Natasha Rothwell is striking out on her own.
The Insecure and White Lotus alum will star in, write, and co-showrun How to Die Alone, a comedy that has been ordered straight to series at Hulu. The project hails from Onyx Collective, the Tara Duncan-led studio focused on underrepresented voices, and ABC Signature and stems from an overall deal with both that Rothwell signed earlier this year.
Hulu and Onyx say How to Die Alone will follow Melissa (Rothwell), “a fat, black, neurotic woman who has never been in love. After a comical brush with death, she refuses to settle for anything less than the life she wants, catapulting her on a journey to becoming ‘100 percent that bitch’ in real life by any means necessary.”
Rothwell and Vera Santamaria (Hulu’s Pen15) serve as co-showrunners on How to Die Alone. Both will exec produce alongside Desiree Akhaven (The Bisexual). The project is the first to come from Rothwell’s Big Hattie Productions at Onyx and ABC Signature.
Die Alone marks a turning point for Rothwell as she moves from the supporting to lead role after her Emmy-nominated turn in the first season of Mike White’s Emmy-winning anthology The White Lotus. Her credits include Wonka and Disney’s upcoming animated feature Wish. She’s best known for her series regular role on HBO’s Insecure, on which she had a series regular role and doubled as a writer and producer. Her writing credits also include Saturday Night Live and on-screen gigs in Love, Simon as well as Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Wonder Woman 1984. She’s repped by CAA, Edna Cowan Management and Jackoway Austen.
Santamaria is with CAA, Meridian Artists and Morris Yorn.
Onyx Collective was launched last year by Duncan, who also serves as president of Disney’s younger-skewing cable network Freeform. Since its launch, Duncan has recruited an impressive group of talent with overall deals including Rothwell, Ryan Coogler (Black Panther), Destin Daniel Cretton (Shang-Chi) and Insecure showrunner Prentice Penny, among others. Onyx, whose originals stream exclusively on Hulu, recently launched its first scripted drama, the Kerry Washington-produced Reasonable Doubt, and also counts The Hair Tales, The Plot, and Unprisoned.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
