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July 17, 2020Nyle DiMarco creates comedy series about Deaf culture
Photo credit: Instagram @nyledimarco
A new TV series will be released for the deaf and hard of hearing community!
According to Deadline, Deaf actor and activist Nyle DiMarco’s new comedy series is coming to Spectrum! The half-hour show is in development with production company 3AD and Melrose Placed, who rep DiMarco.
DiMarco’s new comedy series is about a deaf man and his experiences highlighting Deaf culture. outlined in Deadline
“The series, which will star DiMarco, is described as an irreverent comedy centered around his experiences as a charismatic, smart deaf man in modern times,” Deadline describes the series. “The episodes look to offer funny, character-based storytelling designed to provide a deeper perspective on the experiences of the deaf and hard of hearing communities in America.”
DiMarco, who is best known for his advocacy for the Deaf community and reality TV appearances including winning “America’s Next Top Model” and “Dancing with the Stars” will also serve as an executive producer on the show alongside Daniel Dae Kim, John Cheng, and Tara Bohn from 3AD and Sami Housman from Melrose Placed.
While this will be one of the larger scripted projects to date for DiMarco, he has previously starred in “Switched at Birth”, “Difficult People”, “Station 19” and “This Close.“
“If I told my younger self that I would eventually have my own series about Deaf culture, I wouldn’t believe it,” DiMarco tweeted to his fans.
if i told my younger self that i would eventually have my own series about Deaf culture, i wouldn’t believe it.
— Nyle DiMarco (@NyleDiMarco) July 14, 2020
deaf people leading in a series about deaf culture? not possible!
this is huge for me… thank you all 🤟🏼https://t.co/cqDYTXFOEv
Developing shows for under-represented groups
The announcement comes as Spectrum works to ramp up its originals lineup with an emphasis on shows for under-represented groups.
“We’re looking to slice up our audience, we’re looking for shows that other people aren’t making,” Katherine Pope, who runs the original content division at Spectrum, told Deadline. “We’re doing a couple of projects in terms of accessibility needs, we’re doing two shows set in the deaf community. Everybody talks about inclusion and different voices and we’re trying to be more inclusive.”
No word yet on when the show will film and air. With recent popular network shows featuring deaf characters and storylines, the deaf community continues to be introduced to mainstream audiences.
Recently, Shoshannah Stern and Josh Feldman wrote and starred in the series “This Close.” This series was the first Hollywood TV series to have deaf writers, producers, and creators.
Read more: Review: ‘This Close’ sparks important discussions on complexities of deafness
Shoshannah Stern was also recently son, featured as a doctor on “Grey’s Anatomy.”
Shows such as “Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist” released an episode involving deaf performers in an American Sign Language dance scene and Disney+ recently put out a casting call for a Deaf actress.
Read more: Disney+ casting Deaf actress for TV series
The future is looking more bright for the rise of deaf talent!
