Author: Andy Lewis

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HBO has some new Bros.

The premium cable service is developing comedy Bros from writer Cory Jones (Hand of God) and Hemingway Taylor Productions. The story centers on three African-American brothers — two straight, one gay and all very different — looking for love and happiness in Los Angeles. Bros is based on Hemingway Taylor’s 12-minute presentation of Bros.

The project marks the first sale for director Anthony Hemingway (Red Tails, The Wire, Newsroom) and producing partner Mark Taylor’s Hemingway Taylor Productions banner. Taylor is a former production executive with TNT and HBO.

Hemingway and Taylor will executive produce Lena Waithe (Dear White People) will co-exec produce with Jones; Hemingway will direct the project. 

Jones is repped by CAA and Fineman Entertainment. Hemingway Taylor is repped by Scott Siedel (WME) and attorney Tom Hoberman. Waithe is repped by Paradigm and The Mission.

The comedy comes as broadcast networks have found success this fall with a major diversity push on the heels of ABC’s Scandal. ABC has African-American family comedy Blackish as well as Viola Davis drama How to Get Away With Murder, both of which have been picked up for full seasons.
 

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Jimmy Fallon is hitting the books again.

The Tonight Show host will is penning a children’s board book, Your Baby’s First Word Will Be Dada.

The book was inspired by Fallon’s attempts to get daughter Winnie Rose to say “dada” as her first words only to have her utter “Mama” instead. Its a humorous tale of a father trying to coax his daughter into saying “dada” on an adventure that includes meeting all sorts of fun animals. 

Winnie Rose, born in July 2013, is Fallon’s first child with wife Nancy Juvonen Fallon.

Board books are very young children’s books, printed on thick paperboard (to withstand the abuse of infants and toddlers), usually about 12-16 pages long and with around 500 words or so.

This is Fallon’s second board book. The first, Snowball Fight, about kids having fun when school is cancelled for snow, came out in 2005. He’s also the author of a couple of funny books for adults—Thank You Notes and Thank You Notes 2,—that were based on skits from his late night TV show.

Your Baby’s First Word Will Be Dada goes on sale June 9.  The news was first reported by People.