Overview
- HBO formally ordered a half-hour pilot from Issa Rae on Tuesday, August 25, 2026, under the working title Untitled Male Friendship Show.
- Rae wrote the pilot and is credited as an executive producer, with the official logline following Menzel, a 30-year-old barber and aspiring sports manager, and his relationship with JB, an up-and-coming Las Vegas boxer.
- Prentice Penny will serve as showrunner, executive producer and will direct the pilot, reuniting him with Rae after their work together on Insecure.
- Production partners attached include Rae’s Hoorae banner, Penny’s A Penny For Your Thoughts, and 3 Arts Entertainment with executive producers Jax Clark, Jonathan Berry and Dave Becky, and the project is at pilot stage with no casting or series pickup announced.
- The pilot continues Rae’s creative relationship with HBO even though she signed a three-year first-look film and TV deal with Paramount in January 2026, and the project appears to predate that new pact.