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Kevin Hart’s streaming service Laugh Out Loud launches screenwriting fellowship for Black women

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Actor and comedian Kevin Hart’s Laugh Out Loud (LOL) Studios and Sundance Institute partnered with NBCUniversal to initiate a screenwriting fellowship for Black women while increasing the next generation of Black women in comedy

The partnership will help three screenwriters who are Black women to bring their visions to life. 

Laughing Out Loud is a multi-platform comedy brand founded by Kevin Hart that features up and coming comedians curated by Hart. LOL showcases at events, including a partnership with the “Just for Laughs” festival.

“This program has been a reminder of how much untapped talent exists—talent that is poised for opportunity. With their incredible scripts, Danielle, Moni, and Wilandrea each brought to life impactful, funny stories that jumped off the page. We are thrilled to be rolling into the next stage of the program with this incredibly gifted group of emerging writers and look forward to bringing their visions to life.” said Laugh Out Loud, Head of Production & Development Candice Wilson Cherry.

As part of the Women Write Now fellowship program, the three Black women chosen will have their shorts streamed, exclusively produced and developed through LOL Studios with an early release on Peacock and one lucky fellow will receive a development deal. 

They will also receive guidance and mentorship from Black-Ish writer Yamara Taylor and industry leaders Leigh Davenport (Writer + Executive Producer Run the World), Tabitha Jackson (Director, Sundance Film Festival and Public Programming), Zainab Johnson (Comedian and Actor, Upload), Thai Randolph (President & COO, Laugh Out Loud), and Folayo Lasaki (Head of Marketing & Communications, Laugh Out Loud.)

Writers Wilandrea Blair, Danielle Nicolet, and Moni Oyedepo were the women selected from this year’s pool of 672 scripts submitted by aspiring writers across the country where they will be given the opportunity to pitch additional projects to execs at NBCUniversal, with just one securing a development deal.

Each writer will be paired with one of the Women Write Now guest directors—Gabrielle Dennis (A Black Lady Sketch Show), Meagan Good (The Intruder, Think Like a Man), or Bresha Webb (Run the World)—with production kicking off later this month

Blair, Nicolet and Oyedepo’s projects will premiere at a private screening, as part of the 2022 Sundance Film Festival, each earning a four-night trip there, as well as a $10,000 stipend and a first-look deal with LOL. The shorts will stream on Peacock for an exclusive window, following their Park City premieres, before releasing wide on LOL Network to an audience of more than 100 million viewers.

Hart’s goal of the fellowship with his streaming platform is to change the narrative around racial and gender representation in the realm of entertainment.

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