Billy Porter to helm queer teen comedy feature ‘To Be Real’ for Amazon Studios

By PTI

WASHINGTON: American actor-singer Billy Porter is set to direct a queer teen comedy feature tentatively titled ‘To Be Real’ for Amazon Studios.

As per Variety, the upcoming project comes from Gabrielle Union’s I’ll Have Another Productions which has struck a deal with Amazon Studios.

Porter, who has been shooting his feature directorial debut ‘What If?’ for Orion Pictures, will helm the queer teen comedy from an original script by Ryan Shiraki.

Described as an LGBTQ ‘Superbad’ crossed with ‘Booksmart’, according to its logline, “‘To Be Real’ follows three queer friends who escape their hometown for Pride Weekend in New York City where they discover that life over the rainbow is an insane, raunchy, often divisive, but ultimately FIERCE non-stop party.”

Union’s I’ll Have Another Productions has been busy, developing among other projects books like Tamara Winfrey-Harris’ ‘The Sisters Are Alright’ and George M. Johnson’s ‘All Boys Aren’t Blue’ under the company’s first-look deal with Sony Pictures Television, as well as developing ‘New Money’, a half-hour comedy executive produced by Union, Jemele Hill and Kelley Carter at Showtime.

Porter’s ‘What If?’ is also teen-focused but on the drama side. Next month, Porter could win his second Emmy as Pray Tell for the final season of ‘Pose’, and he will soon be seen in Amazon’s ‘Cinderella’ as the Fab G.

Union will produce ‘To Be Real’, and Kian Gass from I’ll Have Another Productions will executive produce. Porter and Shiraki will also executive produce.