Alonge Hawes seems to be expanding his artistic reach. The talented auteur has inked a series development deal with streaming and entertainment network Jaro Media. Under the pact, Hawes will create, write, and direct a brand new series for the platform. Hawes will also produce the series alongside longtime collaborators Quentin Williams, Jamal McClendon, Shani Hawes, Joshua Dennard, Cordarol Sanders and Rodderick Fedd via their A Million Stories One Pen Entertainment banner.
“Alonge Hawes, an outstanding filmmaker, writer and actor, has produced high quality award-winning web series, beginning with “Blue Collar Hustle,” that bring a unique consciousness to the diversity of the African American experience,” Jaro Media Services CEO, Richard E. DeVaughn, said Thursday in a statement. “Partnering with Alonge and A Million Stories One Pen Productions falls in line with JARO’s promise that our audience have a place where they will be entertained while seeing themselves – A home of our own.”
The deal comes almost two years after Hawes inked a similar series development deal with independent streaming powerhouse Seeka.TV. That partnership saw Hawes create, write, direct, and star in the digital series Black On Both Sides, for which Hawes was bestowed The Best Screenplay award by the Oniros Film Awards, and Best Director by the L.A. Shorts Awards. Both Jaro and Seeka provided early streaming support for Hawes’s debut series Blue Collar Hustle, whose first season was named Best Web Series by both the Urban Media Makers Film Festival and The London Independent Film Awards. The second season of Blue Collar Hustle was named Best Web Series by the Oniros Film Awards and Best Returning Series by the Minnesota Webfest.
While specific details regarding the new series are being kept under wraps, it has been reported that Hawes & Williams collaborated on the initial concept for the original story and that Williams, himself a successful musician, will score an original soundtrack for the series.
Jaro Media Services provides on-demand streaming access to a world of African American and Afrocentric digital media including video, visual art, books, and music. Jaro’s unique platform integrates social media, customer control, and media access into an innovative user experience.
