*Before “Black-ish” creator Kenya Barris left ABC Studios for Netflix, he sold one last project to ABC: an interracial version of the 1960s sitcom Bewitched, reports Deadline.
The network has given a pilot production commitment to the supernatural comedy, from Barris and “Black-ish” writer/producer Yamara Taylor.
The original version, which ABC aired from 1964-1972, starred Elizabeth Montgomery as Samantha, a witch married to an ordinary mortal man, Darrin, and chronicled the way her powers and wicked family get in the way of her efforts to live a normal, magic-free life as a typical suburban housewife.
In Barris’ “Bewitched,” written by Barris and Taylor, Samantha is a hardworking black single mom who happens to be a witch. She marries Darren, a white mortal who happens to be a bit of a slacker. They struggle to navigate their differences as she discovers that even when a black girl is literally magic, she’s still not as powerful as a decently tall white man with a full head of hair in America.
The project hails from ABC Studios; Sony Pictures TV, which has the rights to the title; and Sony-based Davis Entertainment (The Blacklist).
According to Deadline: Barris sold Bewitched to ABC shortly before his overall deal at ABC Studios officially terminated August 15, a little over a year into its original four-year term. The next day, Netflix announced an overall deal with the prolific comedy writer-producer, said to be for three years with an option for another two.
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