Justin Simien’s breakout 2014 Dear White People is being turned into a series for Netflix. The crowd-funded indie premiered at Sundance, where positive reviews helped it sell globally — defying traditional Hollywood wisdom about the marketability of African-American films.
The film followed a group of black students at a primarily white Ivy League school, where ingrained racism doesn’t lie far below the surface. As a TV series, Dear White People will deal with the same situation, though it’s unclear if the original cast are back on board, or if audiences will be transported to a different university.
“During the film’s release, I had the pleasure to speak with hundreds of students and faculty across a variety of college campuses dealing with these very issues in real time,” Simien has said. “I’m so grateful to have this platform: not only to give a voice to those too often unheard in our culture, but to also tell great stories from new points of views.” Netflix has ordered ten 30-minute episodes, which are set to debut in 2017.