Shondaland Audio, the podcast arm of Shonda Rhimes’ production company, announced casting for its first scripted podcast, “#Matter,” expected to be released early 2022 in partnership with iHeartMedia.
“#Matter” is written, produced and directed by Dylan Brown (pictured above), writer and producer on “Power” prequel “Raising Kanan.”
The eight-episode scripted series is a retrospective look at a case of police brutality. Gerald Hayes witnesses his teenage son Niles’ brutal beating by police officers, and a split-second decision leads to him being barricaded in a friend’s nearby restaurant with one of the officers. As the situation deteriorates and the press paints Niles as the offender, Gerald fights for justice for his son using the one tool at his disposal — social media. The story of “#Matter” is told through the lens of an investigative journalist, Kate Bell, who takes listeners back to the fateful afternoon and its aftermath a year later through interviews, found surveillance footage and more.
Starring in “#Matter” are Amin Joseph (“Snowfall”) as Gerald Hayes and Jennifer Christopher (“Dexter,” “Timeless”) as Kate Bell. The cast includes Nile Bullock (as Niles), Steve Harris (as Gerald’s friend Jayce), Pooch Hall (as a sports agent turned real estate developer Martin) and Haley Joel Osment (as Sgt. Place, the cop at the center of the incident).
“#Matter” originally started out in Shondaland’s TV development department before moving over to Shondaland Audio.
Among Brown’s other credits, he directed, wrote and produced feature film “Mac & Devin Go to High School” starring Snoop Dogg and Wiz Khalifa, released by Starz/Anchor Bay Films. Brown produced the pilot for the unscripted talk show/podcast titled “Show Out” with brothers Wood Harris (“The Wire”) and Steve Harris (“The Practice”).
