Tavis Smiley is something of a Renaissance man, right? He’s a talk show host, commentator, author, former mayoral aide, and one-time Dancing With The Stars contestant, a resume that touches on at least two forms of art. Now Deadline reports Smiley is breaking into the (commercial) TV business developing three series based on books he’s written. Warner Bros. has given him a multi-year pod deal that includes an event series based on Smiley’s 2014 work, Death Of A King: The Real Story Of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Final Year, that’s already in production with J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot.
Smiley’s account of the final four months of Michael Jackson’s life will also be adapted for the small screen. In the upcoming Before You Judge Me: The Triumph And Tragedy of Michael Jackson’s Last Days, the author chronicles Jackson’s “constant hunt for privacy in a life that was more public than almost any other, and the pressures he endured as someone whose fame made him socially fragile and almost unable to live.” We think we can safely assume it’s going to be some kind of drama.
Finally, Smiley’s memoir of his friendship with the late Maya Angelou, which is making its way to the stage, will also be developed for TV in some form. In My Journey With Maya, Smiley shares many personal memories of his 28-year friendship with Angelou, including their trip to Ghana in 1993. At this rate, Smiley could soon sell Warner Bros. on a series based on his talk show with Cornel West, or a TV show about that time he talked to Kool And The Gang.