Tony Award winning actress Anika Noni Rose has been tapped to both star in and produce the pilot for the upcoming animated series ‘The Uptown Chronicles’.
Taking place in the year 2100 Chicago, ‘The Uptown Chronicles’ follows the adventures of the Hamilton family, led by scientist father Dre and guardian mother Maya, as their five children – gifted chef Tasha, bookish introvert Sienna, slacker son Ty, and adolescent prodigies Jordan and Keira – learn from their parents about their destinies as the descendants of an ancient magical order tasked with maintaining balance in the world. The series looks to infuse elements of science-fiction, fantasy, and Afro-Futurism into a project that will both charm and thrill audiences in the vein of Black Panther, The Incredibles, and Avatar: The Last Airbender.
Rose is set to play Maya, whose magical abilities are linked to her ancestry as part of a group of noble guardians tasked with preventing calamity the world over. Once her children’s powers begin to manifest, Maya will stop at nothing to both guide and protect them in a world as dangerous as it is wondrous..
Last year Anika released a children’s book, “Tiana’s Perfect Plan,” and is working on her second book scheduled to be released in 2026. Onscreen, she recently voiced a character in Disney’s “Zootopia 2,” and best known for voicing the Disney princess Tiana in Disney’s “The Princess and The Frog”, as well as starring in the films “Mufasa: The Lion King,” and “Dreamgirls” and Christmas classic, “Jingle Jangle.”
On television, you have seen Rose in series such as “Maid”, “Let the Right One In”, “Little Fires Everywhere,” “The Quad,” “The Good Wife,” “Power” to name a few.
Anika won the Tony Award for her role in the Broadway’s production of “Caroline, or Change,” also earning a Tony nomination for the revival of “A Raisin in the Sun.” She won the Lucille Lortel award for her portrayal of Carmen Jones, in the Off-Broadway production of the same name.
She has been nominated nine times for an NAACP Image award for her various work on the big and small screens.
She can be heard right now as Marion Lavorre, The Ruby of The Sea, In Critical Role’s new series, “The Mighty Nein,” on Amazon Prime.
Anika is repped by Innovative Artists, David Williams Management, GoodManagement, and Schreck Rose Dapello.
‘The Uptown Chronicles’ is created by Steven Goard, who is producing through SDG Quantum Productions. Goard is best known for voicing Kang the Conqueror for Disney’s Australia Cruise line. He is also the official voice for Google Fiber Tech Support in addition to voicing and narrating nationally aired commercials and programs for Gatorade, ESPN, and ID Discovery. Goard is repped by CESD Talent Agency. The series is written by Alonge Hawes, who will co-produce through A Million Stories One Pen Productions. Hawes is best known as the creator, writer, and director of the critically acclaimed digital series “Silver & Gold”, which has been the recipient of many awards including being named Best Web Series by the Oniros Film Awards and Hawes winning Best Director in a Thriller from the New Jersey Webfest and Best Series Script from the Minnesota Webfest. Goard & Hawes will serve as co-showrunners & directors for the series.
