Basketball star LeBron James has slowly dipped his toe into the world of TV and film and he and team have partnered with NBC for a new comedy.
There Goes the Neighborhood, tells the story of the first White family to move into a predominantly Black, newly gentrifying neighborhood in Cleveland.
Written by former Community executive producers Neil Goldman & Garrett Donovan and actor-comedian-writer Ron Funches, co-star of the upcoming NBC/WBTV comedy series Powerless, There Goes the Neighborhood is about the first white family to move into a predominantly black, newly gentrifying neighborhood in Cleveland.
Doozer’s Lawrence and Jeff Ingold executive produce alongside SpringHill’s James and Maverick Carter as well as Goldman, Donovan and Funches. Ohio born-and-raised James resides in his hometown of Akron near Cleveland as he plays for the defending NBA champion Cleveland Cavaliers.
This marks a reunion for Lawrence and Goldman & Donovan. The duo were up-and-coming writers when Lawrence brought them to his NBC medical comedy series Scrubs after the pilot. The two remained on the show for its eight-season run on NBC, rising to executive producers. Funches also has strong ties to Lawrence; he was one of the stars of the Lawrence-produced NBC/WBTV comedy series Undateable.
This is the second sale for James’ production company, SpringHill Entertainment in its first TV development season under the agreement it signed with Warner Bros. Entertainment last year for film, TV and digital projects. Also at NBC, SpringHill has a sports medicine drama with a penalty. SpringHill’s series portfolio includes Starz basketball comedy Survivor’s Remorse, Disney XD’s inspirational series Becoming, upcoming NBC game show The Wall and reality series Cleveland Hustles on CNBC.
There have been two major comedy series set in Cleveland so far: The Drew Carey Show on ABC and Hot in Cleveland on TV Land.