TV ONE ANNOUNCES PRODUCTION OF ORIGINAL FILM, DOWN FOR WHATEVER, WRITTEN BY ABFF SCREENPLAY COMPETITION WINNER TIM FOLSOME

Film will be TV One's First Foray Into An Action-Thriller Production

From left to right: The cast of TV One's upcoming original film *Down For Whatever* LeToya Luckett, Hosea Chanchez, Bre-Z and Imani Hakim

TV One announced production of the original film, Down For Whatever, the 2017 American Black Film Festival (ABFF) Screenplay winning project written by Tim Folsome who will also direct. Production will take place in Atlanta, Georgia. The film, starring LeToya Luckett (Greenleaf), Hosea Chanchez (The Game), Bre-Z (Empire) and Imani Hakim (Everybody Hates Chris), is slated to premiere at the 2018 ABFF in June and will premiere on TV One in July.

“The production of the ABFF Screenplay Competition winning selection is one of our favorite projects of the year because it is when we get to see a young writer’s vision literally come to life,” says D’Angela Proctor, TV One Head of Programming. “Our team reads hundreds of scripts during the competition process and Tim’s gift for storytelling resulted in a compelling page-turner. We look forward to sharing the final product with TV One’s viewers next summer.”

In the network’s first original movie production representing the fast-pace action genre, Down For Whatever chronicles Tracy, a young successful doctor and her detective husband, Mike. Although happily married, one thing has always been missing in their relationship – a sense of family. Tracy grew up in foster care and longs for the traditional family environment that she never had. When Mike suddenly loses his partner in a senseless cop-killing, Tracy is there to support him. That is, until she receives an unexpected visit from a social worker who informs her that the ruthless killers suspected in the murder are her biological sisters, Denise and Sonya. Tracy is overwhelmed and in disbelief by the news, but before telling her husband, she decides to track her sisters down herself. Will she make it to them before the cops do?

Down For Whatever cast announced today:

LeToya Luckett as Tracy
Hosea Chanchez as Mike
Bre-Z as Denise Brown
Imani Hakim as Sonya Brown

Down For Whatever is written and directed by Tim Folsome. The film is produced for TV One by Eric Tomosunas, Keith Neal, James Seppelfrick and Darien Baldwin for Swirl Films. Casting was provided by Leah Daniels Butler (Empire and When Love Kills: The Falicia Blakely Story). For TV One, Jubba Seyyid is Executive in Charge of Production and Sr. Director of Original Programming & Production. Donyell McCullough is Senior Director of Talent & Casting; Robyn Greene Arrington is VP of Original Programming, and D’Angela Proctor is Head of Original Programming and Production.

For more information about TV One’s upcoming programming, including original movies, visit the network’s companion website at www.tvone.tv. TV One viewers can also join the conversation by connecting via social media on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook (@tvonetv) using the hash tags #DOWNFORWHATEVER and #REPRESENT.

ABOUT SWIRL FILMS

Swirl Films is America's "number one urban film production company," a full-service film & television production company with over 60 original productions in the past six years, focusing on urban content and programming, independent features and multi-camera productions. Swirl Films is a major content provider for TV One including the original productions: Love Under New Management: The Miki Howard Story (2016), which was TV One's first ever biopic, starring LisaRaye McCoy, Vanessa Bell Calloway, Darius McCrary, Indirah Khan and Teyonah Parris as Howard. According to the network, the film broke record ratings, undeniably becoming the top original film in the network's history drawing in 2 million views, resulting in the networks highest ratings week ever. Quickly surpassing those numbers is TV One's #1 original premiere of all time, When Love Kills: The Falicia Blakely Story (2017), starring Lance Gross, Niatia Kirkland and Tami Roman, directed by actress Tasha Smith. Swirl Films previous production credits for TV One include Born Again Virgin, starring Danielle Nicolet, Meagan Holder and Eva Marcille; Here We Go Again, starring LeToya Luckett, Wendy Raquel Robinson and Kyndall Ferguson; Russ Parr's award-winning film, The Undershepherd, Hear No Eviland 35 & Ticking (Kevin Hart).

ABOUT TV ONE

Launched in January 2004, TV One serves 59 million households, offering a broad range of real-life and entertainment-focused original programming, classic series, movies and music designed to entertain and inform a diverse audience of adult black viewers. The network represents the best in black culture and entertainment with fan favorite shows Unsung, Rickey Smiley For Real, Fatal Attraction, The Manns and The NAACP Image Awards. In addition, TV One is the cable home of blockbuster drama Empire, and NewsOne Now, the only live daily news program dedicated to black viewers. In December 2008, the company launched TV One High Def, which now serves 14 million households. TV One is solely owned by Urban One, Inc., formerly known as Radio One, Inc. [NASDAQ: UONE and UONEK, www.urban1.com], the largest African-American owned multi-media company primarily targeting Black and urban audiences.

Joan Rivers is a comedy genius, and that’s no overstatement. And it’s not just me saying it, you can here few the best of comics share there view of Joan Rivers, through this film The film features Sarah Silverman, Whitney Cummings, Kathy Griffin, Dick Cavett, Don Rickles, Lily Tomlin, Marlo Thomas and many more.

EXIT LAUGHING is the first in a planned series of documentary films about the grandmasters of comedy (and the future inductees of the Comedy Hall of Fame) as an initiative to bring arts programming for comedy to public television.

Joan Rivers embodied New York; brassy, forward, honest, smart and very funny. She defined the culture as she wrote the history of comedy. Unlike female standups before her, Joan talked about issues, not wishes. She was critical to breaking the glass ceiling of then male-dominated standup comedy. In the process she revolutionized the field as a pioneer to forge a path for the wave of female standups in the 1970’s and 1980’s and beyond. Joan was essential to the evolution of comedy from entertainment to social commentary in the latter half of the 20th century. As an act of both history and education, the Comedy Hall of Fame has created a documentary to understand and examine how comedy grows from one generation to the next, while celebrating Joan’s impact, innovation and influence. This historical program covers her journey, process, insights into the field and her impact on other comedians.

http://goo.gl/L27u - Performed on "The Ed Sullivan Show" on April 23, 1967. Available on "Ed Sullivan's All-Star Comedy Special" DVD available at EdSullivan.com

CHF continues to grow the Archives and will produce more films in an effort to continue the oral traditions that form the foundations of the art form. “Comedy exists today because it was built on the shoulders of past generations of comedians who have pioneered the vast language of comedy and grown its power as an engine for social change,” said Jeffrey Pancer, the curator of the CHF’s archives. “As such, Joan Rivers’ legacy and impact has been defined by other comedians: the artists that she knew and those she influenced, offering a unique perspective from the comedians that create the history of the field.”