Calvin’s legendary barbershop is reopening its doors, this time for a Prime Video series.
On Monday, May 12, ahead of Amazon’s annual upfront presentation for advertisers and sponsors, the company announced it ordered a new series based on the Barbershop movie franchise.
Jermaine Fowler (The Blackening) will star as Travis “Trav” Porter, grandson of Ice Cube’s original character, “Calvin Palmer,” a legendary barber and owner of the iconic Calvin’s barbershop in Chicago.
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The series is penned and executive produced by Marshall Todd (Woke), who also co-wrote the screenplay for the original 2002 film. Max Searle (Dave) will serve as co-showrunner and executive producer.
“We are thrilled to announce a new series based on the hilarious and innovative world of Barbershop for our global Prime Video customers,” said Vernon Sanders, global head of television at Amazon MGM Studios. “The television adaptation of this iconic film franchise is in excellent hands with co-showrunners Max Searle and Marshall Todd.”
While the barbers are new, “the shop remains just as lively, the customers just as argumentative, and the fades are still the dopest in the city — because at Calvin’s, the community comes together for way more than just a haircut,” according to the official description.
The series will be produced by Kevin Hart’s Hartbeat Productions, along with Prominent Productions, State Street Pictures, and Amazon MGM Studios.
In addition to Max Searle and Marshall Todd, executive producers include Kevin Hart, Bryan Smiley, Mike Stein, Bradley Gardner, Cameron Burnett, and Autumn Bailey-Ford. Tiffany Brown will co-executive produce for Hartbeat.
The original Barbershop trilogy includes Barbershop (2002), Barbershop 2: Back in Business (2004), and Barbershop: The Next Cut (2016). The films starred Ice Cube, Cedric the Entertainer, Anthony Anderson, Eve, and later Nicki Minaj among others.
The films explored life in a Chicago barbershop owned by Calvin Palmer, touching on community issues with humor.
The franchise also expanded with the 2005 spin-off Beauty Shop, starring Queen Latifah as Gina Norris, a character first introduced in Barbershop 2 who opens her own salon. It also included a one-season sitcom adaptation that aired on Showtime.
The Barbershop films grossed more than $235 million worldwide when Beauty Shop is included, according to The-Numbers.com.
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