Disney’s Onyx Collective orders Mahershala Ali-led limited series thriller

Disney’s Onyx Collective has given a straight-to-series order to an eight-part limited series titled The Plot, produced by Endeavor Content and fronted by Oscar-winning actor Mahershala Ali (Swan Song, Green Book, Moonlight).

Mahershala Ali

The series is based on a novel of the same name by American novelist and playwright Jean Hanff Korelitz and will stream on Hulu in the US, Star+ in Latin America and Disney+ in all other territories.

Abby Ajayi (Riches, Inventing Anna) is adapting Korelitz’s novel for the screen and will serve as showrunner and executive producer. Another of Korelitz’s novels, You Should Have Known, was adapted into the Hugh Grant and Nicole Kidman-led thriller The Undoing for HBO.

In addition to starring in the series, Ali will serve as executive producer through his Know Wonder production banner. Also executive producing for Know Wonder are Mimi Valdés and Amatus Karim Ali.

Endeavor Content, which is set to be acquired by South Korea’s CJ ENM, is producing the project alongside Layne Eskridge’s POV Entertainment and Kristen Campo. Eskridge has a producing deal with Endeavor Content.

The project is the latest collaboration between Endeavor Content and Hulu, after the companies previously partnered on Nine Perfect Strangers and Amy Schumer’s upcoming comedy series Life & Beth.

The Plot tells the story of a struggling author (played by Ali) who commits literary theft and finds himself in hot water when someone discovers his secret and begins threatening him.

Onyx Collective is a recently created content brand formed under Disney General Entertainment Content to spotlight artists of colour and underrepresented creators. The debut project produced under the Onyx Collective banner, documentary Summer of Soul, premiered in summer 2021.

Onyx Collective has deals in place with creators including writer, producer and director Prentice Penny, comedian Natasha Rothwell, writer-director Destin Daniel Cretton and Ryan Coogler’s Proximity Media.