CAA Finally Found Someone Willing To Write The Dwyane Wade Sitcom
NBA's biggest douchebag with the dumbest self-appointed nickname can finally rest easy, knowing that his year-long campaign to turn his memoir into a TV show has finally come true. ESPN reports that Fox has purchased Three The Hard Way, based on Dwyane Wade's "memoir," A Father First: How My Life Became Bigger Than Basketball.
Though the deal was announced just today, Fox directly purchased this project from Wade and producer Mike Tollin almost a year ago, in hopes of developing it for the 2012-2013 development cycle. CAA, who represents both Wade and Tollin, had been desperately trying to find a writer on the project, previously entitled Father Time, though none of the upper-level writers they represent seemed to want to engage. Despite going out to writers under overall deals at multiple studios including CBS Television Studios and Universal Television, the supposedly great agency was unable to attach a single writer—shocking, in a town where people will do anything for a dollar. The project rolled over to this fall's development cycle, and Fox and CAA continued their search for a writer.
After finding no comedy writers able or willing to work on the half-hour comedy, CAA packaged the show with drama writer Ben Watkins, a writer on Burn Notice who worked his way up from staff writer to co-executive producer on the USA drama. Watkins had previously sold a project to Fox with Tollin in 2010, a drama centered around a female investigator in the Alameda County District Attorney's office. He is also currently working on M.I.A. for Fox with 20th Century attached to produce, a drama set on four friends in Miami all released from prison at the same time. According to his credits, Watkins has no comedy credits to speak of—save for an appearance on Moesha back in 1998.
CAA and Fox recently attached Sony Televison to produce, as well as Mandalay Sports and Fast and Furious director Justin Lin's production company Perfect Storm Entertainment, the latter of whom attached three producers within the company to the show. Wade will executive produce via his ZZ Productions, as well as Tollin through his Tollin Productions banner. Watkins will also be getting a producing credit. Tollin, who is most famous for creating All That for Nickelodeon, has turned his focus of late onto sports-themed projects.
In sum, it takes CAA—allegedly the best agency in town—one major network, six random producers, two studios, and over 365 days to put together a show centered around one of the sports world's biggest names.