Salim Akil | |
|---|---|
 Akil at the 2018 WonderCon. | |
| Born | Oakland, California, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Screenwriter, producer |
| Years active | 1999–present |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
Salim Akil is an American film and television producer, director, and screenwriter from Oakland, California. [1] He developed the television series Black Lightning based on a DC comics character of the same name. He is a co-founder of Akil Productions which he founded with his wife Mara Brock Akil. [2]
Akil was born in Oakland, California. He attended Columbia College Hollywood in Los Angeles, California. [3]
Akil began his production career in 1999, working on the film Drylongso, which played at the Sundance Film Festival later that year. [4] In 2000, he worked as a staff writer and executive producer on the Showtime series Soul Food . [5] That same year, he founded Akil Productions, then known as Happy Camper Productions, with his wife Mara Brock Akil. [6] Mara later created the show Girlfriends, which premiered in 2000 on UPN , with Salim directing several episodes. The show's spin-off The Game premiered in 2006 on The CW, with Salim serving as an executive producer. [7] In 2011, he directed the film Jumping the Broom, [8] which was nominated for a BET Award for Best Movie; [9] he also won an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Director in a Motion Picture for the film that same year. [10] In 2012, he directed and co-produced a remake of the film Sparkle. [11] Akil executive produced the BET series Being Mary Jane, created by Mara, which premiered in 2014. In 2016, he received an NAACP Image Award nomination for Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series for the show's episode "Sparrow", as well as a nomination for Outstanding Directing in a Motion Picture (Television) for The Start Up. [12] He later began developing the show Black Lightning , which premiered in 2018 on The CW. He has written and directed several episodes of the series since its premiere. In February 2021, Akil confirmed a spin-off of Black Lightning titled Painkiller was in production. [13] [14]
Akil married Mara Brock in 1999. The two met while working on the set of Moesha. [4] They have two sons. [7] [15] He and his wife, Mara, are practicing Sufi Muslims. The Akils created Love is ___, which was based on their relationship, but was canceled after a woman accused Salim of domestic violence in an alleged extramarital affair, as well as copyright infringement by using her screenplay as the basis for the series. [16] [17] A statement made by Akil's lawyers denied all allegations. [18] [19]
| Year | Award | Result | Category | Work |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | NAACP Image Awards | Won | Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series (shared with Mara Brock Akil) | The Game (For episode "Parachutes...Beach Chairs") |
| Nominated | Outstanding Directing in a Comedy Series [10] | |||
| Won | Outstanding Director in a Motion Picture (Theatrical or Television) | Jumping the Broom | ||
| 2016 | NAACP Image Awards | Nominated | Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series | Being Mary Jane (For episode "Sparrow") |
| Outstanding Directing in a Motion Picture (Television) | The Start Up | |||
| 2018 | Black Reel Awards | Won | Outstanding Drama Series (Shared with Mara Brock Akil, Greg Berlanti and other producers) | Black Lightning |
Black Lightning is a superhero appearing in American comic book published by DC Comics. The character, created by writer Tony Isabella with artist Trevor Von Eeden, first appeared in Black Lightning #1, during the Bronze Age of Comic Books. Although his precise origin story has varied over the years, he is generally depicted as a metahuman superhero who uses the ability to generate and control electricity to defend his community – and the world – as Black Lightning. Although not the first black superhero to feature in DC Comics stories, Black Lightning was DC's first African-American superhero to headline his own series.
Gregory Berlanti is an American screenwriter, producer and director of film and television. He is known for his work on the television series Dawson's Creek, Brothers & Sisters, Everwood, Political Animals, Riverdale, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina and You, in addition to his contributions to DC Comics on film and television productions, including The CW's Arrowverse, Titans, and the Doom Patrol. In 2000, Berlanti founded the production company Berlanti Productions.
Glynn Russell Turman is an American actor, director, writer, and producer. First coming to attention as a child actor in the original 1959 Broadway production of A Raisin in the Sun, Turman is known for his roles as Lew Miles on the prime-time soap opera Peyton Place (1968–1969), high school student Leroy "Preach" Jackson in the 1975 coming-of-age film Cooley High, math professor and retired Army colonel Bradford Taylor on the NBC sitcom A Different World (1988–1993), and Baltimore mayor Clarence Royce on the HBO drama series The Wire. He received the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series for his role on the HBO drama series In Treatment.
Debra Martin Chase is an American film and television producer. Her company, Martin Chase Productions, is affiliated with Universal Television, a division of NBCUniversal Television Group. It was affiliated with the Walt Disney Company from 2001 to 2016. She is the first African-American female producer to have a deal at a major studio.
Clement Virgo is a Canadian film and television writer, producer and director who runs the production company, Conquering Lion Pictures, with producer Damon D'Oliveira. Virgo is best known for co-writing and directing an adaptation of the novel by Canadian writer Lawrence Hill, The Book of Negroes (2015), a six-part miniseries that aired on CBC Television in Canada and BET in the United States.
