Yara Shahidi is expanding her overall deal with Disney. The “grown-ish” star and executive producer has extended her current deal with ABC Signature to also include a partnership with Onyx Collective.
Through her 7th Sun production company, Shahidi and her mother, Keri Shahidi, will continue to develop and produce scripted and alternative television projects for cable, streaming and broadcast.
“It is every creative’s dream to be seen and heard and to do so with colleagues who align with your vision and your soul. We are so grateful to have the opportunity to continue to create with our Disney family and be grounded in the work that Onyx Collective is doing to meet the moment,” the mother-daughter duo said in a statement Thursday.
The Shahidis are now among an impressive roster of creatives who are curating content for the Onyx Collective, including Ryan Coogler, Destin Daniel Cretton, Prentice Penny, Natasha Rothwell and Erika Green Swafford.
Onyx Collective is a new content brand formed under Disney General Entertainment Content designed to curate a slate of premium programming by creators of color and underrepresented voices. So far, the brand has launched content including “Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)” and is developing others, like Kerry Washington’s “Unprisoned.”
Shahidi initially signed her overall deal with ABC Signature in 2020. Her Freeform series “grown-ish,” which is a spinoff of ABC’s “black-ish,” is in its fifth season.