Don Cheadle & Adam Scott’s Production Banners Team On ‘Quitman 10+2’ Voter Suppression TV Drama

Dominic Patten
·3 min read
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

EXCLUSIVE: Don Cheadle’s This Radicle Act banner and Adam Scott’s Gettin’ Rad Productions have joined forces to tell the tale of the 2010 arrest of a dozen Black politicians and operatives in Georgia over alleged voter fraud, and the fallout that followed.

Based on Jon Ward’s 2019 article “How a Criminal Investigation in Georgia Set an Ominous Tone for African-American Voters” optioned last year by the Severance star and Naomi Scott, the TV series Quitman 10+2 is looking to bring a writer onboard soon, I hear.

More from Deadline

The swooping up of the Black candidates in Brooks County more than a decade ago by then-Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp on flimsy claims and a multitude of felony charges not only saw their orange-jumpsuited photos splashed across local and national media, but it also became a dog-whistle chorus for conservatives. For then-just-appointed Republican Kemp himself, the heavy-handed playing to some of the worst tendencies of the GOP base elevated his profile, which took him all the way to the Georgia governorship in a 2018 race against Stacey Abrams.

Almost certain to be set for a repeat showdown between Kemp and Abrams this year, that 2018 election was deeply stained by voter suppression and accusations of more undocumented fraud. Since the 2020 election, which Abrams’ voter outreach advocacy helped Georgia to go blue for Joe Biden, red states all over America have passed increasingly restrictive voting legislation that is clearly aimed at quelling the rights of non-white citizens.

All of which gives Quitman 10+2 an added jolt of timeliness.

“The events of Quitman 10+2 jumped out to us immediately as an incredibly compelling story of racial division and voter suppression that absolutely required a deeper dive,” Radicle Act president Karyn Smith-Forge told Deadline of the collaboration. “Don and I are so excited to be working with Adam and Naomi Scott as creative partners to bring this story to light.”

That excitement goes both ways.

“We couldn’t be more out-of-our-minds excited to be working with This Radicle Act,” said the Scotts. “Don and Karyn are brilliant, creative people and the first we thought of to help us bring this timely and important story to life — we can’t wait to share the unbelievable events of Quitman 10+2 with the world!”

With an ever-growing dance card, the development of Quitman 10+2 represents the latest evolution of This Radicle Act, formed in 2019, which saw former Berlanti Productions SVP Smith-Forge link up with Cheadle last year.

It is exactly the impact the Iron Man franchise vet was hoping for.

“This Radicle Act embarked on this journey almost three years ago with Industrial Media in an attempt to do a couple things; in multiple genres, center voices that have traditionally been marginalized,” Cheadle told Deadline today. “And also to create more opportunities to seed the ground with talent that we can grow and bloom with. We thought the word ‘radicle’ was a great way to say all of this.

“Bringing Karyn into the fold is helping us make good on those goals,” Cheadle added. “Together we’ve been fortunate to identify, acquire and develop a variety of projects that speak to that stated purpose. Ones we think are very exciting.”

UTA reps both This Radicle Act and Gettin’ Rad Productions.

Best of Deadline

Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Click here to read the full article.