SHERMAN’S SHOWCASE TO RETURN TO IFC FOR HOUR-LONG “BLACK HISTORY MONTH SPECTACULAR”…THIS SUMMER

As the Temperature Rises, ‘Drop It Low’ for the Musical Variety Sketch Sensation Hosted by the Legendary Sherman McDaniels

PASADENA, CA – JANUARY 16, 2020 – IFC announced today that the Critics’ Choice Award-nominated Sherman’s Showcase will return with a one-hour “Black History Month Spectacular” this summer (yes, you read that right). Created by and starring Bashir Salahuddin (Top Gun: Maverick, South Side) and Diallo Riddle (Marlon, South Side), and executive produced by John Legend’s Get Lifted Film Co. and RadicalMedia, the witty, irreverent and wholly original Sherman’s Showcase “Black History Month Spectacular” will feature more of the sketches,  A-list guest stars, and original hit, award-winning songs that, all together, earned the series a 100% Certified Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes and inclusion on numerous ‘Best of 2019’ lists.

Said Blake Callaway, executive director of IFC and SundanceTV: “Who decided that Black History only gets one month, and a cold one at that? We can’t wait to see what Diallo and Bashir have created to kick off the summer. This one-hour spectacular will celebrate black excellence no matter what month it airs.”

“When the network told us we could do an hour-long episode, we said we wanted it to be the Black History Month episode. When they warned us that the episode might not air until the summer, we said we wanted it to be the Black History Month episode. It was a brief negotiation,” said creators and stars Riddle and Salahuddin.

Self-dubbed the “blackest show in the history of television,” the acclaimed Sherman’s Showcase will roll out its “Black History Month Spectacular” over the summer because, as the creators said, “Sherman McDaniels needed a little extra time to get everything just right.” And true to form, when Sherman isn’t honoring historic African-American icons both past and present, he’ll have ninjas, vampires, Ethiopian rebels, and the singing group that gave us Drop It Low for Jesus, back with another song that’s bound to offend somebody.

The Sherman’s Showcase guest star roster has boasted a “who’s who” of movies, music, sports and entertainment, with two EGOT winners and multiple award-winning artists, actors and entertainers. Guest stars included (alphabetically): Andrew “King Bach” Bachelor; Natasha Bedingfield, Emmy^®-, GRAMMY^®– and Oscar^®-winner Common, Morris Day, Emmy^®-winner Tiffany Haddish, Lil Rel Howery, Emmy^®-, GRAMMY^®-, Oscar^®– and Tony^®-winner Quincy Jones, Emmy^®-winner Mike Judge, Kenny and Keith Lucas, Emmy^®-, GRAMMY^®-, Oscar^®– and Tony^®-winner John Legend, Nigel Lythgoe, Curt Menefee, Vic Mensa, Tawny Newsome, GRAMMY^®-winner Ne-Yo, Ray Parker, Jr., Mario Van Peebles, Damon Wayans, Jr., Marlon Wayans and Bresha Webb.

Sherman’s Showcase Season 1 is currently available to watch on Hulu, iTunes, Google Play, Amazon and XBOX. Full-length versions of the songs from the series are available via digital release and vinyl from Mad Decent, the Los Angeles-based record label founded by Thomas Wesley Pentz, better known as Diplo.

Creators and stars Diallo Riddle and Bashir Salahuddin also serve as executive producers on the series, along with John Legend, Mike Jackson and Ty Stiklorious through their Get Lifted Film Co. (La La Land, Underground, Jesus Christ Superstar). Frank Scherma and Jim Bouvet of RadicalMedia (Stan Against Evil, Conversations With a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes) also executive produce.

AMC Studios Content Distribution is managing worldwide sales of the show.

ABOUT IFC

IFC is the home of offbeat, unexpected comedies. Acclaimed series Documentary Now!, Brockmire, Baroness von Sketch Show, Sherman’s Showcase and the upcoming Year of the Rabbit air alongside fan-favorite movies and comedic cult TV shows. IFC is owned and operated by AMC Networks Inc., and available across multiple platforms. IFC is Always On, Slightly Off.

ABOUT RADICALMEDIA

RadicalMedia produces premium content across all media platforms. With offices in New York, Los Angeles, London, Berlin, and Shanghai, RadicalMedia is a global intra-disciplinary media company that creates and produces film, television, music programming, commercials, brand partnerships, interactive design, and digital and immersive experiences for all distribution platforms. RadicalMedia is fluent in each and every discipline of storytelling, with accolades that include Oscar®, Emmy®, Peabody® and Grammy® Awards. Film and TV credits include The Fog of War; Paradise Lost; Netflix’s first ever original documentary film, What Happened, Miss Simone?; My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman for Netflix; and The Fourth Estate for Showtime; Design For All for Target; Activate: A Global Citizen Movement for National Geographic; Contact High: A Visual History of Hip-Hop for Annenberg Space for Photography; TIGERLAND for Discovery;  Abstract: The Art of Design for Netflix; Sherman’s Showcase for IFC; Conversations With a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes for Netflix; Formula E’s And We Go Green and the upcoming Grant series for the History Channel. RadicalMedia has been tapped as creative and production partners on the upcoming Apple TV+ mental health series with Oprah Winfrey and Prince Harry. Check out the latest work on Instagram and on www.radicalmedia.com.

ABOUT GET LIFTED FILM CO.

Get Lifted Film Co., a Los Angeles based production company, was launched by Emmy^® and Tony Award^®-winning producer Mike Jackson, founder and CEO of the entertainment management and social-impact company Friends At Work, Ty Stiklorius, and EGOT recipient and award-winning producer John Legend. Get Lifted has developed television projects with major networks including ABC, NBC, FOX, HBO, Showtime, Netflix and MTV. The company executive produced Damien Chazelle’s Oscar^®-winning musical La La Land, starring Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone, as well as NBC’s 2018 Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert. The NBC special won both a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety Special Live and a Broadcast Critics Choice Award. Their film All Rise premiered in the Dramatic Competition at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival and their documentary United Skates won the 2018 Audience Award at Tribeca Film Festival. 

Get Lifted also executive produced Richard Tanne’s Obama romance, Southside With You, WGN America’s critically acclaimed drama, Underground, Pop Network’s docu-series Sing it On, HBO’s 2015 documentary Southern Rites and Can You Dig This, which won the LA Film Festival’s Jury Award that same year. Their acclaimed Broadway productions include Jitney, the 2017 Tony Award-winning revival of August Wilson’s play. Most recently, Get Lifted produced the IFC comedy series Sherman’s Showcase and Rhythm + Flow for Netflix. Their forthcoming projects include David E. Talbert’s holiday film Jingle Jangle for Netflix. 

Get Lifted is represented by WME and Nina Shaw of Del, Shaw, Moonves, Tanaka, Finklestein and Lezcano.