Prentice Penny’s prodco signs overall deal with Disney’s Onyx Collective

HBO comedy series Insecure

Prentice Penny’s A Penny For Your Thoughts Entertainment has signed a multi-year overall deal with Disney General Entertainment’s Onyx Collective.

Under the deal, Penny will produce, write and direct new projects through A Penny for Your Thoughts Entertainment, across all Disney platforms including Hulu, which serves as the primary home for Onyx Collective shows.

A Penny For Your Thoughts Entertainment will also develop and supervise projects from other writers, with its president and partner Chris Pollack leading the company alongside Penny under the new deal.

“When we mapped out our strategy and ideal partners for Onyx Collective, Prentice Penny was at the top of the vision board,” said Tara Duncan, president of Freeform and Onyx Collective.

“Prentice has a depth of experience telling wildly entertaining, culturally specific stories. His prolific ambitions, both as a writer and director, and his unique ability to identify trends make him the perfect creator to help build our brand.”

Penny is best known for his role as showrunner, executive producer and frequent director for HBO’s hit comedy Insecure, which will return for a fifth and final season this coming fall. Other past credits include comedy series Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Happy Endings, Scrubs and Girlfriends.

Through A Penny For Your Thoughts Entertainment, Penny’s most recent project is Pause with Sam Jay, the recently launched late-night series that he co-created and executive produces with Saturday Night Live (SNL) writer Sam Jay at HBO.

A Penny For Your Thoughts Entertainment specialises in content that explores the nuances of human experience through diverse characters and storylines. The company has several projects in various stages of development in both scripted and unscripted.

Disney’s recently announced Onyx Collective focuses on curating premium content by creators of colour and underrepresented voices. Penny joins the brand’s roster of creators including writer and comedian Natasha Rothwell (Insecure, SNL) and all non-Marvel titles produced by Ryan Coogler’s Proximity (Judas & the Black Messiah, Black Panther).