HBO said it has offered “Insecure” star Issa Rae a development deal to create two more shows, according to multiple sources. One of the shows is a half-hour comedy about the dating life of a bisexual Black man, called “Him or Her.” The other is an hour-long drama called “Sweet Life,” drawing from the Los Angeles neighborhood of Windsor Hills, known as the “Black Beverly Hills.” Rae told the Huffington Post that she’s helping to develop the show as an executive producer, but former “Daily Show” writer Travon Free created the series, which is based on his own experiences. “I was immediately drawn in to the concept from his initial pitch and am SO grateful that he’s trusting us with his vision,” Rae said in an email.
“Sweetest Thing” came from a pitch Rae made to the New Yorker as a joke. “I had always wanted to create a teen movie about Windsor Hills, but never thought about doing a TV show,” Rae said. “Once my joke TV pitch kind of went viral, I was like, ‘Oh, duh. Let me just do my movie idea as a TV show’.”
