HBO stole Unfriendly Black Hotties and we can prove it, claim producers trends now
Two women who say they have been pitching their TV show to networks in Hollywood for two years are now claiming HBO stole their series and are providing receipts to back up the claim.
Producers Shay Caldwell and Cassady Dill are raising hell after they say executives told them their show 'Unfriendly Black Hotties' stood 'no chance' of being made after they had spent money and time to create a show preview and register the idea.
On Friday, Variety exclusively reported that HBO Max is in development on a series of the same name with Jermaine Crawford, Amy Aniobi, and Keke Palmer - who Caldwell claims was included in original pitch desk - at the helm of the show.
This is a snip from the sizzle made by Shay Caldwell and Cassady Dill back in 2021
Actors and producers Keke Palmer (left) and Jermaine Crawford (right) are set to helm the 'Unfriendly Black Hotties' project for HBO Max
Amy Aniobi, who worked on Issa Rae's show 'Insecure' for HBO Max is also involved
The fallout started as an Instagram post made by Caldwell, sharing her heartbreak.
'Unfortunately, today, I feel defeated hearing the news that a project my writing partner @heycassady and I have shopped around Hollywood for the last 2 years has been picked up by HBO Max with a crew comprised of people from my personal pitch deck,' Caldwell wrote in a post on January 25.
The Instagram post made by Caldwell contains photos of her show's sizzle - essentially a short preview of what the series would look like - along with mood boards, pitch decks, and a purported email to the US copyright office.
'In the thread posted you are seeing the sizzle of the show idea that we paid for out of our own pockets and registration spanning the past few years,' Caldwell wrote.
One mood board that Caldwell claimed was for the show includes Keke Palmer as a dream cast member for the project, and includes grabs of other shows and movies that inspired the project like 'Bring It On.'
Caldwell and Dill spoke with DailyMail.com and shared the details of the situation, including the fact that the project cost them 'thousands' to pull together.
The original mood board for the show even includes Keke Palmer who is now attached to the HBO Max series with the same name and similar premise
This is a grab of the show's original 'bible' or treatment, which shows their names
Two actors who were hired to star in the show's sizzle reel when it was filmed in 2021. Caldwell and Dill say they spent 'thousands' to bring the project to life
This is a snippet of the email sent by Caldwell to the U.S. Copyright office regarding a claim on a copyright she says she owns
A portion of the caption shared by Caldwell in her Instagram post
Shay Caldwell (left) and Cassady Dill (right) are the two women who claim HBO Max stole their show, 'Unfriendly Black Hotties'
The show's very name is personal to Caldwell who grew up on the south side of Chicago but went to private schools. The writer and producer told DailyMail.com she related to the title as it felt like her own lived experience.
'It was very sad and shocking because the story is just so close to home and it's our passion project,' Caldwell said.
The show's moniker is derived from a scene in the popular film 'Mean Girls' in which a clique called the 'unfriendly black hotties' are pointed out to new student Cady Herron, played by Lindsay Lohan.
Caldwell even tagged Lohan, the actor who played Cady Herron, in her post.
'To know this work has been taken with no acknowledgment of the people who formulated the Unfriendly Black Hotties story of 4 black female leads dealing with political correctness in a non-monolithic representation of black characters is devastating,' she continues in her post.
According to the logline shared by Variety for the official HBO Max series, the show is a 'comedic satire exploring Gen-Z's weaponization of political correctness told through the eyes of four high school girls.'
The name of the series pitched by Caldwell and Dill stems from the movie 'Mean Girls'
The 'unfriendly black hotties' are a clique pointed out to new girl Cady Herron in the film
Caldwell and Dill said they were even more upset because they took the necessary actions to claim their show's concept.
The script and the treatment - a short summary of the plot and characters- were both submitted to the Writers Guild of America, the pair claims.
DailyMail.com reached out to WGA to confirm Caldwell and Dill's statements but did not receive a response by the time of publication.
The post shared by Caldwell also shows the beginning of the email to the U.S. Copyright Office regarding their claim on the series.
The women said they are taking the situation even more seriously because of how much hard work, time, and money it took just to get into the rooms to have their story idea heard.
'We don't have big Hollywood agents behind us, we did this on our own, we're independent. Getting out there, shaking hands, kissing babies, doing what we need to do to actually pitch,' Dill
