Lena Waithe continues to expand her creative media territory. The 37-year-old screenwriter and producer has signed a multi-project podcast deal with Audible, reports by Variety. The partnership is sealed between the audio service and Waithe’s Hillman Grad Productions, co-founded with Rishi Rajani.
Hillman Grad Productions’ current projects include Showtime’s The Chi, BET’s Twenties, and horror series, Them, on Amazon Studios.
“Lena is a supremely gifted storyteller with a proven ability to capture the human experience in all its complexity through her work,” said Zola Mashariki, head of Audible Studios. “Along with her company, Hillman Grad Productions, she elevates diverse voices and creates art that challenges convention. I’ve had the privilege of working with Lena in both TV and film and am absolutely ecstatic to collaborate with her again as she makes her mark on the audio industry.”
The first project to come from the collaboration is slated to be an original scripted comedy series inspired by the life of Kym Whitley. The podcast will follow the story of the comedienne as she navigates life as a single mother in Hollywood. Whitley is set to star in and executive produce the program under her own Kwick Whit Productions and director Mark Brown.
Titled Kym, the series is also produced by Andrew Coles of The Mission, Debra Martin Chase of Martin Chase, and Skydance Media with Hillman Grad creative executive Sylvia Carrasco overseeing.
“We’re so excited to be expanding into the podcast space in collaboration with Audible and continuing our mission to tell human stories,” Waithe and Rajani said in a joint statement. “We are really grateful to Kym, for sharing not only her story but her signature voice with us. Kym Whitley has always been one of the funniest women in the business, and we’re so glad she’s finally going to take center stage!”