Showtime anthology Omniverse casts Jaden Smith as young Kanye West
An announcement both bizarre and making complete sense, Kanye West is developing a half-hour anthology series for Showtime and has cast Jaden Smith (The Get Down) to star as a young alternate reality version of himself, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
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The series, which is also being developed by SB Projects founder Scooter Braun and Lee Sung Jin (Silicon Valley), is described as a limited half-hour anthology series that examines the many doors of perception, with the first season set to focus on ego through the alternate reality form of West.
Though the pilot has only been commissioned thus far, should the series get picked up it would mark the first time in almost 15 years that an anthology series would air on the premium cable network, with the last effort coming in the form of the acclaimed but short-lived series Masters of Horror from Mick Garris (The Stand). The network has since moved on to more dramatic fare over the years, with hits such as Billions and Ray Donovan, and though making attempts at half-hour works with the dramedies White Famous and SMILF, both only had short runs, with the former being cancelled after its debut season while the latter ran for two seasons before getting the axe.
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The series would also mark a return to the small screen for the 20-year-old actor who most recently starred in the short-lived Netflix musical drama The Get Down and the streaming service’s anime Neo Yokio.
Omniverse will be executive produced by West, Braun, Smith, Jin, James Shin, Scott Manson and Miguel Melendez.
