Marlon Wayans Series Book of Marlon in Development at Starz

Fresh off his well-received appearance in the Season 1 finale of Bel-Air, Marlon Wayans is ready to lead his own series again.

In the series, Marlon plays “a fictionalized version of himself, exploring his professional life as a comedian and actor, as well as his personal life as he attempts to reconcile being a good person and loving father with being Marlon.”

These sorts of autobiographical comedies are a lot of fun when done well. For example, Curb Your Enthusiasm. However, it all depends on how crazy the subject is willing to let the story get. If you’ve ever seen an episode of The Wayans Bros. or one of Marlon’s wild movie parodies, you know he has no trouble letting things get out of control. He’s one of the few comedians who can make this premise interesting and not cringey.

Wayans will write and executive produce the pilot alongside Diallo Riddle (Insecure), Bashir Salahuddin (Top Gun: Maverick) and Rick Alvarez (Marlon), with Riddle and Salahuddin also set as showrunners. Michael Rotenberg (Silicon Valley) is also executive producing.

“We’re excited to be in business with such enthusiastic partners. STARZ is a big brand, and we are happy to bring some smiles to the table,” Wayans said in a statement. “It’s great to know that we can push the envelope and get into some good, fun trouble with this project on this platform. Diallo and Bashir are good friends and great collaborators. Book of Marlon will be smart, fun and twisted with a dash of heart and a whole lot of unapologetic humor.”

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the show was previously set up at HBO Max. There are no details on why the project has switched networks, but it’s no secret that the streaming network has been mired in uncertainty since the Warner Bros. Discovery merger.

“We believe Marlon is a once-in-a-generation talent and we’re thrilled to finally be working with him in this capacity on a show,” Riddle and Salahuddin said in a statement. “We can’t wait for people to get a glimpse of what his real life is like and we can’t thank STARZ enough for allowing us to do so in an unflinchingly honest way.”

Since the show is in the early stages of development it won’t be on the air for a while, but in the meantime, you can catch Marlon in Bel-Air on Peacock and his stand-up series Marlon Wayans Presents: The Headliners on HBO Max (if it’s still available).

News Source: TheRoot / Written Credits: Stephanie Holland