Kenya Barris walked away from Netflix while he was in the middle of a $100 million deal with the streaming giant. He went on to form a partnership with BET to launch BET Studios in 2020 and just unveiled one of the new projects under the deal.
Barris and BET announced that they are releasing the network’s first original, unscripted series “KLUTCH Academy,” in partnership with Rich Paul and KLUTCH Sports Group and UTA. The five-part docu-series follows six college basketball players as they prepare to launch professional careers in the NBA. Paul and Barris will both serve as executive producers of the series along with Mike Tallin and Jon Weinbach, the creative team behind Michael Jordan’s award-winning docu-series “The Last Dance.”
“KLUTCH Academy” will be shown in one-hour episodes that will reveal what players and agents experience in the process leading up to the draft while highlighting the dynamics of Paul’s KLUTCH sports agency. It will also explore the close relationship and family dynamic between Paul and his young recruits as he helps guide their careers.
“There is no denying the impact that Rich has had. He and the KLUTCH Team have pushed boundaries and completely shifted the narrative. And while buzzwords like disruptor and super-agent are fitting, it’s the work that they do with these young men, behind the scenes and off-the-court, that is the most impressive and I’m excited for viewers to get a glimpse beyond the headlines into that part of their story,” Barris told ABC News.
BET described the show in further detail as the synopsis states, “KLUTCH Academy is a courtside seat to the progression these young athletes undergo as they transition from college into the pros—from signing with an agent to training for pro competition to Draft day anxiety and off-season preparation to managing personal relationships and the challenges young Black men in their unique circumstances face.”
The cast centers on six basketball players who all recently had their lives changed after being drafted into the NBA. The players are Brandon Boston Jr. (Los Angeles Clippers), Kai Jones (Charlotte Hornets), Jalen, Johnson (Atlanta Hawks), Moses Moody (Golden State Warriors), Jericho Sims (New York Knicks) and Scottie Lewis (Charlotte Hornets).
The show, which premieres on Nov. 23, will also pay tribute to Terrence Clarke, who tragically passed away the day after signing with KLUTCH in April following a car accident.
“These young men work their entire lives to get a shot at becoming a professional athlete, and at KLUTCH we invest the time and care to help them succeed not only as players, but as human beings prepared to meet all of life’s challenges. It’s an honor to work with Kenya and BET to share our rookies’ powerful stories, and I’m excited for audiences to get a glimpse at the incredible work my team does every day to help athletes achieve and sustain success,” Paul also told ABC News.
Check out the trailer to “KLUTCH Academy” below.
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