Saturdays, a coming-of-age roller-skating comedy from Black-ish star Marsai Martin and her Genius Entertainment, and writer-executive producer Norman Vance Jr. have received a series order from Disney Channel (Roll Bounce, Girlfriends).
The single-camera comedy, written by Vance, was ordered to pilot on Disney Channel in March. It revolves around Paris Johnson, played by Danielle Jalade (Yes Day), who views roller skating to be a part of her soul, something she breathes in and lives by.
She looks forward to the weekends because it’s when she can visit her sanctuary, the neon-lit Saturdays, a supposedly mystical wood-floor roller-rink where the impossible frequently occurs. Paris can hang out with her best friends (the We-B-Girlz skate crew), choreograph thrilling wheel routines, banter with her rivals, navigate life with her DJ brother London, and work towards becoming a Golden – a member of Saturday’s skating elite chosen by the mystical owner of the rink, The Duchess.
Cal Johnson is played by Omar Gooding (Family Time), Deb Johnson is played by Golden Brooks (Girlfriends), London Johnson is played by Jermaine Harris (The Map of Tiny Perfect Things), and Simone is played by Daria Johns (Nappily Ever After).
Nicole Dow, Joshua, and Carol Martin, and Vance and Martin serve as executive producers (Little).
The pilot was directed by Charles Stone III (Drumline, black-ish).
“We’re thrilled to be in business with Marsai, Norman, Nicole, Joshua, and Carol in bringing this adventure to our viewers,” president of Disney Branded Television Ayo Davis said. “We know that audiences will fall in love with Paris, her friends, and her family as they share in the love, laughter, and music in this fun-filled world of roller skating.”
Martin became the youngest person ever to executive-produce a major studio feature film with Little, winning many NAACP Image Awards and BET Awards for her appearances on ABC’s Black-ish and the 2019 feature film Little. With Joshua and Carol Martin, she formed Genius Productions, a Los Angeles-based production business, to develop exciting stories for television, films, and digital. Genius Productions is represented by UTA, M88’s Oronde Garrett, and Barnes Morris Klein & Yorn’s Stephen Barnes.
Moesha and Girlfriends are among Vance’s many TV and film credits. Roll Bounce, Beauty Shop, and Pride are among the films he wrote and produced. He was most recently a Supervising Producer on the series American Soul, Swagger, and Queen Sugar, as well as a Co-Executive Producer on Our Kind of People. The Gersh Agency, Heroes and Villains Entertainment, and Will Jacobson of Goodman, Genow, Schenkman represent Vance.
