Nicholas Irving (@officialreaper33 Instagram)
Jay Z’s production deal with The Weinstein Company is revving up with a show about the first African-American sniper in the U.S. Army.
According to Page Six, Jay is setting his sights on NBC for a drama about Nicholas Irving. Currently a reality TV personality, Irving gained notoriety for becoming the first Black Special Forces sniper in his unit. He also became the deadliest shooter in the Army’s 3rd Ranger Battalion.
The six-part miniseries will feature Emmy winner Sterling K. Brown in the lead role. Brown previously starred in another miniseries – FX’s The People vs. O.J. Simpson. He currently stars on the new NBC show “This Is Us.”
Based on Irving’s memoir “The Reaper: Autobiography of One of the Deadliest Special Ops Snipers,” a source told the celebrity news site the show seeks to “look inside the life of the world of special ops.” They added shooting is due to begin next year.
Yesterday, Irving confirmed the news on his Instagram page.
But this is not the only project Jay is working on. At a press conference announcing the docu-series on Kalief Browder, Harvey Weinstein also announced that the Richard Pryor biopic, Richard Pryor: Is It Something I Said?, is in the works again.
“I can tell you that Jay is going to produce the Richard Pryor movie with Lee Daniels directing,” Weinstein said.
According to Variety, Daniels signed on to direct the project but left in May amid speculation that scheduling conflicts were to blame.
With Daniels back on board, shooting is slated to begin at the start of 2017.
Mike Epps will play the late comedian while Oprah Winfrey will play Pryor’s grandmother. Kate Hudson will star as the actor’s widow, Jennifer Lee Pryor.
“His story is an American story,” Jay said of Pryor at the press conference. “You’ll understand how many lives he’s touched, from every single comedian to rappers like Biggie Smalls.”
