Issa Rae will stay with HBO.
Rae renewed his commitment by signing a new five-year general agreement that bears his Hoorae media seal in partnership with WarnerMedia. The pact grants HBO, HBO Max and Warner Bros. exclusive television rights to Rae’s TV work, plus an initial film contract covering WarnerMedia brands, including Warner Bros. Pictures Group, New Line and HBO Max.
Rae previously signed a two-year general agreement with HBO in 2016, before the premiere of “Insecure”, renewing the pact in 2018 for another three years.
“It’s really exciting to have that flexibility and just deepen the relationship that we already have,” says Rae Variety as part of the magazine’s March cover article. “Hoorae already had at least 15 projects at various stages of development with them, so we’ve been working with them on the drama side, the improvised side and the documentary side for some years now.”
She adds: “When people believe in you and build with you, I tend to want to promote that relationship. This has been a staple of mine with many of the people I work with. “
Sources count Variety that the pact is valued at $ 40 million over five years, putting Rae’s payment in line with the lucrative new general agreement by multi-hyphenator Donald Glover with Amazon. Rae and WarnerMedia declined to comment on the value of the deal.
By renewing (and expanding) its partnership with Rae, Warners adds it to its list of top talent, which has exclusive deals with Bad Robot by JJ Abrams and Greg Berlanti. Casey Bloys, director of content for HBO and HBO Max, explained why it was a priority for the brand to remain in the Issa Rae business.
“She is obviously very talented and very prolific,” he says. “It has been great to work with Issa personally, but also as a company, because she has sowed many talents elsewhere.”
Bloys adds that “Insecure” had a broadening effect on HBO’s audience based on its younger and more diverse cast and creatives. Since taking over HBO Max, he has realized that comedy is one of the first programs that people watch when they sign up for the streaming service.
“It is an indicator of passion,” he explains. “Insecure always scores very high when it’s on the air and I think it says a lot about the fan base, that she is telling a story that a lot of people want to hear.”
Rae is currently filming the fifth and final season of HBO’s hit comedy “Insecure” and has a second season of “A Black Lady Sketch Show” by Robin Thede (Rae is an executive producer) in progress.
Upcoming television projects include the documentaries “Seen & Heard” and the wrestling drama “Tre Cnt” (produced with Dwayne Johnson’s Seven Bucks Productions) on HBO, as well as the hip hop comedy “Rap Sh * t” on HBO Max. On the film side, the label Rae’s Hoorae has a remake of “Set It Off” in progress at New Line (a subsidiary of Warner Bros.).
Rae is represented by AM PR Group, UTA, Dave Becky and Jonathan Berry of 3 Arts and attorney John Meigs.