Jada Pinkett Smith will star in the upcoming Netflix drama Redd Zone. Kristin Layne Tucker, the Emmy-nominated screenwriter known for HBO’s A Black Lady Sketch Show, and Oscar-winning Matthew A. Cherry (Hair Love) have also signed onto the project.
Redd Zone is based on the true story of single mother Tia Magee (Pinkett Smith) who steps up to help her sons and their high school football teammates grieve the 2005 murder of their friend Dominic Redd. The Los Angeles Times reported that he was killed by three teenagers in an apparently racially motivated attack.
Magee’s sons and their teammates form “The Bros,” with 17 of them eventually all moving in with Magee. After navigating through their grief, all of The Bros eventually go to college with four making it to the NFL. Magee currently oversees a youth emergency center in Forth Worth, Texas. The film is dedicated to Redd’s memory and the powerful impact he has on his community.
Westbrook Studios is producing the drama that will be released through Netflix. Pinkett Smith, who just reprised her role of Niobe from The Matrix, founded Westbrook Studios with her husband Will Smith.
Cherry, whose short film Hair Love won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short in 2020, is a writer, director, producer and former NFL player. Tucker received her first Emmy nomination for her writing on HBO’s A Black Lady Sketch Show and is serving as a writer for the second season of HBO Max’s series The Flight Attendant.
