KARINA BONNEFIL, CATFISH JEAN, COURTNEY TAYLOR, AND ANA BOWEN TO STAR ALONGSIDE JEAN ELIE IN ALLBLK'S "SEND HELP"
Dark Comedy Hails from 'Insecure' Alums, Jean Elie and Mike Gauyo
New York, NY (March 23, 2022) - Send Help, ALLBLK's coming-of-age dark comedy series from actor, Jean Elie (Colin in Black & White), and writer, Mike Gauyo (Ginny & Georgia), today announced the principal cast members that will star alongside co-creator and lead actor, Jean Elie. Karina Bonnefil (Snowfall, David Makes Mann), Catfish Jean (Survivor's Remorse), Courtney Taylor (Insecure), and a fresh new face, Ana Bowen, will each play pivotal characters that surround Elie's character, Fritz. Karina Bonnefil will play the role of Misha Jean-Baptiste/Mummy, Fritz's mother. Catfish Jean and Courtney Taylor play the roles of Fritz's closest friends and confidantes, Patrick Cantave and Nicole Cooper. Ana Bowen stars as Fritz's young niece, Mac Levine.
In Send Help, Haitian American actor, Fritz Jean-Baptiste, is riding high as the star of the fictional hit TV show, This Can't Be Us. Convinced that the good times will roll on forever, he thwarts all other career advancing opportunities as he plays the field with multiple women, instead of tackling a family tragedy that is beginning to unravel his entire life.
Currently in production, the 7-episode first season is directed by Stewart Yost (Guardians of Justice). Lead actor and co-creator Jean Elie, serves as executive producer through his Bassett House Pictures production arm. Writer and co-creator, Mike Gauyo, serves as executive producer through his Black Boy Writes Media production arm. Elie and Gauyo also serve as co-showrunners on the series with Melissa Llewellyn-Alston serving as producer and line producer. Matt Hoklotubbe, Michael J. McGarry and Francesca Smith serve as producers in association with Whistle Studios. General Manager, Brett Dismuke, SVP of Development & Production, Nikki Love, serve as executive producers with Associate Director of Public Relations, Farah Noel, serving as producer for ALLBLK.
Elie is represented by Zac Waxenberg at 3 Arts Entertainment and Adam Cooper at Jackoway Austen et al. Gauyo is represented by Brad Rosenfeld and Karen Kirkland at Culture Creative, Lauren Dineley and Michel Classenn at Writ Large, and Marcy Clearly at Frankfurt Jurnit Klein & Selz PC.
About ALLBLK
ALLBLK is an invitation to a world of streaming entertainment that is inclusively, but unapologetically - Black. Featuring a diverse lineup of content that spans across genres and generations, the ALLBLK library includes exclusive original series such as Craig Ross Jr.'s Monogamy, A House Divided, and Double Cross; must-see independent films, nostalgic Black cinema, popular network TV, lively stage plays, and so much more. ALLBLK is available everywhere streaming services are found - iOS, Android, Amazon Prime Video Channels, Apple TV and Apple TV Channels, Roku and Roku Channels, Amazon Fire TV, YouTube TV, Cox, DISH, Sling TV, Charter and more. ALLBLK's content can also be found on Comcast and AT&T outlets under the WEtv+ banner. At www.ALLBLK.tv, ALLBLK offers a free 7-day trial and thereafter is just $4.99/month or $49.99/year. Keep up with ALLBLK on Facebook at Facebook.com/WatchALLBLK and Twitter/Instagram @WatchALLBLK.
About AMC Networks Inc.
AMC Networks is a global entertainment company known for its popular and critically acclaimed content. Its portfolio of brands includes AMC, BBC AMERICA (operated through a joint venture with BBC Studios), IFC, SundanceTV, WE tv, IFC Films, and a number of fast-growing streaming services, including the AMC+ premium streaming bundle, Acorn TV, Shudder, Sundance Now and ALLBLK. AMC Studios, the Company's in-house studio, production and distribution operation, is behind award-winning owned series and franchises, including The Walking Dead, the highest-rated series in cable history. The Company also operates AMC Networks International, its international programming business, and 25/7 Media, its production services business.
About Bassett House Pictures
Founded in 2019 by 'Insecure' alum Jean Elie, Bassett House Pictures (BHP) is an entertainment studio that aims to build a robust community of emerging content creators and provide a platform that will highlight meaningful storytelling focused on underrepresented groups. Bassett House Pictures provides micro to mid-level budget projects with professional development, production, and distribution services to support stories from and about marginalized cultures. By producing and distributing their own premium content, the studio serves as a steppingstone for filmmakers to create their own seat at the table. For more information, please visit:www.bassetthousepic.com
About Black Boy Writes Media
Established in 2021 by 'Insecure' alum writer, Mike Gauyo, Black Boy Writes Media (BBWM) is a production company dedicated to elevating marginalized voices in Hollywood and across the entertainment industry. Black Boy Writes Media creates unique, entertaining content that inspires, reflects, and possesses the ability to empower audiences from underrepresented communities. Black Boy Writes Media also amplifies the voices of new writers through its Black Boy Writes and Black Girl Writes Mentorship Initiative, which aims to provide Black writers with a sustainable pathway to becoming established writers in entertainment. For more information, please visit: www.blackboywrites.com.
About Whistle Studios
Whistle Studios is an Emmy winning, globally distributed, production company built from a foundation of companies that includes Whistle, New Form, Tiny Horse, and Vertical Networks. Whistle Studios tells unforgettable stories and produces the highest quality original series in a variety of formats including scripted, unscripted and interactive. For scripted projects, they produced "The Wolf of Snow Hollow'' in conjunction with Orion pictures written, directed and starring Jim Cummings (Thunder Road, Beta Test) and Robert Forrester (Jackie Brown, Breaking Bad.) Additionally, they produced "Don't Look Deeper" for Quibi, written by Jeffrey Lieber (Lost) and Charlie McDonnell, directed by Catherine Hardwicke (Twilight, Thirteen, Lords of Dogtown), and starring Don Cheadle, Emily Mortimer, Helena Howard. The studio has produced adult animated space opera "Final Space" by Olan Rogers originally for TBS, 'Single By 30" from Wong Fu for YouTube Red, and musical comedy "I Ship It" from Yulin Kuang on on the CW.
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