Spike orders Jay Z doc series

Spike TV in the US has teamed up with Weinstein Television and rapper Shawn ‘Jay Z’ Carter on a six-part documentary series about the American criminal justice system.

Jay Z is behind US prodco Roc Nation

Time: The Kalief Browder Story tells the story of a young African-American student who spent three years on Rikers Island without ever being convicted of a crime, having been arrested for allegedly stealing a backpack.

Browder, then a 16-year-old high school student, spent three years in jail awaiting trial, two of which were in solitary confinement, before the charges were dropped. After his release, he took his own life.

The show will premiere in January and features interviews from those connected to the story including politicians, close friends and family.

Jenner Furst will direct under his Brooklyn-based prodco The Cinemart, while executive producers include Carter, Harvey Weinstein and Furst.

The deal comes a week after US studio The Weinstein Company signed a two-year agreement with Carter to produce TV and film projects. Scripted and unscripted TV dramas are already in the works, according to the artist, who runs multimedia company Roc Nation.