HBO Inks Development Deal With Black & Sexy TV’s ‘The Couple’

Black & Sexy TV is an online entertainment and lifestyle network founded by Dennis Dortch, Numa Perrier, Brian Ali Harding, and Jeanine Daniels that produces the kind of content its name would lead you to think it produces. That is, It focuses on programming for a “young, progressive, Black audience who seek a truer reflection of their modern culture.”

The company is adamant about its independence, too, but don’t let that and the dated Black & Sexy TV website lead you to believe the quality of its productions is in any way inferior. The people behind the brand have an impressive pedigree, Plus, they just inked a development deal with HBO.

The premium cable and satellite television channel with more than 140 million subscribers worldwide will develop The Couple, a realistic comedy web series about a heterosexual relationship with the kind of dialogue you’d expect in a mumblecore

flick, but the production value of something made with a much greater appreciation of high-fi. The show was created by Daniels and Dortch, is directed by Dortch, stars Perrier and Desmond Faison, and has been viewed on YouTube, across its multiple episodes and minisodes, some 1.5 million times. For the HBO iteration, Spike Lee is also reportedly on board to executive produce.

Online video enthusiasts may recognize Black & Sexy TV from one of its other web originals. The network’s RoomieLoverFriends has given some face time to, and received endorsements from Issa Rae, whose own online original series helped her land a development deal with ABC.