Television
March 22, 2021
Warner Bros. Television Group Establishes Multiyear Creative Partnership and Signs Exclusive Overall Deal with Dr. Phillip Atiba Goff
- Warner Bros. Television Group today announced a new creative partnership and exclusive overall deal with Yale University Professor and Center for Policing Equity Co-Founder & CEO Dr. Phillip Atiba Goff, a highly respected expert and national thought leader on racism, sexism, and public safety.
- Under terms of the multiyear pact, Dr. Goff and his newly formed creative team — JusticeRx — will work closely with WBTVG’s series creators, writers, and producers, as well as the Studio’s development and current programming executives, to provide expert insights and resources on key social justice issues. They will consult through all stages of the creative process, from a project’s original inception through development, production and beyond.
- Additionally, Dr. Goff and JusticeRx will develop new programming for the Studio informed by his work, with the goal of telling stories that help get people free. This could range from scripted dramas and comedies to docuseries and other unscripted projects for streaming, cable, and the broadcast networks.
- Kevin Richardson, a 20-year creative executive, industry veteran, and champion of inclusive storytelling who helped develop the FOX hits Empire and 24: Live Another Day, will serve as Executive Vice President. Dr. Amma Y. Ghartey-Tagoe Kootin, a Harvard and Tisch-educated scholar, writer, and producer who is a TED Fellow and previously contributed at AE and the History Channel, will be the Vice President of Creative Affairs. And Halle Liebman will be joining from NBCUniversal’s streamer Peacock to coordinate the enterprise.
- Dr. Phillip Atiba Goff said: “This year, the world was reminded of the power stories have to define our lives. That creates an unprecedented opportunity to direct that power towards uplifting vulnerable communities. Our goal will be to help storytellers un-tell the lies we tell about ourselves. I could not be more excited about this opportunity to work with the brilliant people at WBTV in that project.”
- Channing Dungey, Chairman, Warner Bros. Television Group, said: “Dr. Phillip Atiba Goff has been a leading voice of moral clarity on critical issues facing our society, and through this creative partnership, we are honored to have the benefit of his insight, guidance, and counsel here at the Studio. We are also extremely excited to collaborate with Dr. Goff and his team to create powerful and compelling programming that will both entertain and inspire.”
- The deal with Dr. Goff underscores WBTVG’s ongoing commitment to create entertaining and inclusive programming that reflects rich cultural diversity and inspires a more just society through the power of storytelling.
- A national leader in the science of racial bias, Dr. Goff is the Carl I. Hovland Professor of African American Studies and Professor of Psychology at Yale University. His groundbreaking work throughout his career has pioneered scientific experiments that exposed how our minds learn to associate Blackness and crime implicitly — often with deadly consequences. As co-founder and CEO of the Center for Policing Equity (CPE), he expanded upon his research by forming what has grown into the world’s largest research and action organization on race and public safety. He is a leading advocate for reimagining outmoded systems of public safety whose TED Talk on fixing racism and combating police brutality has already amassed over two million views.
- Goff’s CPE aims to identify and reduce the causes of racial disparities in public safety, and advocates for scalable, meaningful change.
- In addition to helming CPE, he serves as a Principal Investigator for CPE’s National Science Foundation–funded National Justice Database, the first and largest national database on racial disparities in police behavior. This database now serves as a tool to reduce burdensome and inequitable policing through scientific analyses.
- In the world of entertainment, Dr. Goff founded the Harvard Black Arts Festival and was a founding member of the pathbreaking queer hip-hop collective D/DC. He was also a producer on BET’s six-part docuseries Finding Justice, helmed by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and dream hampton (Surviving R. Kelly).
- Dr. Goff has won numerous awards from the American Psychological Association, the Association for Psychological Science, the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executive, and the Ford Foundation, among many others. He regularly appears on national news programs to discuss his work, was a witness for President Obama’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing, and has presented before Members of Congress and Congressional Panels, Senate Press Briefings, and White House Advisory Councils.
Contact:
Robert Pietranton
(818) 954-4556 robert.pietranton@warnerbros.com