Carlos King, who runs Kingdom Reign Entertainment, the corporate behind the hit Love & Marriage franchise, is aware of a factor or two about producing African American-focused actuality tv.
Kingdom Reign is behind three Love & Marriage sequence for OWN set in Huntsville, Detroit and D.C. in addition to its newest creation, Family Empire: Houston, which launches right this moment.
There are many others on televsion comparable to Basketball Wives LA, Summer time Home: Martha’s Winery and The Actual Housewives of Atlanta.
The issue, as King, sees it, is that not sufficient of those reveals are produced by Black-owned manufacturing corporations.
“There’s quite a lot of African American-based reveals on the earth. 99% of them are produced by white-owned manufacturing corporations. White-owned manufacturing corporations are doing a fantastic job of manufacturing the Black unscripted reveals however, for me, how particular would it not be for a present to characterize the proprietor of the corporate in order that we’re capable of actually have the power to not solely perceive storytelling, however perceive the tradition wherein the storytelling is going on,” he tells Deadline.
When Denzel Washington was selling Fences, he gave an interview the place he mentioned, “It’s not color, it’s culture”, a view that King agrees with.
Carlos King (Kayla MaDonna)
“My secret sauce is the truth that my reveals characterize me and my household and my background. That makes my expertise really feel so snug with giving their actual life to the present as a result of it’s tough to show your actual life in entrance of the world to evaluate, it may be uncomfortable at instances. However when you could have an organization that’s owned and operated by an individual of colour, who hires predominantly folks of colour to provide these reveals, it actually does really feel like a household empire,” he provides.
Having spent 9 seasons engaged on The Actual Housewives of Atlanta, King says that is the rationale that he began Kingdom Reign. “You could be anyone who talks about change, however I consider you need to step in entrance of the dialog and be the change. I needed to be the change within the room, I needed to go away my very snug place of the showrunner, the place I knew the place my cash was coming each single Friday, to actually put money into myself, and put money into my group and put money into my tradition.”
King acknowledges different Black-owned corporations within the unscripted area together with Jesse Collins Leisure, which produces occasions such because the Grammys and Emmys, and Monami Productions, run by Mona Scott Younger and behind franchises comparable to Love & Hip Hop.
However he says that Black professionals within the leisure enterprise haven’t at all times been “given the chance to actually get our foot moist on this enterprise as homeowners of corporations”.
“We’re employed, we’re positively showrunners and producers. However with regards to possession, it’s not as straightforward for us. I’ve to point out my trade and my friends that I’m going to be the change that I search,” he provides.
Along with hiring folks of colour, King desires to have the ability to put money into them for the long-term as properly to allow them to launch their very own corporations. “I wish to take them below my wings and assist them function their very own manufacturing corporations. That’s positively a much bigger purpose for me, to have the ability to take a look at Kingdom Reign Leisure as this large conglomerate after which to have the ability to have subsidiaries below me which might be completely run by individuals who labored for the corporate,” he says.
Kingdom Reign Leisure was based in 2012 and King offered his first present Hollywood Divas to TV One, the place it ran for 3 seasons. From there, he offered Promoting It In The ATL to weTV and Styling Hollywood to Netflix earlier than scoring the Love & Marriage franchise.
Love & Marriage: Detroit (OWN)
He additionally makes Belle Collective for OWN, which simply aired its fourth season, and Daring & Bougie, which just lately launched on weTV.
His newest present is Family Empire: Houston, which follows the multi-generational Braden family.
King says that he was eager to do a present within the Texas metropolis after which found this household, whose enterprise is actual property. “It’s is in regards to the entrepreneurship of this household, but additionally simply what occurs in household dynamics, from relationships to like to the drama. It’s seeing individuals who characterize the true world,” he provides.
His hope is that Household Empire could be its personal franchise and develop into new cities with new households. “With Household Empire: Houston, the DNA of the present is a profitable household, so when it turns into one other franchise, I’ll positively search for a family-owned enterprise. It doesn’t essentially need to be based mostly in actual property, it may very well be a restaurant, it may very well be a tech firm. I need to have the ability to actually diversify it,” he says.
Subsequent up, King wish to transfer into the true-crime, relationship and gameshow areas. “True-crime is one thing that we’re creating and speaking to a couple streamers about. I additionally wish to host and produce a recreation present. I take a look at what Steve Harvey has executed with Household Feud, which was my favourite. Gameshows are one thing that hundreds of thousands of [people] simply love. Take a look at how lengthy Wheel of Fortune has been on. I wish to be on in American households 5 days every week.
Kingdom Reign was additionally one of many producers behind The Stroll, a function documentary for HBO that premiered at Sundance in 2023. The movie, directed by Kristen Lovell and Zackary Drucker, paperwork trans historical past in New York, from the attitude of Black and Latina trans ladies who had been intercourse employees within the Meatpacking District throughout the Eighties and Nineteen Nineties, in an space often known as The Stroll.
“It was actually particular to be at Sundance and promote a documentary that actually spoke to the trans group. My purpose is to proceed to inform totally different tales that some folks could draw back from. We’re positively navigating to have extra of these,” he says.
King might also discover himself within the M&An area as bigger manufacturing teams take a look at alternatives. He says that he has already been approached for funding. “I’m at all times open to a gathering and a dialog. My focus is to proceed constructing the corporate and be sure that we’re seen as a multifaceted, numerous, storytelling firm,” he provides.
