TV One Screenplay Competition Finalists Announced

TV ONE ANNOUNCES SECOND ANNUAL AMERICAN BLACK FILM FESTIVAL SCREENPLAY COMPETITION FINALISTS

SILVER SPRING, MD – MAY 26, 2016 – TV One, the network dedicated to REPRESENT the best in Black culture and entertainment, has announced the 2016 TV One Screenplay Competition finalists – N’Zuri Za Austin (Dallas, Texas), Cheronda Gunn & Traci Rooks (Houston, Texas), and Michelle McKissic (Arlington, Texas). Launched last year, the TV One Screenplay Competition was created to encourage and promote the production of creative, contemporary, engaging and relatable screenplays.

TV One’s three finalists will receive an all-expense paid trip to this year’s American Black Film Festival in Miami (June 15-19) and will set up and direct a scene from their script performed by this year’s festival actors in front of a live audience during ABFF’s “Celebrity Scene Stealers” event (Friday, June 17). A brief overview of the TV One Screenplay Competition finalists scripts are as follows:

“Tale of a Script” by N’Zuri Za Austin: In search of the next best screenplay, script reader Brandon shares a collection of short stories he found in a pile of “unreads” that narrate the dangers of social networking. The stories, each telling of the dangers that await us behind the keystroke of our computer screens, are a puzzle piece that will lead us on a journey of deceit.

“The Fandom” by Cheronda Gunn and Traci Rooks: When their favorite couple on network’s hottest TV show is taken in a direction they don’t like, five crazed fans decide to kidnap the Showrunner and force her to write the ending they want.

“Downsized” by Michelle McKissic: When a reformed playboy downsizes his family’s lifestyle in a secret attempt to save his marriage, his kids learn of his scheme and begin a little plotting of their own.

This year’s winner will be announced at “The Best of ABFF” Awards Ceremony on Saturday, June 18. The winner will earn a $5000 cash prize and a chance to have their screenplay produced into an original, made-for-TV movie, which will debut in 2017 on TV One and at the 21st ABFF.

Winner of TV One’s 2015 Screenplay Competition, “Bad Dad Rehab,”

Set to Debut at American Black Film Festival Saturday, June 18,

Followed by TV One’s On-Air Premiere, Sunday, July 3 at 7 p.m. ET/PT

Screenwriter and TV One’s 2015 ABFF Screenplay Competition winner Keronda “Kiki” McKnight will debut her original film Bad Dad Rehab (working title) at this year’s festival on Saturday, June 18 at 1:30 p.m. ET at The Colony Theatre (1040 Lincoln Road Miami Beach, FL 33139), followed by TV One’s on-air premiere Sunday, July 3 at 7 p.m. ET/PT (encore presentation at 9 p.m. ET). Highlighting the ups and downs of parenthood, Bad Dad Rehab (wt) centers around four men who are in denial of their poor parenting skills.

After turbulence with their respective baby mamas and ex-wives forces them to take definitive action, Shawn (Wesley Jonathan, Soul Man, Crossover, City Guys), Tristan (Robert Ri’chard, Chocolate City, One on One, Cousin Skeeter), Jared (Rob Riley, Hit the Floor, The Bourne Legacy) and Pierre (Rick Gonzalez, War of the Worlds, Coach Carter, The Rookie) attend a rehab for deadbeat dads, which employs unusual methods to help them become true fathers. Through all the hilarity, hijinks, drama and soul-searching, the men of Bad Dad Rehab (wt) discover fatherhood is less about making babies, and more about becoming men.

“We are so excited to have found writer Kiki McKnight and Bad Dad Rehab (wt) through our 2015 Screenplay Competition with ABFF,” said D’Angela Proctor, TV One’s SVP, Original Programming & Production.”TV One is dedicated to representing all aspects of the Black experience, and this film really resonated with us. It has heart and soul and is unafraid to face a topic that has a stigma in the Black community. But more than anything, it offers us an opportunity to elevate new voices in the Black creative community.”

Malik Yoba (Empire, New York Undercover) and Kandi Burress (Real Housewives of Atlanta, Grammy Award-winning songwriter) also make-up Bad Dad Rehab’s (wt) all-star cast. Jonathan, Riley, R’ichard, Gonzalez and Yoba will be in attendance at this year’s ABFF debut screening of Bad Dad Rehab (wt).

Bad Dad Rehab is directed by Carl Seaton, written by Keronda “Kiki” McKnight, and produced for TV One by Roger M. Bobb and Angi Bones of Bobbcat Films. For TV One, Lamar Chase serves as executive-in-charge of production and director of programming; Donyell Kennedy-McCullough as senior director of talent and casting; Robyn Greene Arrington is vice president of original programming; and D’Angela Proctor is executive producer and head of original programming and production.

For more information about TV One’s upcoming programming, including original movies, visit the network’s companion website at www.tvone.tv. TV One viewers can also join the conversation by connecting via social media on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook (@tvonetv) using the hashtag #Represent
the hashtag #Represent, #BadDadRehab, #ABFF20 and #ABFFBackToTheBeach

and catch clips and promos on TV One’s YouTube Channel.

ABOUT THE AMERICAN BLACK FILM FESTIVAL

The American Black Film Festival (ABFF) is an annual event dedicated to showcasing quality film and television content by and about people of African descent. The festival is committed to the belief that Black artists and content creators deserve the same opportunities as their mainstream counterparts. ABFF founder Jeff Friday, conceived the festival in 1997 as a vehicle to promote diversity in the motion picture industry, and strengthen the Black filmmaking community through resource sharing, education, artistic collaboration and career development. Today, the ABFF is recognized as the preeminent pipeline to new Black talent, both in front of and behind the camera, and is regarded as one of the leading film festivals in the world. The ABFF is a property of ABFF Ventures, LLC., which is a partnership between Film Life, Inc. and Black Enterprise.

About TV One

Launched in January 2004, TV One (www.tvone.tv) serves 57 million households, offering a broad range of real-life and entertainment-focused original programming, classic series, movies and music designed to entertain, inform and inspire a diverse audience of adult black viewers. In December 2008, the company launched TV One High Def, which now serves 14 million households. TV One is owned by Radio One [NASDAQ: ROIA and ROIAK; www.radio-one.com], the largest radio company that primarily targets Black and urban listeners.

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