(Photo illustration by Kelsey Bowen/The Daily Memphian)
The Arts Beat is a weekly deep-dive into Memphis arts, music, dance, theater, fashion, film and events. Keep scrolling for a roundup of the best arts and culture stories from the week. Have a story idea? Send it to eperry@dailymemphian.com.
There are lots of Memphis connections to recently announced TV and film projects.
Let’s begin with a TV performance, a first for one local musician.
KIRBY makes solo TV debut
Southaven singer Kirby Lauryen Dockery, aka KIRBY, had her first solo TV appearance Thursday, Oct. 9, on “The Kelly Clarkson Show.”
Her previous TV appearances were on “The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon” with Black Thought in 2023 and the #LateShowMeMusic series on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” in early 2021.
For the Clarkson show performance, KIRBY’s backing band and vocalists were Memphians.
They were Keith Ferguson (lead musician), Dayton Leach (bassist), Tre Deaton (drummer), Steve Bethany (guitarist), Asia Wilson (trumpet), Franko Coleman (sax), Shuron Jones (trombone), Carla Barnes (background vocalist) and Stephani McCoy (background vocalist).
‘Slimeroni’ stars in Memphis-set ‘G.R.I.T.S.’
A show poster. (ALLBLK)
A Memphis-set coming-of-age drama is set to premiere on ALLBLK, a streaming service for AMC Networks.
“G.R.I.T.S. (Girls Raised in the South),” an eight-episode series, follows three friends who roller skate. The series debuts Thursday, Oct. 30.
The friends are played by Jasmine Sargent (Keisha), Ashanti Harris (Ty), and Memphis-native rapper Aja “Slimeroni” Canyon (Francis).
The show’s synopsis includes: “As they navigate grief, love, hustle and the underbelly of the city threatening to pull them down, a skating competition with life-changing prize money offers a glimmer of hope.”
The series was filmed in Memphis and Atlanta last year.
Deji LaRay created and produced the series.
According to a post LaRay made on social media, Memphis rap legends 8Ball and MJG have a role in the series as characters “Chuck” and “Stu.”
Memphis actress Elise Neal has a role in the series.
According to show representatives, the show features several other Memphis natives. Rapper Co Cash (Terrico Bowen), as well as Marcus Johnson and Oscar Pruitt, have co-starring roles.
Tobyus Green has a recurring role.
Memphis music also plays a role in the series, including songs from artists 8Ball & MJG, Slimeroni, Tangela (Mathis), Talibah Safiya, Tavis Trendin and BreZay.
The show’s actors also worked with Memphis crew members and skaters.
Lifetime adapts novel of best-selling Memphis novelist into two-part series
“Friends and Lovers” stars Naturi Naughton, Simone Missick, Kendrick Sampson. and RonReaco Lee. (Courtesy Lifetime)
TV network Lifetime is adapting Eric Jerome Dickey’s New York Times bestselling novel “Friends and Lovers” into a two-part movie.
“Friends and Lovers” will air at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 15, and Sunday, Nov. 16. The series follows a doctor and her “free-spirited” best friend (played by Naturi Naughton and Simone Missick, respectively) and their relationships with a “struggling comedian” (Kendrick Sampson) and his best friend (RonReaco Lee).
Lifetime describes Dickey as “one of the most influential voices in contemporary Black literature.” He died in 2021 at age 59 and had several best-selling novels.
Dickey, who grew up on Kansas Street, graduated from Carver High School and the University of Memphis. At the U of M, he majored in computer systems technology. After graduating from college, he moved to Los Angeles to work in the aerospace industry and began his writing career.
Dickey wrote more than 25 novels, as well as a six-issue comic book series for Marvel featuring Storm and Black Panther.
His romantic drama is the centerpiece of Lifetime’s “Love of a Lifetime” slate of movies.
It also includes “His, Hers & Ours” on Nov. 1, “Preach, Pray, Love” on Nov. 8 and “He Wasn’t Man Enough” on Nov. 22. The Nov. 1 and 8 films are produced by best-selling novelist Terry McMillan. The Nov. 22 film stars and is produced by singer Toni Braxton.
Academy and Grammy-award music documentarian Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson is working on an untitled documentary about legendary funk band Earth, Wind & Fire.
The film from Thompson, best known as a producer and drummer for hip-hop band The Roots, is set to be released on HBO in the U.S. in 2026. It will also be streamed on HBO Max.
According to a release, “the film examines the iconic group’s lasting legacy, cultural impact, and enduring body of work, and features exclusive access to the band’s archives of visual, audio, and written material.”
The late Maurice White founded and led the legendary funk band in 1969 in Chicago.
White, who was born in Memphis, grew up in the Foote Homes housing projects and attended Booker T. Washington High School.
“I’m honored to tell the story of Earth, Wind & Fire and the deep meaning behind their message and music,” Thompson said in a statement. “To grow up listening to the music is one thing, but to be handed the keys to the kingdom of preserving history is another.”
Bob Mehr’s band biography becoming biopic
“Stranger Things” TV star Finn Wolfhard, his father Eric Wolfhard and producer Rich Peete are adapting Bob Mehr’s biography on The Replacements into a film, Variety reports.
According to Variety, the Wolfhards are writing the screenplay.
Mehr released his book “Trouble Boys: The True Story Of The Replacements” in 2016.
The Memphis journalist’s book details the influential Minneapolis punk band.
Mehr, who is a music writer for The Commercial Appeal and regular contributor to the New York Times, has won two Grammy Awards for Best Album Notes. The Grammys are for “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (20th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition)” by Wilco and “Dead Man’s Pop” by The Replacements.
.....
You received this email because you signed up to receive emails from The Daily Memphian.