New TV Series Being Developed About Michael Jackson’s Final Days

Warner Bros. Television is working up a drama looking into Michael Jackson’s final days after signing a development deal with author and broadcaster Tavis Smiley. It’s based on a book of the same name by author and television personality Tavis Smiley (who wrote it with David Ritz). Television Group that will allow him to develop new scripted television series for broadcast networks and cable, it was announced Thursday by WBTVG president and CCO Peter Roth.

The first batch will be series adaptations of two of Smiley’s books: My Journey with Maya, a recent memoir of the author’s almost 30-year friendship with the renowned poet Maya Angelou, and the upcoming Before You Judge Me: The Triumph and Tragedy of Michael Jackson’s Last Days, an account of the final 16 weeks in the life of legendary pop star Michael Jackson. In addition to the TV project, Smiley and Tony-winning director Kenny Leon (A Raisin In The Sun) are developing Maya as a stage play. At this rate, Smiley could soon sell Warner Bros. on a series based on his talk show with Cornel West, or a TV show about that time he talked to Kool And The Gang. In My Journey With Maya, Smiley shares many personal memories of his 28-year friendship with Angelou, including their trip to Ghana in 1993. The nonprofit Tavis Smiley Foundation is in the midst of a $3 million, four-year campaign called Ending Poverty: America’s Silent Spaces, to alleviate endemic poverty in America. Warner Bros. Worldwide Television Distribution will handle global sales.