*LOS ANGELES –– Iconic athlete, actor and television analyst Shaquille O’Neal is fulfilling a lifelong dream of launching his own restaurant, and he’s enlisting the Facebook community for advice along the way.
Shaq has partnered with The Content Group’s Asylum Entertainment to produce Big Chicken Shaq, a new Facebook Watch series premiering this fall. Through real-time engagement on Facebook Watch, fans will be able to help shape Shaq’s new Las Vegas restaurant – Big Chicken – launching later this year.
The eight-episode series will chronicle O’Neal’s journey as he angles to balance his already busy life with the restaurant – determined to maintain his singular humor in the process. Fans will be given numerous opportunities to interact with Shaq and offer opinions that will impact how the new restaurant unfolds. The series will also feature a variety of content in-between episodes, and O’Neal will leverage Facebook Live to surprise fans with cookalongs, taste tests and other activities.
“It’s going to be so much fun designing my own restaurant, and I can’t imagine a better group of people to do it with than with my incredibly loyal Facebook fans,” O’Neal said. “It’s an opportunity for us to collaborate together, and I know the Facebook community will offer terrific feedback.”
Added Content Group CEO Steve Michaels, “We’re proud to help create a forum where a larger-than-life superstar can connect with his fans on a unique, personal level, essentially serving as teammates in his newest enterprise. From sports and consumer products to entertainment and now a signature restaurant, there really is no world Shaq cannot conquer.”
Big Chicken Shaq’s Facebook page will launch in the coming weeks.
Big Chicken Shaq is executive produced by Michaels, Jonathan Koch, Ryann Lauckner, James Macnab and Mark Efman for Asylum and The Content Group. O’Neal is also an executive producer, alongside Perry Rogers, Colin Smeeton and Mike Parris.
About The Content Group
The Content Group (TCG) is a creative collective established under a model of open partnership with collaborators, including independent producers, production companies, filmmakers, showrunners and talent. Founded in 2018 by producer and CEO Steve Michaels, the company offers content creators both infrastructure and creative support in order to streamline development and production, and accelerate time to market. Fueled by proprietary metrics, the business model also is able to offer TCG partners – who work with the company on a flexible, non-exclusive basis – short and long-term returns on their projects, and other potential upside. Under the TCG umbrella is also Asylum Entertainment, which produces a broad slate of scripted and unscripted content for a range of networks and platforms, including the multiple Emmy award-winning The Kennedys for Reelz; multiple Peabody Award-winning 30 for 30 for ESPN; National Geographic’sBreakthrough; TLC’s Nate & Jeremiah; Eli Roth’s History of Horror for AMC, and Lifetime’s Cocaine Godmother starring Catherine Zeta-Jones. Ryann Lauckner is president of The Content Group; Jonathan Koch serves as chief strategic advisor.
About Facebook Watch
Facebook Watch is a place to discover and enjoy shows on Facebook. Home to a wide range of shows – from scripted comedy and drama, to competition and reality series, to individual creators and live sports – Facebook Watch is a video platform where episodic content, community and conversation come together. This is a personalized viewing experience, where you can discover new series based on what your friends are watching, and catch up on the shows you follow. Facebook Watch is available for free on mobile apps across Apple and Android, on desktop, laptop and on TV apps listed here: https://videoapp.fb.com/
source:
Andria Donley
Account Executive
DKC Public Relations
[email protected]
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