Spike Lee, Mike Tyson and the creator of HBO’s “Entourage,” Doug Ellin, are teaming up to executive produce a new drama series for HBO, loosely inspired by Tyson’s youth.
According to Deadline, the show, titled “Da Brick,” will be written by John Ridley and is being described as a “contemporary exploration of what it means to be a young, black man in supposedly post-racial America.” “Da Brick” will be set in current day Newark, which is also nicknamed “Brick City.”
The idea for the show came from a meeting between Tyson and Ellin on the set of “Entourage,” which was inspired by veteran actor Mark Wahlberg’s early years in Hollywood.
“That’s when Mike asked me, why don’t [you] do with my life what we did with Mark’s life,” Ellin said. “The initial idea was ‘Entourage’ meets ‘The Wire,’ an edgy story about an up-and-coming boxer and his crew that is much more dramatic than ‘Entourage.’ ”
Despite his initial reluctance to write the show, Ellin and his producing partner, Jim Leftkowitz, eventually decided to develop and produce “Da Brick” through their production company. Leftkowitz eventually added on Ridley as the writer, who then brought Lee on as the show’s director. Tyson’s wife, Lakiha Tyson; and Azim Spicer, the CEO of Las Vegas’ SpiceReel Prods., will serve as the show’s co-executive producers.
Only time will reveal what kind of show Lee, Tyson and their fellow producers will come up with, but considering Tyson’s wild reputation, we’re intrigued to see the final product.
–nicholas robinson
