Writer and director Matthew A. Cherry will be working alongside producer Carl Jones to expand the storyline for HBO Max.
I struggled to hold back tears while watching Matthew A. Cherry's beautiful short film Hair Love. In just seven minutes, Cherry created a heartfelt story about a Black father named Stephon who has to style his daughter Zuri's hair for the first time while her mom is away. And now, almost a year after the short film was released, Warner Media has announced that Cherry will be expanding Hair Love into a TV series for HBO Max.
The TV show, titled Young Love, will have 12 episodes that both Cherry and The Boondocks producer Carl Jones will work on. It will focus on the entire family: father and daughter, Stephon and Zuri; his wife, Angela; and their pet cat, Rocky, all of who were featured in the initial film. According to a statement from Warner Media released on July 7, the new storyline will be a deep dive into the family's everyday life and focus on how they "juggle their careers, marriage, parenthood, social issues, and multi-generational dynamics all while striving to make a better life for themselves."
Cherry is looking forward to expanding on his original narrative and, in a statement to Entertainment Weekly, said, "I am beyond excited to continue telling the story of Stephen, Angela, and Zuri and further explore the family dynamics of a young Black millennial family we established in our short film Hair Love as an animated series."
The film started from humble beginnings as a Kickstarter fundraiser in 2017. From there, Hair Love became a best-selling children's picture book after it was released on May 14, 2019. The short animated film debuted roughly three months later and won the award for Best Animated Short at the 92nd Academy Awards.
Neither HBO Max nor Cherry have confirmed when the new show will be dropping on the platform. But rest assured, many will be eagerly waiting to see the beautiful world Cherry creates.
Now grab your tissues and prepare yourself to watch the original film.
Source: allure.com
