Flavor Unit Entertainment

Last updated
Flavor Unit Entertainment
Type Private
Industry Entertainment
Headquarters Miami, Florida, United States
Key people
Queen Latifah (co-founder)
Shakim Compere (co-founder)
Products Motion pictures, music, home entertainment, television production

Flavor Unit Entertainment is an American entertainment company originally launched in Jersey City, New Jersey, but is now based in Miami, Florida, United States. [1] [2] The company was founded by Queen Latifah and Shakim Compere in 1995.

Contents

The company produces films and television shows. In February 2013, Netflix signed an exclusive multi-year licensing deal with Flavor Unit Entertainment. Netflix will have its pick of movies produced by Flavor Unit Entertainment to debut on its streaming service. [3]

In April 2014, Flavor Unit Entertainment entered into an exclusive programming partnership with Centric to re-brand the cable television channel as the first network designed for the black woman. [4] The deal includes bringing Flavor Unit Entertainment's Single Ladies to Centric for a fourth season.

On April 26, 2017, MTV announced that they were rebooting the slasher television series Scream in its third season, with a new cast and setting. As part of the reboot process, it was revealed that Brett Matthews would be serving as the main showrunner. In addition, Brett Matthews, Latifah, Shakim Compere and Yaneley Arty were added as executive producers for the series under Flavor Unit Entertainment. [5] [6] The third season premiered on VH1 on July 8, 2019. [7]

Filmography

YearFilmDirector
2004 The Cookout Lance Rivera
2005 Beauty Shop Bille Woodruff
2007 The Perfect Holiday Lance Rivera
Life Support Nelson George
Wifey Reginald Hudlin
2010 Just Wright Sanaa Hamri
2011The Cookout 2 Lance Rivera
2012 Steel Magnolias Kenny Leon
2013House of BodiesAlex Merkin
PercentageAlex Merkin
2015 Brotherly Love Jamal Hill
Bessie Dee Rees
November RuleMike Elliott
2016The Real MVP: The Wanda Durant Story [8] [9] Nelson George
2017 Deuces Jamal Hill

Television

YearTelevisionNotes
1999–2001 The Queen Latifah Show In association with Telepictures Productions
2011–2014 Let's Stay Together In association with Cofer Entertainment Group (BET Originals)
2011–2015 Single Ladies
2012The Star Next DoorIn association with 25/7 Productions and Raquel Productions
The NextIn association with 25/7 Productions and Raquel Productions
2013–2015The Queen Latifah Show [10] In association with Sony Pictures Television
2019 Scream: Resurrection [11] Season 3; In association with DiGa Vision
2021–present The Equalizer In association with Universal Television and CBS Studios

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Queen Latifah</span> American recording artist and actress (born 1970)

Dana Elaine Owens, known professionally as Queen Latifah, is an American rapper, actress, and singer. Born in Newark, New Jersey, she signed with Tommy Boy Records in 1989 and released her debut album All Hail the Queen on November 28, 1989, featuring the hit single "Ladies First". Nature of a Sista' (1991) was her second and final album with Tommy Boy Records.

The Flavor Unit is a crew of emcees and DJs from New York City and Northern New Jersey. It is now known as the Unit. The original version of the crew centered on producer the 45 King. It was Mark's connections to radio personalities DJ Red Alert and DJ Chuck Chillout that initially got the crew noticed, but the original members also all had formidable rhyme skills and wrote streetwise lyrics. The 45 King eventually fell into serious drug abuse and Queen Latifah took over the name; it became her umbrella organization. Flavor Unit Management is run by Latifah, one of the original members of the Flavor Unit, and Shakim Compere. Past management clients were Monica, Outkast, Faith Evans, Total, SWV, Almighty RSO, Groove Theory, Monifah, Gina Thompson, LL Cool J, Zhané, Donell Jones, and Naughty By Nature.

Brett Matthews is an American writer of comics and television shows. Matthews graduated from Wesleyan University in 1999. He was an assistant to Joss Whedon on television shows such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel and Firefly. In addition, he scripted the Firefly episode Heart of Gold. In 2004, he wrote the screenplay for the Direct to DVD animated movie The Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Fury.

Liza Lapira is an American actress. She played Kianna in the 2008 film 21, Special Agent Michelle Lee in the CBS police procedural series NCIS and Ivy, Topher Brink's assistant in Dollhouse. Lapira has also co-starred in the short-lived sitcoms Traffic Light, Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23, Super Fun Night and 9JKL. As of 2021, she currently stars in CBS's The Equalizer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jack Quaid</span> American actor (born 1992)

Jack Henry Quaid is an American actor. He made his acting debut with a minor role in the dystopian film The Hunger Games (2012) before his breakout role as vigilante Hughie Campbell in the Amazon Prime Video superhero series The Boys (2019–present). Among other roles, he was part of the main cast of HBO's Vinyl (2016) and has had numerous voice acting roles such as Brad Boimler in Star Trek: Lower Decks (2020–present). He played Richie Kirsch in the slasher film Scream (2022).

