the industry

WGN America Keeps the History Lessons Coming by Developing Black Wall Street

Spike TV's 10th Annual Guys Choice Awards - Red Carpet
Can John Legend write a theme song? Photo: Mike Windle/Getty Images for Spike TV

If you haven’t already, maybe it’s time to figure out whether you get WGN America in your cable package. After racking up some major success with its new scripted offerings, the network is reteaming with the producers behind Underground, John Legend among them, to develop a new drama called Black Wall Street. The series takes its name from the nickname given to the Greenwood neighborhood of Tulsa, Oklahoma, which was a thriving black community in the early 20th century before it was burned to ground by white attackers in May 1921. Tika Sumpter, who plays a young Michelle Robinson (soon to be Obama) in Southside With You, is also producing the series, which could debut in 2018 if it’s picked up to series.

John Legend Developing Black Wall Street Series