CBS has signed a deal with #MeToo founder and social justice advocate Tarana Burke and her producing partner Mervyn Marcano to produce scripted, unscripted, and documentary programming for the network’s linear formats and streaming services, Deadline reported.
Burke and Marcano’s Field/House Productions is a development and production firm that tells stories highlighting the underrepresented voices with the richness and complexity they deserve. Field/House aims to represent “the rest of us” as its mission when developing story ideas.
“We’re thrilled to be building a powerful vehicle for inclusive stories with CBS Studios,” said Marcano. “Our goal has always been to create a pipeline of culturally progressive programming with our diverse network of creatives and storytellers.”
Burke added, “Creating space for new narratives has always been an integral part of cultural change work. Field/House is a platform for those new narratives. This partnership gives us the reach and scale to ensure that we build new audiences for new voices.”
Field/House had many opportunities to work with a variety of networks and streaming services, but chose CBS because of its ability to expand its reach across the media ecosystem– something that was appealing to them as a company wanting to get as much exposure as possible for the diversity of voices and stories they were creating.
CBS welcomes the partnership.
David Stapf, President of CBS Studios, said, “In our quest to partner with compelling storytellers, Tarana and Mervyn stand out. They are clearly magnets for many whose voices need to be heard, and we’re excited to work alongside them in this new venture.”
Burke has worked for three decades on racial justice and gender equity projects in the arts. She is the founder of the #MeToo movement. Her initiative changed the way the world thinks views sexual violence. Her memoir Unbound will be published in the fall by Flatiron Books.
Marcano was executive producer on an untitled documentary series for HBO and a special for HBO Max. His previous works include the YouTube Original series Resist and BET’s Finding Justice. He is the founder of Blackbird, a strategy command center for racial and social justice movements.
