SONY PICTURES TELEVISION AND GET LIFTED FILM CO. TO DEVELOP "PAPER GODS" FOR ABC

Nia Long will star in and executive produce alongside showrunner Tash Gray

· Sony Pictures Television and Get Lifted Film Co. will develop PAPER GODS for ABC, written and executive produced by Tash Gray (P. Valley, Snowfall, Raising Kanan) and based off Goldie Taylor's novel of the same name.

· Nia Long (Dear White People, #BLACKAF, Empire) will star in and executive produce, alongside Sony Pictures Television and Get Lifted Film Co.'s Mike Jackson, John Legend and Ty Stiklorius. Jackson is spearheading the project on behalf of Get Lifted. Taylor will also produce.

· Long can most recently be seen in FATAL AFFAIR (Netflix) opposite Omar Epps, which premiered in the #1 spot for Netflix, and THE BANKER (Apple TV+) alongside Anthony Mackie, Samuel L. Jackson and Nicholas Hoult.

· "Victoria Dobbs is a beautifully flawed and complicated character. I look forward to exploring her journey as a wife, mother and politician," said Long. "PAPER GODS highlights the profound impact Black women have on American politics and the world. Mike, John and Tash are my dream team!"

· Gray wrote on the fan-favorite, true crime saga UNSOLVED: THE MURDERS OF TUPAC AND NOTORIUS B.I.G. (USA), and most recently wrote and produced on P. VALLEY (Starz!), season 3 of SNOWFALL (FX/Hulu) and the POWER prequel, RAISING KANAN.

· "Nia and I came together in remembrance of our friend, and my mentor, John Singleton. From that friendship blossomed an opportunity to tell a profound story that's near to my heart," said Gray. "Both of us, girls from the hood, stand proud as strong Black women dedicated to telling the truth about our existence in a world that rarely champions or protects us. Yet, we continuously endeavor to save the world. I'm so happy and excited to work with amazing people to tell a layered story guaranteed to captivate audiences with Ms. Nia Long as our lead."

· "This project has been a passion of ours for a long time and Nia's commitment has never wavered. When Tash signed on, it completed this great team," said Lauren Stein, EVP of Drama Development at Sony Pictures Television. "We are so happy to be moving forward with it at ABC."

· Get Lifted's forthcoming projects include David E. Talbert's holiday film JINGLE JANGLE: A CHRISTMAS JOURNEY for Netflix, the documentary GIVING VOICE, which premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival and will be released by Netflix later this year, and sports drama SIGNING DAY in partnership with Steph Curry's Unanimous Media for Sony Pictures, a female-fronted film written by Adam Hoff about a modern-day Jerry Maguire.

· "We're so thrilled to be able to bring this incredible world Goldie created to life," said Get Lifted executives Jackson, Legend and Stiklorius. "It's going to be an incredible journey working with Nia and Tash as we endeavor to learn more about this strong black female who's incredibly human and nuanced."

· Logline: Victoria Dobb (Long) is the imperfectly complicated girl next door turned formidable mayor of Atlanta. Set in the world of politics and power, PAPER GODS directly confronts race, wealth and humanity, where every battle is a fight of her life.

· Get Lifted is represented by WME and Nina Shaw of Del, Shaw, Moonves, Tanaka, Finklestein and Lezcano. Long is represented by Untitled Entertainment and Meyer& Downs. Gray is represented by MetaMorphic Entertainment, Kaplan Stahler Agency and Dean Bahat at Ziffren Brittenham.

ABOUT GET LIFTED FILM CO.

Get Lifted Film Co. is led by Emmy(R) and Tony(R) Award-winning producer Mike Jackson, EGOT recipient and award-winning producer John Legend, and CEO of the entertainment management and social-impact company Friends At Work, Ty Stiklorius. Get Lifted has developed television projects with major networks including ABC, NBC, FOX, HBO, Showtime, Netflix and MTV. Most recently, Get Lifted produced the IFC comedy series SHERMAN'S SHOWCASE and one-hour special SHERMAN'S SHOWCASE: BLACK HISTORY MONTH SPECTACULAR for AMC, the reality competition show RHYTHM + FLOW for Netflix, which won the 2020 NAACP Image Award, as well as ATLANTA'S MISSING AND MURDERED: THE LOST CHILDREN, a five-part documentary series for HBO. Their forthcoming projects include David E. Talbert's holiday film JINGLE JANGLE for Netflix, the documentary GIVING VOICE, which premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival, and sports drama SIGNING DAY in partnership with Steph Curry's Unanimous Media for Sony Pictures, a female-fronted film written by Adam Hoff about a modern-day Jerry Maguire.

ABOUT NIA LONG

Nia Long has captivated both film and television audiences with her authenticity and versatility since launching her film career in John Singleton's Oscar nominated film BOYZ IN THE HOOD. The three-time NAACP Award winner stars opposite Omar Epps in the Netflix psychological thriller FATAL AFFAIR. This marks Long's producorial first which debuted at #1. Long also appears alongside Samuel L. Jackson and Anthony Mackie in THE BANKER, Apple TV's first original feature film, directed by George Nolfi. Looking forward, Nia will star in and executive produce PAPER GODS for ABC with Sony Pictures Television and Get Lifted Film's Mike Jackson and John Legend. Her most recent credits are three Netflix smash hits including Kenya Barris' #BLACKAF, the critically acclaimed series DEAR WHITE PEOPLE, and ROXANNE ROXANNE where Nia stunned audiences with her acclaimed portrayal of Ms. Peggy. Long resides in Los Angeles with her family.

ABOUT TASH GRAY

Born and raised in the tumultuous streets of South Central LA, Tash says she barely resisted the urge to become a gangsta rapper. Instead, she pursued her education, BA (UCLA) and MA (SDSU) in Film/TV. Immediately following, Tash worked as an educational consultant and grant writer. After joining her first writing staff, Tash transitioned into a full-time writer. She's also an accomplished director and has a TV movie, Daddy's Home, streaming on UMCtv. Some of her comedy writing credits include, The Comedy Get Down starring George Lopez, Cedric the Entertainer, D.L.Hughley. Some of her drama writing credits include, the fan-favorite, true crime saga Unsolved: The Murders of Tupac and Notorious B.I.G. on USA, as Writer/Producer on P. Valley, which premiered on Starz! July 12, season 3 of Snowfall on FX/Hulu and most recently, Power prequel Raising Kanan. As well as, Tash is in development at Sony and Warner Horizon respectively. Ultimately, Tash says her goal is to prove that both her melanin and ovaries have super powers, so, her #blackgirlmagic is real.

ABOUT SONY PICTURES TELEVISION

Sony Pictures Television (SPT) is one of the television industry's leading content providers, producing, distributing and carrying programming worldwide in every genre and for every platform. In addition to managing one of the industry's largest libraries of award-winning feature films, television shows and formats, SPT is home to a thriving global content business, operating 24 wholly-owned or joint-venture production companies in 12 countries, as well as linear and digital channels around the world. SPT is a Sony Pictures Entertainment Company.