Former Empire star Jussie Smollett made his directorial debut with B-Boy Blues. The motion picture will stream on the BET+ streaming network.
According to Variety, Monami Entertainment’s Mona Scott-Young will serve as a producer for B-Boy Blues. After producing the Love & Hip Hop reality show franchise, Scott-Young became a television titan.
“B-Boy Blues is a beautifully bold, funny, heartwarming bromance and I was thrilled to partner with Jussie to help this wonderful film gain greater exposure,” stated Mona Scott-Young.
Jussie Smollett’s film is an adaptation of James Earl Hardy’s 1994 book B-Boy Blues: A Seriously Sexy, Fiercely Funny, Black-on-Black Love Story. The movie won the Fan Favorite Narrative Feature Award at the 2021 American Black Film Festival.
B-Boy Blues tells the fictional love story of journalist Mitchell Crawford and bicycle messenger Raheim Rivers. The cast includes Timothy Richardson, Ledisi, Brandee Evans, Heather B, Marquise Vilson, Jabari Redd, Broderick Hunter, and Thomas Mackie.
Mona Scott-Young added, “Falling head over heels and fighting for love are universal emotions and experiences and we are so grateful to BET+ for shining a powerful spotlight on the still seriously underrepresented Black LGBTQ+ community and bringing this impactful love story to an even greater audience.”
B-Boy Blues serves as Jussie Smollett’s first major project since his conviction in Illinois. A jury found the actor/singer guilty of felony disorderly conduct for making false police reports. A judge sentenced him to 150 days in county jail. Smollett maintains that he was the victim of a 2019 homophobic, racist hate crime.
