Starz Developing 'Panther Baby,' Professor Jamal Joseph’s Memoir

Starz is developing Professor Jamal Joseph’s memoir, Panther Baby, into a drama. Joseph's memoir tells the story of a sheltered Black boy who gets thrust into the Black Panther movement in 1960s Harlem, finding his identity, cause, and manhood in the process. Joseph is writing the screenplay and Gina Prince-Bythewood (The Old Guard, Beyond the Lights, Love and Basketball) will direct. Sarah Timberman, Carl Beverly, Scott Frank (The Queen's Gambit) and Reggie Rock Bythewood executive produce.

According to NPR, “Jamal Joseph was a 15-year-old honor student when joining the Black Panther Party. He later faced a 12-year sentence in Leavenworth Penitentiary for helping fugitive Panther members. Behind bars, he taught a theater group, and now he teaches the arts at Columbia University.” In raw, powerful prose, Joseph recounts what it meant to be a soldier inside the militant Black Panther movement. He recounts a harrowing, sometimes deadly imprisonment as he charts his path to manhood in a book filled with rage, despair, and hope.

Jamal Joseph, who also runs the screenwriting program, has written and directed for Black Starz, HBO, Fox TV, New Line Cinema, Warner Bros., and A&E. His produced screenplays include Ali: An American Hero (Fox), New York Undercover (Fox), Knights of the South Bronx (A&E), and The Many Trials of Tammy B. (Nickelodeon). He wrote and directed Drive By: A Love Story, Da Zone, and the docudrama Hughes Dreams Harlem for Starz. Joseph is currently co-executive producing and writing a dramatic musical for BET.  

Joseph is the author of Tupac, Legacy (Simon & Schuster) and Panther Baby (Algonquin Books). He also wrote the script for the Broadway musical based on the life of Tupac Shakur. He is the founder and artistic director of IMPACT, a Harlem-based youth theatre company, and executive director of New Heritage Films, a not-for-profit organization that provides training and opportunities for minority filmmakers. 

Starz has yet to announce the release date of Panther Baby.