Scream is an American anthology slasher television series developed by Jill Blotevogel, Dan Dworkin and Jay Beattie for MTV and Brett Matthews for VH1. It is based on the slasher film series of the same name created by Kevin Williamson and Wes Craven. The series is produced by Dimension Television and MTV Production Development, and was formerly filmed in Louisiana, in locations such as Baton Rouge and New Orleans. Blotevogel and Jaime Paglia originally served as showrunners during the first season before being replaced by Michael Gans and Richard Register in the second season, because of creative differences.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Willa Fitzgerald</span> American actor (born 1991)

Willa Fitzgerald is an American actress. She is known for her starring role as Emma Duval in MTV's Scream. She has played cheer coach Colette French in the USA Network's television drama series Dare Me and officer Roscoe Conklin in the Amazon Prime Video television series Reacher. Her other notable roles include Amazon Studios' television series Alpha House and the USA Network's drama series Royal Pains.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">RJ Cyler</span> American actor

Ronald "RJ" Cyler II is an American actor. He is best known for his roles in the films Me and Earl and the Dying Girl (2015), Power Rangers (2017), The Harder They Fall (2021), and Emergency (2022) as well as the Showtime series I'm Dying Up Here (2017–2018) and Scream: Resurrection (2019).

<i>Star</i> (TV series) 2016 American musical drama television series

Star is an American musical drama television series created by Lee Daniels and Tom Donaghy for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It revolves around three talented young singers who navigate the music business on their road to success and stars Jude Demorest, Brittany O'Grady and Ryan Destiny. The series, which is set in Atlanta, consists of original music, along with musical fantasy sequences, as dreams of the future. Queen Latifah, Benjamin Bratt, Amiyah Scott and Quincy Brown co-star.

<i>Lost in Space</i> (2018 TV series) American science fiction television series

Lost in Space is an American science fiction streaming television series following the adventures of a family of space colonists whose ship veers off course. The series is a reboot of the 1965 series of the same name, inspired by the 1812 novel The Swiss Family Robinson.

<i>Seven Seconds</i> (TV series) 2018 American crime drama television series on Netflix

Seven Seconds is an American crime drama streaming television series, based on the Russian film The Major written and directed by Yuri Bykov, that premiered on February 23, 2018, on Netflix. The series, which is created, executive produced, and showrun by Veena Sud, follows the people involved in investigating the death of a Black teenager and his family as they reel after the loss. On April 18, 2018, Netflix confirmed there would not be a second season, deeming it a limited series.

Giorgia Whigham is an American actress. She is best known for her roles as Kat in the first season of 13 Reasons Why, Amy Bendix in the second season of The Punisher, and Beth in the third season of Scream.

<i>Flint</i> (film)

Flint is a 2017 television drama film based on the Flint water crisis in Flint, Michigan. Directed by Bruce Beresford, it premiered on Lifetime on October 28, 2017. The film stars Queen Latifah, Betsy Brandt, Jill Scott, and Marin Ireland. The film or its cast have been nominated for three Image Awards, a Critics' Choice Television Award and a Primetime Emmy Award.

For extended information about the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the American television industry, see Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on television in the United States.

<i>The Equalizer</i> (2021 TV series) 2021 American crime drama television series

The Equalizer is an American crime drama television series that premiered on CBS on February 7, 2021. It is the second reboot in the franchise, following the 2014 film and its 2018 and 2023 sequels, and is a reboot of the 1980s series with the same name.

<i>Bel-Air</i> (TV series) 2022 American drama television series

Bel-Air is an American drama television series developed by Morgan Cooper, Malcolm Spellman, TJ Brady, and Rasheed Newson. It is a reimagined version of the sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and is based on Cooper's short fan film of the same name. It stars Jabari Banks, Adrian Holmes, Cassandra Freeman, Olly Sholotan, Coco Jones, Akira Akbar, Jimmy Akingbola, Jordan L. Jones, and Simone Joy Jones. The series premiered on Peacock on February 13, 2022. The second season is set to be released on February 23, 2023.

<i>The Equalizer</i> American spy thriller media franchise

The Equalizer is an American spy thriller franchise initially co-created by Michael Sloan and Richard Lindheim, and originating with a CBS television series from 1985 to 1989, starring Edward Woodward. The concept was thereafter rebooted twice, first with a pair of movies starring Denzel Washington, slated to be followed up by a third film in 2023, and secondly with a re-imagined 2021 television series, also on CBS, starring Queen Latifah as Robyn McCall. A series of novels featuring Robert McCall has been written by original co-creator Michael Sloan, with the first volume published in 2014.

References

  1. "Queen Latifah Production Company, Flavor Unit Entertainment, Strikes Netflix deal". HuffPost . Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 19 February 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  2. "New Jersey Business Portal". www.nj.gov. Retrieved 22 June 2013.
  3. "Netflix Signs Exclusive Agreement With Queen Latifah's Flavor Unit Entertainment". Deadline Hollywood. 5 February 2013.
  4. "Queen Latifah's Flavor Unit Entertainment & Centric Partner To Become The First Network For Black Women". Archived from the original on 6 October 2017. Retrieved 9 April 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  5. Petski, Denise (April 26, 2017). "'Scream': Queen Latifah & New Showrunner Join Season 3 Revamp". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved November 4, 2017.
  6. Chapman, Tom (April 26, 2017). "Scream TV Series Reboot Confirmed; New Showrunner Announced". Screen Rant . Retrieved November 4, 2017.
  7. Goldberg, Lesley (June 24, 2019). "'Scream' Reboot Moves to VH1, Gets July Debut, Trailer (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved June 25, 2019.
  8. Petski, Denise (3 February 2016). "Lifetime Sets Movie About Kevin Durant's Mom; Queen Latifah Produces, Cassandra Freeman Stars". Deadline. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
  9. "The Real MVP: The Wanda Durant Story". LMN. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
  10. "CBS TV Stations Land Sony TV's Queen Latifah Daytime Talk Show For Fall 2013". Deadline Hollywood. 29 October 2012.
  11. Petski, Denise (April 26, 2017). "'Scream': Queen Latifah & New Showrunner Join Season 3 Revamp". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved November 4, 2017.