We never knew we needed this until now!
Oscar winning producer Matthew Cherry just announced that his new animated series “Young Love” was greenlit by HBO Max, Variety reports.
Cherry is the NFL player turned filmmaker responsible for the heartwarming animated short “Hair Love,” about one Dad’s journey, learning how to do his daughter’s hair. A record breaking Kickstarter helped fund the short film in 2017 and two years later it debuted in theaters alongside Sony’s Angry Birds Movie 2, for which it won an Oscar.
Now the accomplished filmmaker is releasing a new animated series, “Young Love,” based on the characters from “Hair Love,” and HBO Max has greenlit a 12 episode series. The new series will take a deeper look into the lives of millennial parents Stephen and Angela, their daughter Zuri and her pet cat Rocky. The series will explore their world as they balance “careers, marriage, parenthood, social issues and multi-generational dynamics all while striving to make a better life for themselves.”
Cherry will act as showrunner alongside Carl Jones (The Boondocks), and Monica A. Young of Blue Key Entertainment will act as executive producer with the help of David Steward II and Carl Reed of Lion Forge Animation.
“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. Couldn’t ask for better partners in Sony Pictures Animation and HBO Max in helping us get ‘Young Love’ out to the world,” Cherry said.
Billy Wee, senior vice president of original animation at HBO Max spoke about the new series, saying, “‘Hair Love’ struck a chord that is still resonating deeply with audiences of all ages. Matthew and Sony Animation’s creative voices are a welcomed addition to the HBO Max family and we can’t wait to bring this joyous story to the world.”
Karen Rupert Toliver, Sony Pictures Animation executive VP of creative and “Hair Love” producer said she was honored to continue working with Cherry on this next project. “[Matthew] has a gift for tapping into meaningful stories that touch our hearts. I personally can’t wait to collectively laugh and cry with the Young family,” Toliver said.
We cannot wait for this to air! Congratulations Matthew!
Photo Courtesy of HBO Max