Kenya Barris just got a few million more reasons to move forward with Netflix.
The Hollywood Reporter says the Black-ish creator signed a "high-eight-figure" three-year deal to bring TV content to the streaming platform after leaving ABC earlier this year. With the agreement, Barris plans to create shows that "reflect culture through an urban, youth, and female-focused lens."
"When my agents reached out to me about this little garage start-up called Netflix, I wasn’t sure what to think," said Barris in a statement. "But after I talked to Ted and Cindy, I started to believe that maybe this mom-and-pop shop with only 130 million subscribers might just be something ... so I decided to take a swing...a leap of faith if you will, and take a chance with the new kids on the block."
The feeling is mutual for Netflix.
"Kenya Barris is one of our great modern storytellers," said the vice president of original series at Netflix, Cindy Holland. "Kenya uses his voice to make audiences more aware of the world around them, while simultaneously making them laugh. His honesty, comedic brilliance and singular point of view, combined with the creative freedom he will enjoy at Netflix, promises to create powerful new stories for all our members around the world."
While Barris reportedly won't be earning nine-figures like Shonda Rhimes and Ryan Murphy, who also inked deals with Netflix, he also will only be focusing on TV content rather than TV and movies.
