EXCLUSIVE: Insecure co-star and producer Natasha Rothwell has signed a multi-year overall deal with ABC Signature. Under the rich pact, which is in conjunction with Disney General Entertainment’s BIPOC Creator Initiative led by Tara Duncan, Rothwell will develop new projects for television via her Big Hattie Productions. Financial details are not being revealed but I hear the three-year pact is in the eight-figure range.
“Natasha is the real deal triple threat. I’ve been a fan of her writing for years and have loved watching her career blossom in front of and behind the camera,” said Duncan. “It’s an honor to provide a platform for one of the best comedic talents in the business.”
“I echo Tara’s sentiments – we love Natasha and are so excited she will join the ABC Signature family,” said Jonnie Davis, President, ABC Signature. “This is a coup for our studio, and we’re honored to support this gifted storyteller as she sets out not just to entertain but to change the television landscape for the better.”
For the last five years, Rothwell has been a cast member and producer on Issa Rae’s Peabody Award-winning HBO series Insecure, for which she has received two NAACP Image Award nominations. The series, on which Rothwell started as a recurring in Season 1 before being promoted to a series regular in Season 2, is currently heading into its fifth and final season. Before that, Rothwell wrote for Saturday Night Live and wrote and starred in the original sketch series Netflix Presents: The Characters. She can also be seen in the features Love, Simon, Sonic The Hedgehog and Wonder Woman 1984.
Rothwell was named a 2021 Sundance Screenwriters Lab Fellow for her script Black Comic-Con, and she is writing the coming-of-age feature We Were There, Too with Gloria Calderón-Kellett for HBO Max. Rothwell will also star in The White Lotus, a limited series written and directed by Mike White for HBO; and leads the cast of Malltown, an animated series she is executive producing alongside Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer. Rothwell has also voiced characters on DuckTales, Bojack Horseman, Tuca & Bertie, American Dad, Bob’s Burgers, and The Simpsons and is currently the voice of Mommy Shark in the Nickelodeon series Baby Shark.
Additionally, Rothwell lent her voice to the Planned Parenthood documentary Ours To Tell, directed by Oscar winner Rayka Zehtabchi, and received the 2020 Planned Parenthood Champion of Reproductive Health Award. Her advocacy is also expressed through her continued support of the HRC, ACLU, SPLC and RAINN, Emily’s List, and volunteering at the Downtown Women’s Center. A staunch advocate for the arts and arts education, she has worked with the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre, KIPP NYC College Prep High School, Arena Stage, Los Angeles Public Libraries, The Young Storytellers, and The Story Pirates.
“I can’t tell you how happy I am to be starting this next chapter with ABC Signature! I’m beyond grateful to have the incomparable Tara Duncan in my corner along with Jonnie Davis and Tracy Underwood, who have welcomed me into the Disney Family with open arms,” said Rothwell. “It was important to me to find a studio partner that would not only honor my vision and my voice as a storyteller, but also one that shared my hunger for stories that broaden the limited scope with which BIPOCs have traditionally been viewed–– stories where our humanity isn’t a plot point or up for debate but it’s understood, celebrated and explored in new and interesting ways. That’s why I’m so thrilled to be partnering with ABC Signature, and to have the opportunity to tell thoughtful, nuanced stories that center marginalized voices–– stories that dare to subvert expectations all under the banner of Big Hattie Productions. Y’all better buckle up.”
Rothwell is repped by CAA, Edna Cowan Management and attorney Michael Auerbach.