Actress and entrepreneur Issa Rae is having one heck of a year.
On Wednesday, March 25, Variety reported that the “Awkward Black Girl” creator recently signed a new five-year overall deal with Warner Media, which includes her Hoorae media label.
The partnership is slated to give HBO, HBO Max, and Warner Bros. exclusive rights to the 36-year-old’s work in television, plus a first-look film deal that spans over various WarnerMedia brands, including Warner Bros. Pictures Group, New Line and HBO Max.
Speaking on her latest venture for her March cover feature, Rae told the media outlet that “It’s really exciting to have that flexibility and just deepen the relationship that we already have.” She added, “Hoorae already had at least 15 projects in various stages of development with them, so we’d been working with them on the drama side, the unscripted side, and the documentaries side for a couple years now.”
The actress continued, “When people believe in you and build with you, I tend to want to further that relationship. That’s just been a staple of mine with so many of the people that I work with.” Rae’s relationship with WarnerMedia began roughly around 2015 when HBO picked up the pilot for the Emmy-nominated comedy “Insecure.”
Several media outlets reported that Rae’s pact was valued at $40 million over five years. However, “The Photograph” star and WarnerMedia declined to comment on the value of the deal.
Shortly after news of Rae’s new deal and the rumored paycheck was made public, the star took to her Instagram Stories, where she addressed the claims over the eight figures that were being reported. “Uhh, I would never announce how much money I’m making anywhere,” the actress wrote. “I mind mine. Any numbers you read are CAP.”
Rae’s deal adds her to a class of notable creatives who have all secured overall contracts with major media companies in recent years. Comedian and actor Donald Glover recently scored a rewarding eight-figure overall deal with Amazon following his departure from Disney FX. “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Scandal” creator Shonda Rhimes signed an astonishing $100 million overall deal with Netflix in 2017, along with “Black-ish” creator Kenya Barris, who joined the bandwagon a year later for yet another nine-figure agreement.
