The Notorious B.I.G., one of hip-hop’s literal and figurative giants, will be coming to TBS in the form of a scripted comedy series titled Think B.I.G..
According to the Hollywood Reporter, the Turner-owned cable network announced Thursday that it is developing a show loosely based on Biggie’s lyrics, following the “hip-hop goes to Hollywood” trend started by Fox’s Empire and continuing with shows such as Baz Luhrmann’s forthcoming Netflix drama The Get Down.
Think B.I.G. will reportedly follow the story of an inner-city teenager “desperately trying to create a better future for his daughter and infant son,” with key plot points drawn from the late rapper’s lyrics. Given that synopsis — and the fact that Biggie was killed in a drive-by shooting in LA nearly 20 years ago — the comedy angle seems a bit odd, but we’ll just have to trust that producer and creator Mass Appeal along with partners Wayne Barrow of Bystorm Films and Voletta Wallace, the mother of Notorious B.I.G.
In related news, TBS also announced that it has picked up 10 episodes of Mass Appeal’s animated digital series Storyville, in which musicians, actors, and writers tell strange but true accounts of bizarre celebrity run-ins. “Storyville and Think B.I.G. speak to the types of projects we will cultivate with Mass Appeal moving forward,” said Brett Weitz, TBS’s executive VP of original programming. “Mass Appeal is a leader in developing unique stories with diverse voices. There’s no better partner for us to connect with this vibrant, impassioned audience.”