ABC and the creators behind the network’s hit comedyBlack-ishare being sued by actress Hayley Marie Norman. She alleges that theBlack-ishspinoff,Mixed-ish, is a flagrant theft of material she had previously pitched to several broadcasters and streamers.
Norman, known for her work inHancockandAdam Ruins Everything, had been reportedly well along in the process of getting the green light on her own series, which was based on her own background and would essentially follow the same formula thatMixed-ishwould eventually use. The concept of a series focusing on a biracial young woman struggling with her identity and those around her may not seem all that unique on the surface, but the execution was allegedly far too similar to that of theBlack-ishspinoffto be a ignored.
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According to Norman’s allegations, Tracee Ellis Ross and Kenya Barris had been involved at various stages when she pitched her show, with the company that manages them, Artists First, sharing a loose association with Big Breakfast, the company to which Norman had pitched the idea in 2017. She even claims to have registered the idea with theWriters Guild of Americain 2016, under the name “Mixed.”
Now, it’s entirely possible that the name and concept being so similar could be chalked up to a coincidence. After all,Black-ishhad established that Rainbow Johnson, who would go on to be the main character ofMixed-ish, was biracial as early as 2015, a year before Norman had even registered her story with the WGA. This once again brings up the idea that it’s entirely possible for two different people to conceive of such a story independent of one another.
However, Norman insists that it’s more than that, with herattorneystating “literally everyone involved in the ‘creative’ and ‘production’ aspect of ‘Mixed-ish’ was either directly or indirectly involved with Norman and the development of Norman’s Series,” before naming Ross and Barris among those involved as well as ABC for allegedly knowing the show was based on stolen material and still allowing it to move forward.
This case currently has yet to move past the complaint filed by Norman, so for the time being, the facts behind the allegations remain elusive. Norman’s allegations certainly appear feasible, and the idea of a popular show stealing material from a lesser known source isn’t entirely inconceivable. Heck, evenLuciferhad an episode about it (the idea of stolen material, notBlack-ish, though that would be a cool idea). On the other hand, coincidences happen, and while it may be easy to prove Norman’s idea had previously been pitched to ABC, it may be less than simple to prove they directly used her material. Hopefully this issue gets sorted out soon.
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