Mara Brock Akil is an American television producer, screenwriter and director. She became the youngest African American female showrunner and executive producer when she created the sitcom Girlfriends (2000–2008), airing on UPN and The CW, and the first African American female showrunner to have two series simultaneously on broadcast network television when she created its spin-off The Game (2006–15) on The CW before moving to BET.
Wendy Davis is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Colonel Joan Burton in the Lifetime television drama series Army Wives (2007–2013), for which she received three NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series nominations.
Melanie Barnett-Davis is a fictional character, portrayed by actress Tia Mowry, who appears in the American sitcom The Game, which aired on the CW Television Network and BET from 2006 to 2015. Introduced in a backdoor pilot on the sitcom Girlfriends as Joan Clayton's cousin, Melanie chooses to support her boyfriend Derwin Davis' career with the San Diego Sabres, a fictional National Football League (NFL) team, rather than attend medical school at Johns Hopkins University. The series focuses primarily on Melanie and Derwin's complicated relationship, with her fears of his infidelity at the center of many of the episodes' storylines. Mowry left the series in 2012 upon learning that her role would be reduced as a result of co-star Pooch Hall's decision to reduce his role on The Game to appear in the crime drama series Ray Donovan. Both actors reprised their roles in the series finale, in which Melanie gives birth to twins.
Felicia D. Henderson is an American television producer, screenwriter, comic books writer and a director of music videos and television episodes. She has worked on Moesha, Sister, Sister, Soul Food, and Fringe, also played in a movie with Whitney Houston.
Sparkle is a 2012 American musical film directed by Salim Akil and produced by Stage 6 Films. It was released on August 17, 2012, by TriStar Pictures. Inspired by The Supremes, Sparkle is a remake of the 1976 film of the same title, which centered on three singing teenage sisters who form a girl group in the late 1950s. The remake takes place in Detroit, Michigan in 1968 during the Motown era.
Being Mary Jane is an American drama television series created by Mara Brock Akil and starring Gabrielle Union. It debuted January 7, 2014 on BET. The 90-minute-pilot for the series aired on July 2, 2013. The series follows the professional and personal life of successful TV news anchor Mary Jane Paul, who lives in Atlanta and New York City. The series concluded on April 23, 2019.
Jo-Issa Rae Diop, credited professionally as Issa Rae, is an American actress, writer, and producer. Founder of Hoorae Media, she achieved wider recognition as the co-creator, co-writer, and star of the HBO television series Insecure (2016–2021), for which she was nominated for multiple Golden Globes Awards and Primetime Emmy Awards.
The 47th Image Awards, was presented by the NAACP, commemorating roles, talents, and achievements of people of color in film, television, music and literature during the 2015 calendar year. This ceremony was hosted for the third time by Anthony Anderson on the TV One network.
Black Lightning is an American superhero drama television series, developed by Salim Akil, that premiered on The CW on January 16, 2018, and concluded on May 24, 2021. It is based on the character of the same name, created by Tony Isabella with Trevor Von Eeden, featured in publications of DC Comics. Cress Williams stars as the titular character alongside China Anne McClain, Nafessa Williams, Christine Adams, Marvin "Krondon" Jones III, Damon Gupton, James Remar, Jordan Calloway, and Chantal Thuy. The series sees the retired Black Lightning return to his life as a superhero and follows the effects of his vigilante activity on his professional and family life.
Love Is is an American drama television series created and produced by Mara Brock Akil and Salim Akil. Based on the Akils’ real-life relationship, the series follows a modern-day power couple in Black Hollywood balancing successful careers and family over three decades. The series premiered on June 19, 2018, on the Oprah Winfrey Network.
The first season of the American television series Black Lightning, which is based on the DC Comics character Jefferson Pierce / Black Lightning, premiered on The CW on January 16, 2018, and ran for 13 episodes until April 17, 2018. The season was produced by Berlanti Productions, Akil Productions, Warner Bros. Television, and DC Entertainment. It was ordered in May 2017 and production began that September, with Salim Akil serving as showrunner.
The second season of the American television series Black Lightning, which is based on the DC Comics character Jefferson Pierce / Black Lightning, premiered on The CW on October 9, 2018, and ran for 16 episodes until March 18, 2019. The season was produced by Berlanti Productions, Akil Productions, Warner Bros. Television, and DC Entertainment. It was ordered in April 2018 and production began that June, with Salim Akil once again serving as showrunner.
Michele Weaver is an American actress, known for playing the leading role in the Oprah Winfrey Network romantic drama series, Love Is.
The fourth and final season of the American television series Black Lightning, which is based on the DC Comics character Jefferson Pierce / Black Lightning, premiered on The CW on February 8, 2021. The season is produced by Berlanti Productions, Akil Productions, Warner Bros. Television, and DC Entertainment. It is set in the Arrowverse, sharing continuity with the other television series of the franchise. The season was ordered in January 2020 and production began that October, with Salim Akil once again serving as showrunner.
The Game is an American comedy drama television revival series based on The CW/BET 2006 series of the same name. The series premiered on Paramount+ on November 11, 2021.
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