver and Issa Rae have co-created Open, an hour-long drama series that has drawn seven offers after recently being shopped to buyers. Deadline broke the news of the project, which is produced by Paramount Television Studios under Rae’s first-look deal there.
What is ‘Open’ about?
Per Deadline, in Open, “when a married couple who did everything ‘right’ open their marriage to save it, the decision sends shockwaves through their Houston friend group, igniting affairs, exposing secrets and forcing everyone to confront the lies holding their relationships together.”
Who is behind ‘Open’?
Oliver will serve as showrunner and executive produce alongside Rae and Jax Clark via Rae’s Hoorae banner, Brian Dobbins for Artists First, and David Becky and Jonathan Berry for 3 Arts Entertainment.
The project arrives during a busy stretch for both creators. Oliver is also writing and executive producing Hilary, a Bel-Air spinoff headlined by Coco Jones, in development at Peacock. Rae, meanwhile, recently landed an untitled male friendship comedy pilot order at HBO, with Prentice Penny attached as showrunner, executive producer and director, a project Deadline reports likely predates the three-year first-look deal Rae signed with Paramount in January.
Oliver is the first Black woman to write a $100 million-grossing film, thanks to 2017’s Girls Trip. She’s also written Little, The Sun Is Also a Star and The Blackening, and built First Wives Club and Harlem as a creator-showrunner. Several more projects are in her pipeline: Netflix’s The Wedding Date, sequels to Girls Trip and The Blackening, the Octavia Spencer/Jessica Chastain holiday comedy Deck the Y’alls, and the dramas Paper Gods (Netflix) and Not a Happy Family (Starz).
Rae, who created and starred in Insecure, has since produced television series such as HBO’s A Black Lady Sketch Show and HBO Max’s Rap Sh!t. Like Oliver, Rae also just had another project in development that was just announced at HBO: a series on Black male friendship that would se her re-team with Insecure showrunner Prentice Penny.
Featured image photo credit: Getty/Bryan Bedder, Provided by Tequila Don Julia 1942 Suite at NY NJ Stadium during the FIFA World Cup 2026.
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