Marsai Martin is proof that age is not an excuse to put dreams on hold. The Guinness World Record holder for the youngest Hollywood executive producer has the green light from Disney to produce a Disney Channel original comedy series, Saturdays.
The 16-year-old, according to Deadline, will produce the pilot for Saturdays under her Genius Entertainment production company which she runs with her parents, Joshua and Carol Martin. This was after Disney ordered a single episode of the series.
Martin could not hide her joy as she celebrated the news on Instagram, writing, “Y’all see me seeing you, right? 😉 can’t wait for this! @disneychannel.”
Writer and executive producer Norman Vance Jr., who executive produced Moesha, Roll Bounce, and Girlfriends, will do the same for Saturdays, and Charles Stone III from Drumline and Black-ish fame will be the director.
As Deadline reports of the show’s plot, “Saturdays follows Paris, who, since the age of four, has been honing her skills on the cool parquet floor of Saturdays, a local skating rink owned and operated by a former ’90s hip-hop back-up dancer.
“With its neon lights, galaxy-painted rink and killer D.J. spinning the latest music, Saturdays is the place to show and prove. Paris is the leader of a skate crew and is determined to take them all the way to the top. However, she has sickle cell disease, and when it flares up, it’ll take every ounce of determination to prove the doubters wrong, including her concerned family.”
Many are excited about the representation this project will bring for those who have been diagnosed with sickle cell disease. The lead character has sickle cell, a disease that affects mostly Blacks.
Although there is no apparent premiere date, the show’s principal cast has been revealed. Danielle Jalade as Paris Johnson will star as the determined 13-year-old roller skater who is determined to excel in her chosen sports despite her disability. Golden Brooks and Omar Gooding will play Paris’ parents and Jermaine Harris, her brother. Daria Johns and Samantha Smith will be her ride-or-die besties and per Deadline, rapper Yolanda “Yo-Yo” Whitaker was cast as the owner of Saturdays.
Though Martin broke into Hollywood after she was cast to play the role of Diane Johnson in popular sitcom Black-ish in 2014, the teen proved her talent went beyond acting when it was announced she was going to executive produce the movie, Little.
Then 14 years and 241 days at the time of the movie’s release in 2019, Martin wrote her name in the history books as Hollywood’s youngest ever executive producer. Martin, who successfully pitched the story to Black-ish creator Kenya Barris, said she had the idea for the movie when she was as young as 10 years old.
Besides executive producing the movie, Martin also starred in it alongside Issa Rae and Regina Hall. In the film, Martin plays the role of a younger Regina Hall after a little curse takes the strict businesswoman back to her little 13-year-old self.
