Originally posted Friday, November 23, 2018 by RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com on his AJC Radio & TV Talk blog
The 1992 Halle Berry/Eddie Murphy film "Boomerang" is being turned into a BET TV series 26 years later.
Shooting in Atlanta, the romantic comedy will be more like a continuation of the original story, said Lena Waithe, an executive producer, along with Berry. Waithe co-wrote Netflix's "Master of None."
"We want to create something fresh that speaks to a new generation," Waithe said in Hollywood Reporter. "We hope people will come to the show with an open mind and ready to embrace the new world we've created!"
The two leads will be Tequan Richmond ("Everybody Hates Chris") and Tetona Jackson ("All Night"). They will play the progeny of lead characters from the movie Jacqueline Boyer (played originally by Robin Givens) and the Grahams (played by Murphy and Berry). There is no word if Given, Berry or Murphy might pop in at any point though notably.
The new “Boomerang” will be a 10-episode half-hour first season that will air sometime in 2019. Shooting started last month out of East Point and is scheduled to end in December.
The original film grossed $70 million domestically and $60 million overseas. Reviews were mixed with 49 percent of Rotten Tomatoes critics giving it a thumbs up. Viewers gave it a so-so 5.4 out of 10 on imdb.com, based on nearly 23,000 reviews.
The film had a lot of big names in it, including Chris Rock, Reginald Hudlin, Grace Jones, Eartha Kitt, Martin Lawrence, David Alan Grier and John Witherspoon.
The movie also generated a major hit for Boyz II Men at the time: the No. 1 song "End of the Road." It was No. for 13 weeks and is considered one of the most successful songs in history.
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